Are people more sensitive to mold, or are people just less accustomed to deal with it?

Question

Every time I look at answers in DIY, somebody's ranting about the seriousness of mold. How has mankind survived for this long without some natural mechanism to deal with common mold? Surely our houses today are not MORE moldy than houses 500 years ago, or even 70 years ago, yet we act like mold is some new phenomenom that the human species has never had to deal with before. Are we just becoming *******? 

I think that the less clean the environment that a child grows up in, the less susceptible they are to benign allergens, like mold, dust, etc. We are producing a generation of asthmatic, hypochondriacs, looking for a sterile environment which doesn't exist. All these cleaning products, hepa filters, and anti microbial sprays fails to inure our kids to the most commonplace antagonists in our environment. In other words, is cleaning killing our kids?

saaanen · Accepted Answer

I COMPLETELY agree with you.  The mold thing is an over-reaction to a very old and very common problem.  If people are so concerned that the "black mold" is going to kill them, they should go to a home improvement store and buy a test kit.  Stachybottrus is the killer, and quite rare. Most of the "black mold" people question is mildew. A common fungus all over. I will not buy any antibacterial products.  They are harming us for the exact reasons you have stated. Cleaning product manufacturers are capitalizing on the supposed fear, and making billions.

morris · Answer

You are right. Mold is everywhere indoors and out. It always has been. 99.9 percent of people have no physical reaction to common mold. The hype these days about mold in homes is baloney. Only a very few have allergies to molds. What you are saying about people trying to make a sterile home is right on.

sic-n-tired · Answer

i believe that mold is more of a problem today,because we are building houses that don't breathe. with the advent of house wrap and weather seals and caulking and so forth, we have created serious indoor air quality problems, that are just now coming to light. of course our society loves to name things, so now we have sick building syndrome. so, without any fresh air entering the house, you also don't have any moisture exiting the house.
we've created and used many things in the past that were bad ideas, asbestos, lead paint, lead plumbing the edsel, etc. many of these have proven hazardous to our health. it will be interesting to see what new things make the list in the future. with all of the petro-chemicals and pharmaceuticals and other "miracles" of modern science,it gives one food for thought the next time they ask "paper or plastic?"

zdonz · Answer

i agree with you about raising our kids in a semi-sterile environment causing problems, however, cases of toxic mold, as well as, legionaires disease and some others are real and caused by newer technologies, like air conditioning, that are relatively new to us...

NubbY · Answer

you should see my son's room!  It's so ****** messy that by the time he is my age he will be immune to time.

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Are people more sensitive to mold, or are people just less accustomed to deal with it?

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