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Some say mold fear is being whipped up by lawyers and mold cleanup companies eager to turn mold into gold.

BINGO! Like lead paint in the seventies and asbestos in the eighties, mold is the cash crop of this decade. Government and industries are whipping this up into the "Mold Rush".

On the large scale, they will condemn buildings rendering them worthless thus lowering property values and then the high rollers will scoop up the lots for pennies on a dollar. Shark investors are on the prowl for properties and they will steal it by selling the idea of "THE KILLER MOLD".

On the smaller scale, mold that can easily and relatively inexpensively removed, will require "LICENSED PROFESSIONALS" to meet strict building and health codes. In other words, home owners and especially rental property owners, will not be permitted to "do it themselves". They will have to hire "THE PROFESSIONALS" and THEY ARE EXPENSIVE!

If you want in on the action, shell out some cash, sign up for the classes and get that certificate. It's a happening thing! - AND A TOTAL CROCK OF $#!+.

Hey, I forgot to mention the lawyers but that's a whole nother story.

Like lead paint in the seventies and asbestos in the eighties, mold is the cash crop of this decade.

Curious to know if homeowner's premiums around the country have gone significantly up w/in the last year. Talking to my Mom in California, hers nearly tripled, and she's been claimfree. She was told that her company has been getting a lot of claims for mold damage.

Or, like you said slimer, could all be just a racket.

That sleazeball attorneys and contractors have a financial incentive to blow this out of proportion is not surprising.

It should not be overlooked, however, that insurance companies, property owners, realtors, builders, and lots of other groups have an exactly equal and opposite financial incentive to downplay the problem and/or to denigrate those who advocate further research.

As others have pointed out, the big problems have arisen because buildings in the last 25 years, for a host of reasons, have created an indoor ecology that has never existed before. It would not be beyond the realm of reason to expect previously rare organisms to thrive in such environments and create previously rare health effects as a result.