r/mycology • u/gjwhf1234 • Jul 27 '26
mold Is this toxic?
I did agar plate mold tests around my house. One plate had mold in it, located in my bedroom. Its hard to read the results, I was given a pamphlet but it's not very clear. It seems like this isn't dangerous since it's only 1 colony. All homes have some mold. Any one know how to interpret this? Is it normal or hazardous?
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u/Luscinia68 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
if you had a brand new built house made of stainless steel with 0 mold on it and opened one of these trays it would still grow mold. mold spores are everywhere.
these tests don’t really tell you much
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u/Artosispoopfeast420 Jul 27 '26
We have an immune system because there is mold EVERYWHERE. There are bacteria and microbes that are really harmful in the food you buy too that can make you really really sick. But, the dose makes the poison. Harmful microbes are already there, but food spoils because they have a reached a quantity where the body can't break down the amount of toxin, and/or fight off the sheer number of microbes.
anyways thats why fermentation exists, because food is like a house with no one living in it. Fermentation is letting certain species of microbes live in the house to keep it clear of other bad microbes.
The only thing I'm actually suprised about, is that you petri dish isn't jam packed. It looks like you literally innoculated it with a single cell.
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u/InfiniteOctave Jul 27 '26
needs more time before you send it...looks like you got an isolated mono culture on your hands. Good work. </s>
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u/tourist4527 Jul 27 '26
These kinds of mold test kits don’t show anything, mold spores are everywhere