As you may have noticed, I'm trying to temper it myself.
Except that I think the mold problems, present or future, are more widespread than the media has cottoned onto. A recent study I read showed that about 20% of brand-new structures have significant mold problems before being occupied. Another claims that 50-80% of recently-built structures will eventually develop serious mold problems unless major modifications are done.
My "tempering" is aimed at keeping the medical effects in perspective and realizing that almost all structures can be remediated, even if at a significant cost.
BTW, I appreciate your attempts to be even-handed, rather than shouting that it's all a plot of the evil lawyers.
Not that some of the hype isn't exactly that!
Except that I think the mold problems, present or future, are more widespread than the media has cottoned onto. A recent study I read showed that about 20% of brand-new structures have significant mold problems before being occupied. Another claims that 50-80% of recently-built structures will eventually develop serious mold problems unless major modifications are done.
That's probably our only point of contention - the degree to which mold really is a problem. This isn't really something that just happened in the last few years - there's been mold for as long as there's been life on this planet. Lysol, 20 years ago, used to advertise how their product removed "mold and mildew" from the bathroom. But it seems that now, its all 'deadly' mold and absolutely must be removed. That's the part I'm having trouble with.
So my question would be, "is it really worth worrying over in most cases?" My instincts say no, in most cases. But, they also say yes in some, rare cases. I suspect that you lean more towards taking no risks while I lean towards not overdoing it. Different points on the continuum.