Stachybotrys mold on humidifier The paper evaporative filter pad has a black band of Stachybotrys mold starting in about the middle and widening towards the lower right corner of the mesh pad. Below the black mold is a lighter band of bacterial slime. The cloudy water in the humidifier reservoir is full of microbial growth. Stachybotrys mold on humidifier filter pad On the left is an unused evaporative pad and on the right is a used pad covered with black Stachybotrys mold.

Allergies in the Home ©2008 Jeffrey C. May, M.A. Zelda had shoulder and joint pain as well as headaches, and had been diagnosed with degenerative arthritis. She was having allergic reactions in the house which she had lived in since the mid-1980s; she had no pets, but the previous owners had pets, and some of their carpeting was still in place on the second floor. Zelda noted a mildew smell in the house. She was allergy tested and was allergic to pollen, mold and house dust. She found the bathroom and living room irritating. The house was full of plants and the basement filled with stored goods. (Comment: Mold was growing in the basement on all stored goods, and in the living room carpet - along with 3 different species of mites. Spores had settled into the upstairs carpeting. Stachybotrys chartarum - a potentially toxic mold - was growing in the bedroom humidifier.)

Jeffrey C. May is a building consultant, Certified Indoor Air Quality Professional (CIAQP), and author of My House is Killing Me! The Home Guide for Families with Allergies and Asthma (2001) and My Office is Killing Me! The Sick Building Survival Guide (2006), as well as co-author of The Mold Survival Guide: For Your Home and for Your Health (2004) and Jeff May's Healthy Home Tips (2008), all published by Johns Hopkins University Press. A former educator and organic chemist (M.A. Harvard University), Jeff is principal scientist of May Indoor Air Investigations LLC in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts.