What do you know about mold?

[laurenmk]

I'll try to make this as brief as possible. Last night I was staying in a hotel room with one of those window air conditioning/heating units. About 10 minutes after I got into the room, I noticed a foul smell that I couldn't quite put my finger on. I turned the air-conditioning off, but didn't notice a difference in the smell, so I turned it back on. After about an hour, my concern started getting the better of me, and I ended up switching rooms. I'm really scared that there was mold in that unit which was causing the smell. I know that's something that can happen with those types of units. So now I feel like all of the clothes, my suitcase, etc., that I had with me are "contaminated". I'm panicking because I can't figure out how to get back to my apartment without contaminating my apartment. Even if I throw away everything but the clothes on my back, the clothes on my back are contaminated. I did some research on Google today, hoping to us lessen my fears, but instead I came across a lot of information about the dangers of mold and how the spores can embed themselves in clothing and then spread throughout an entire home. Does anyone have any information that might help me approach this factually and rationally? Thank you!

[Fishmanpa]

Does anyone have any information that might help me approach this factually and rationally? Thank you!

The fact that this is just an assumption is fact enough. Unless you can prove that there was some kind of sinister mold in the AC unit, there is no grounds for this fear. You can "What if" all you want but there's nothing to back it up. So unless you want to go back to that room, take samples from the AC and have it scientifically analyzed, you're wasting your time.

Positive thoughts

[hanshan]

Factually and rationally, there are millions (maybe billions) of mould spores floating around everywhere, including inside the cleanest house. They are all harmless just floating around, and virtually all are harmless even if they get a chance to grow (eg on bread or in the bathroom). Don't forget that penicillin was discovered from a chance mould spore.

[laurenmk]

@fishmanpa - you're totally right. I tell myself that. There are very few things that I worry or spin about that can be refuted with 100% certainty, but of course that is what my OCD demands of me to stop its grip on my mind.


@hanshan - While I know that to be true (and have tried to reassure myself by reminding myself), my concern is that the spores in that room were from mold that was growing in the unit. I'm "over" or at peace with the potential acute exposure (i.e., I didn't have any allergic reaction and am not worried about long-term effects), but it's the idea of potentially toxic spores being brought back to my place, never leaving, and heaven forbid growing.

[Shazamataz]

Surely you can just put everything in the wash?

[laurenmk]

If only it were that easy. I just don't feel like that would be enough. Plus I'd feel like the washer was them contaminated. It's a really intense fear I'm feeling right now.

[Darwin73]

Put them in the washer with some of this stuff http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=278374966&gclid=CIDHnInh3s4CFcMp0wodi1sLJw&gclsrc=aw.ds then, if you are still worried, run the machine empty on a hot wash. No chance of the washer getting contaminated.