Sure, Just Leave The Black Mold There, We'll Just Die Or Something...

     So, I'm not sure if I've told you all - my invisible readers - about my apartment, but let me tell you! It's something. And not the good kind of something... but that's not the story here. I'm not skilled enough for that novel O_O .
     Point is, our kitchen ceiling is filled with black mold, but apparently it's just too expensive to take care of, so they're coming over in a little bit to just cover it up with some dry wall. It's okay, we can die, that's alright dummy.

     Now, don't be concerned for me, but I will even still list the facts and such about black mold (hold back, it's been a while since I've done a fact blog).

     Mold kind of lives in a colony, and is thought of as a single living organism. The main body of a mold colony, also known scientifically as mycelium, is made up of groups of multicellular filaments called hyphae. The hyphae tips release enzymes that the mold uses to help break down, and take over (or eat) what it is growing on. The hyphae than also absorbs the nutrients from the thing that they're growing on, thus, making the organism spread.
     Of course, certain conditions must be right for the mold to grow, such as light, temperature, oxygen levels, and, the amount of nutrients in the victim object. The types of things that aid the right conditions are things like: Humidity, a good food source (wood, drywall, cotton, etc), darkness (mold cannot grow in ultraviolet sun light), warmth (mold can't grow in the cold), oxygen, moisture (water leaks, humidity),  enough time (mold takes about 24-48 hours if all conditions are right), and finally, how well the spores spread (mold grows like flowers with the spores acting like pollen, awww, how fancy). 
     At the signs of mold; allergic symptoms, a moldy smell, added with any kind of problematic water leaks you may want to hire a professional mold inspector. It's best to hire a professional rather than your uncles' wife's twice removed, brother-in-law's neighbors cousin, because professionals know what they're doing. When the inspector comes in, they'll have their little gadgets, moisture meters, fiber optics and junk. These tools, they use to help them find this little pest behind walls and other objects in your house that would be good at hiding the mold without disturbing your home.
     Ideally, it would be nice to test the mold to see exactly what kind it is, and if it is dangerous or not, because believe it or not, some mold is harmless. There are four types of mold tests:

Air Testing: Air testing is when samples of air are taken from your home and sent away to a big fancy laboratory. This test is to find the concentration of the mold spores (remember, it's the little mold pollen) in your home, even if you can't find where the mold hides. One draw back is that the air types vary, so it's never really a consistent result every time.

Surface Testing: Surface testing is when samples are taken from objects around your home to figure out the amount of mold spores and growth deposited around your house. But as the same with air testing, the results aren't perfect because mold isn't really spread around a home evenly , and it can change from time to time the amount they'd find. One thing air testing can do that surface testing can't is identifying the exact concentration of mold spores in your home.

Bulk Testing: With bulk testing the professionals take items from around your home to a laboratory to be tested under a microscope. Bulk testing is helpful to tell you figure out if you do have a mold problem, and to give you an idea just how much the concentration is.

and finally,

Culture Testing: Culture testing is when mold particles are taken into a petri dish to grow to figure out exactly what species of mold can grow inside one's home. Only the live particles of mold can be tested this way, but don't just leave the dead pieces there, they can still cause harm, even dead. But other kinds of tests (such as the ones named above) can still identify mold issues in the home, whether dead or alive, so it is still best to do this test.

Reasons Why You Should Test:

• You notice signs of mold (like the ones named above)
• To identify the species of mold in your home
• To help find where mold is growing
• To test your indoor air quality by measuring mold spore concentration
• To test if the mold in your home has been fully removed

Health Symptoms of Mold

• Cold or flu like symptoms
• Coughing 
• Sneezing
• Sore throat
• Irritated, or itchy throat
• Blocked, itchy, runny nose
• Sinus congestion or headache
• Difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, wheezing
• Irritated or itchy skin
• Skin rash, hives
• Red, itchy, watery, or bloodshot eyes
• Itchy ears
• Hair loss, or baldness
• Hay fever symptoms

     Granted, none of these are casual coughing, sneezing or whatever. There are however, 16 different toxic molds that release highly toxic chemicals called mycotoxins. The symptoms of toxic molds are much worse than just the common molds named above. Symptoms of mycotoxin infection would include bleeding, damage to internal organs, metal impairment, cancer, or even death.

Safe Mold Removal
     Wear protective equipment (goggles, dust filter/respirator, gloves, and,  a safe suit that covers your whole body) contain the mold spores, set up negative pressure, remove mold, clean belongings, and, use a HEPA vacuum. Cleaning the mold with bleach, ammonia, borax, or vinegar is ideal in the removal.


     And just in case I didn't explain it well enough:
What is Mold?
Causes of Mold
Testing
Health Symptoms
Inspection
Safe Mold Removal
Preventing Mold

Business Blogs... Whut?!

      Hey! So I think I've mentioned at some point in past posts that I was going to take my G.E.D., but I was really procrastinating... Honestly, I would have done it..... but at some point, kind of like how you procrastinate getting up in the morning, no matter how annoying your alarm clock is (my mom was the nagging alarm clock...). And so, I think I owe my mother a great thank you for being a supportive, nagging, funny lady. Thank you Madame Sueffle. Sorry, I don't know how to spell it... but she knows what I mean... I mean for real, she's pretty much my only viewer besides those of you who are just passer-by's. But it's okay, for those of you who stay here long enough to read that part though... :S
      I always try to find other blogs to read on here, it'd be nice to be able to find a blog to read, just something random, not about hair-do's I can't do to save my life, your family.. I mean for real, who wants to know about what your 5 year old said? Granted, kids say the funniest things, but I don't want to read ALL about that! Or, I always come across the business blogs... whut?! And it seems the best blogs I come across, it just so happens that I can't read Spanish....
     But, to the point. I did take my G.E.D. last week, and I passed! I knew I would, because my practice scores were really high, and also it was easy... and even though I promised I'd cry when I got my scores back.. I didn't cry soo much, only enough to be like "Oh my god, I passed, last year I didn't even imagine myself here, and just six months ago I couldn't even imagine this, much less three months ago, and I still passed, I get to graduate with my best friend on time!" The only thing I wish I did, was go to the prom.. my whole life I've been like "Omg, prom, that's stupid, just a dance to get fancy with." Man, *smh* I love to get dressed up... as much as I pretend I don't, I still think it's obvious that I love to get fancy. So prom... I disparately missed you. :( Plus I had to work that night, and I had nobody to go with, no dress, I don't go to that school... it was a mess. *smh* Poor prom, I know you missed me ;)