What are the different types of household mold?

Black mold is a common household mold, but it's not always the toxic variety. When we moved into an apartment with mold, we called a mold remediator who told us the black mold growing there was the Cladosporium variety, which can cause allergies but is different from the Stachybotrys Aatra variety, which is quite toxic.

There are 12 common molds you can find in your home. They are acremonium, alternaria, aspergillus, aureobasidium, chaetomium, cladosporium, fusarium, mucor, penicillin, stachybotrys, trichoderma and ulocladium. Each of these molds falls into one of three categories. Allergenic molds are common allergens in people and pets. Pathogenic molds cause complications in people who suffer illnesses. Toxigenic molds produce toxins and can create dangerous living situations.

There are as many as a hundred types of household mold, and people usually identify them by color. Black mold and green mold are the ones that most commonly show up in houses. Black mold is infamous among homeowners, as one common type of it produces mycotoxins. Green molds can also cause adverse reactions to the respiratory system or to the skin. The scientific names for the four most common household molds are stachybotrys atra (black mold) aspergillus (an allergenic), acremonium (toxic) and cladosporium (non-toxic). Allergenic molds are, at first, only a nuisance to allergy-prone people, causing the same general symptoms as a pollen allergy. However, if ignored and left to grow, allergenic molds can sometimes turn toxic. Mildew is a cousin of mold that appears in white patches and is the least invasive—it can be scrubbed away with typical cleaning products.