Mould on Products

Shop Talk
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Has anyone found mould / black mould spores on products or fabrics they ordered for craft-making or use ? If so, what action did you take ?
Where do you store your opened products, if they are paper-based or fabric based ?
Does anyone measure humidity levels near moisture-sensitive items ?

I recently found a batch of cards I ordered with mould spores at the end of the packet.
Fortunately, the supplier was very good about it, and is sending another new batch to me. It was in in a cellophane -sealed packet.

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It was not easily visible through the packet, so the mould was only noticed when the pack was opened. It was a major, well-known manufacturer of cards and envelopes.

It should be said that mould spores are probably drifting past you at this very minute, - there are trillions of them out there !

It just needs a bit of moisture in the air or damp, and the paper or textile is flourishes on becomes the nutrient.

So not surprising that some gets onto the products we buy and use. Storage, and the process of manufacturing /packaging all play their part in reducing the chances of seeing it when goods are delivered, but nothing is perfect or foolproof.

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Clearly the item was in a damp environment before it went into the bag.

Plastic bags are never a great way to store fabric and paper because when they get hot they sweat. Same reason you shouldn’t leave fruit and veg in plastic bags either.

Items need to be stored in a well ventilated situation away for moisture and excessive heat.

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I expect they were just covering for themselves. Paper companies know very well how their products should be stored to avoid mould growing on them-the spores are all around but they need moisture to germinate and this is what has happened. Anything that has contact with the germinated fungus will also become contaminated with it, so yes they absolutely should take their product back. They have probably had some kind of incident with a leak in their store room and want to make sure they don’t lose too much of their stock. Maybe some people would not notice or not even realize that is mould and that it could affect the contents of the envelope when they post it. The mould organism itself is composed of a microscopic network of colourless “roots” called hyphae that after a period of time “fruit” and it is the fruiting bodies that appear as dark specks. The network of hyphae will be much more extensive that it appears from the black specks.

Love Sam x

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The retailer has just sent through the replacement which is fine. They told me that all their goods and paper goods are stored in watertight plastic boxes, so they are protected from damage.

It looks like in this case, this is a manufacturing issue, and a series of photos I took have been sent by the retailer to the manufacturers. Moisture got in the packaging at some stage.
I did suspect the retailer at first, but I think they were not the problem.

I did have some books ordered for my partner through Amazon earlier in the year and one described as perfect was brown stained. When I complained to the retailer, he did make up a story blaming his staff, and said they had a flood in his basement store some time ago. He was clearly not being totally honest, and I gave them bad feedback even though he gave a refund.

I have some pictures somewhere of hyphae, merulius lacrymans, and other funghi, from previous client’s properties. One lady in a tower block I worked on, had the most severe black mould I ever saw on her walls and ceilings. Didn’t do her kiddies lungs much good, either.

Manufacturers do get it wrong sometimes.

I once did a job for Royal Mail and upgraded a very large plant room. The flooring coating I specified, from a major supplier, didn’t cure at all. That meant the floor was still like treacle, (almost literally ), two days later, and no one could get in to check or set the boilers ! Tests proved the entire batch of floor coating was faulty, and all the product had to be recalled and the floor gunge removed, and relaid, at the manufacturer’s cost, which then cured within 24 hours.

Nearly lost the client with that job, so a few sleepless nights. Imagine the equivalent happening on one of your jobs, and the stress it would cause due to no fault of your own ?

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