Bryan Johnson has a new enemy in his quest to beat aging.
The famous biohacker revealed that he discovered mold in his home gym in a viral TikTok posted to his account on Monday morning. The clip shows Johnson in a full hazmat suit looking on despairingly while the clip cuts to shots of his gym being gutted.
Unfortunately, Johnson’s mold situation isn’t rare. Mold lurks in almost half of American homes, but the right test can expose it in hours.
It didn’t take long for his followers to weigh in, sharing their own mold horror stories, with some saying they’ve experienced the exact same issues in their homes and others claiming mold has “wrecked their lives.” Other people took the scenario a bit lighter.
“Deep breaths, the stress will spike your cortisol,” one person joked.
The comments confirmed the unfortunate reality: mold is a common household issue, and leaving it untreated is a recipe for disaster. According to a report by U.S. News, around 47% of all homes in the U.S. have some level of mold or dampness, and exposure can cause a range of serious health effects.
The CDC cites that mold exposure symptoms can range from mild irritation to severe respiratory issues — including wheezing, a stuffy nose, itchiness and even difficulty breathing.
Luckily, there is an easy way to test your air for mold. At-home mold testing kits, such as this popular $29 version sold on Amazon, allow people to detect mold growth in as little as 24 hours.
Users say the testing kit is remarkably easy to use.
Simply open the petri dish, expose it to the air or swab a suspected surface, seal it and let it sit. After that, you check back in 24 to 48 hours to see if any mold growth appears. The test comes with 12 separate plates so you can test multiple rooms and compare results across your home.
“The instructions are very clear, and also the test results were not only accurate, but I received them within a day or two,” one reviewer noted. “The details of each test and the type of mold were thorough and well explained. The results were both scary and reassuring, but now I can fix the problem.”
The test also comes with an identification guide to help you figure out the type and severity of the situation. And if you can’t identify it yourself, you can take a picture and send it to the company, and their lab staff will help you understand what type of mold you’re dealing with.
To top it off, the guide includes a detailed removal manual so you can take action right away — though the CDC always recommends confirming your findings with a professional mold remediation service.
And as Bryan Johnson’s viral video clearly suggests, sometimes you might actually need to gut the place to get to the bottom of it. It certainly isn’t pretty, but it’s important to consider the impact it might have on your health.
This article was written by Miska Salemann, New York Post Commerce Writer/Reporter. As a health-forward member of Gen Z, Miska seeks out experts to weigh in on the benefits, safety and designs of both trending and tried-and-true fitness equipment, workout clothing, dietary supplements and more. Taking matters into her own hands, Miska intrepidly tests wellness products, ranging from Bryan Johnson’s Blueprint Longevity Mix to the viral Oura Ring to Jennifer Aniston’s favorite workout platform – often with her adorable toddler by her side. Before joining The Post, Miska covered lifestyle and consumer topics for the U.S. Sun and The Cannon Beach Gazette.
