# Mold | C-POLAR Source: https://cpolar.tech/contaminants/mold/ Explore mold and fungal spores, and the NanoFlashing™ approach to capturing and destroying them. This is the text of that page, in a form a machine can read. Nothing here is paraphrased, shortened or added to. Last reviewed: 2026-09-13 --- ## Mold survives almost anything, and it's negatively charged Mold is one of the most common indoor allergens, and one of the hardest to get rid of. Its spores shrug off heat, drying, even bleach, then grow back wherever they land. The EPA warns that breathing it can trigger allergic reactions and asthma attacks. Researchers estimate mold sets off 4.6 million asthma cases a year. It hits home value, too: mold is a defect sellers must disclose, and cleanup routinely runs into the thousands. And every spore carries a negative charge. 2 to 3 µm A Human Hair: 70 µm - Source: [EPA warns](https://www.epa.gov/mold/mold-and-health) - Source: [estimate mold sets off 4.6 million asthma cases a year](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17542835/) - Source: [cleanup routinely runs into the thousands](https://www.angi.com/articles/how-mold-can-impact-value-your-home.htm) - Source: [carries a negative charge](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092325081100146X) --- ## Mold reaches every region, and it swells with the season Outdoor mold is everywhere, and it swells through summer to a peak in late summer and fall. About half of U.S. homes already have a mold or dampness problem. Mold Level Lower Higher Source, HouseFresh via World Population Review · EPA · AAAAI August 8 / 12 Jan Apr Jul Oct - Source: [late summer and fall](https://www.epa.gov/mold/mold-and-health) - Source: [half of U.S. homes](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17542835/) - Source: [World Population Review](https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/mold-count-by-state) --- ### What mold does to you Mold spreads through the air as spores small enough to breathe deep into the lungs, and the body treats them as an invader, a reaction that reaches the nose, the lungs, the skin, and even the mind. A Lawrence Berkeley National Lab meta-analysis (Fisk) tied home dampness and mold to 21% of U.S. asthma, about 4.6 million cases a year. The World Health Organization’s review found a damp, moldy building raises asthma and breathing problems by about 30 to 50%. A 2016 analysis (Mudarri) put the U.S. asthma, bronchitis, and allergic rhinitis burden from dampness and mold at about $22 billion a year. - Source: [21% of U.S. asthma, about 4.6 million cases a year](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17542835/) - Source: [by about 30 to 50%](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK143940/) - Source: [about $22 billion a year](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27313630/) ### What mold does to your brain & mind Brain & Mind A Brown University study of nearly 6,000 adults across eight European cities found a moldy home linked to about 40% higher odds of depression. - Source: [about 40% higher odds of depression](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1994167/) ### What mold does to your nose & sinuses Nose & Sinuses The U.S. National Academies found sufficient evidence that damp, moldy air drives upper respiratory tract symptoms — nasal congestion, sneezing, and runny nose. The Mayo Clinic links mold allergy to itchy, watery, red eyes and an irritated nose and throat. The American Thoracic Society describes mold-driven chronic and allergic fungal sinusitis — long-lasting sinus disease of the nose and sinuses. - Source: [upper respiratory tract symptoms — nasal congestion, sneezing, and runny nose](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK215639/) - Source: [itchy, watery, red eyes](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mold-allergy/symptoms-causes/syc-20351519) - Source: [chronic and allergic fungal sinusitis](https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/10.1513/pats.200909-098AL) ### What mold does to your lungs Lungs The U.S. National Academies found sufficient evidence tying damp, moldy air to asthma attacks, cough, wheeze, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis — the lungs inflaming as an allergic response. A global estimate (Denning) found about 4.8 million people worldwide develop an allergic lung reaction to Aspergillus (ABPA) that scars the airways. A meta-analysis (Quansah) found mold in the home makes a child 30 to 70% more likely to develop asthma — not just worsen it, but develop it new. - Source: [hypersensitivity pneumonitis](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK215639/) - Source: [about 4.8 million people worldwide](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23210682/) - Source: [30 to 70% more likely to develop asthma](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3492391/) ### What mold does to your immune system Immune System The CDC reports that in people with weak immune systems, inhaled Aspergillus can invade the lungs and spread — more than 2 million invasive cases a year worldwide, most of them fatal. A global review (Denning) estimated chronic pulmonary aspergillosis, a fungus growing inside the lungs, kills about 340,000 people a year. A Seattle Times investigation tied mold in the air system to 14 infections and six deaths at Seattle Children’s Hospital. - Source: [Aspergillus can invade the lungs and spread](https://www.cdc.gov/aspergillosis/statistics/index.html) - Source: [chronic pulmonary aspergillosis](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38224705/) - Source: [14 infections and six deaths at Seattle Children’s Hospital](https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/times-watchdog/mold-infections-at-seattle-childrens-hospital-tied-to-14-illnesses-six-deaths-since-2001/) ### What mold does to your skin Skin A Berkeley review of the evidence (Mendell) linked mold and dampness to eczema and atopic dermatitis flaring. The Mayo Clinic lists mold allergy among triggers of dry, itchy skin. - Source: [eczema and atopic dermatitis](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3114807/) - Source: [dry, itchy skin](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mold-allergy/symptoms-causes/syc-20351519) --- ## The filter grows the mold it caught ~12% of captured mold spores shed back off a loaded filter. The media becomes the source. A conventional filter catches mold spores, but it does not kill them. In the warm, damp media, the spores stay alive, settle in, and grow. The University of Cincinnati measured a loaded filter shedding up to 12% of the mold spores it caught back into the air, about 60 times the rate of plain dust. The filter meant to remove mold becomes one of its sources. A heavier load sheds more of it back into the air. The Technical University of Denmark measured office staff about 10% slower behind a used filter than a clean one. A loaded filter also drags down the whole room it feeds. - Source: [shedding up to 12% of the mold spores it caught](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0021850200000173) - Source: [about 10% slower](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15663456/) --- ## 136 million spores per sample Airborne mold spores 40,000× the standard test dose 1.6 m/s airflow NanoFlashing™ Control NanoFlashing™ captures the mold, and destroys it. Independent testing shows NanoFlashing™ destroys up to 99.99% of a broad spectrum of fungal spores through a physical mechanism. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, in a study with funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, tested NanoFlashing™ the hard way, more than 100 million live, dry spores, driven in by fast-moving air in just three minutes, the way mold actually reaches a filter. Fungi tested Aspergillus fumigatus Aspergillus brasiliensis Aspergillus niger Candida albicans Tested by Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard Medical School Instituto Valenciano de Microbiologia