Need another reason to buy a live Christmas tree? What about mold? There’s nothing like the piney smell of a live or freshly cut Christmas tree. But is that festive holiday decoration causing the allergy-prone health issues too? Most sufferers think that they are in the clear after the autumn leaves have fallen, but they could be mistaken, a new study shows.

Researcher in Connecticut studied the mold on live Christmas trees and found that the levels of the allergens rose up to 5 times the typical level after the tree has been in the home for about 2 weeks. This elevated level of mold could spell trouble for allergy prone individuals.
“Christmas trees are another possible source of mold exposure during the holiday season,” said co-author of the study Philip Hemmers, an allergist and immunologist with St Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport, Ct. “Mold allergies peak in the fall, and we see a second peak with a lot of our mold-sensitive patients during the holiday season. Our finding correlates with the second peak of mold sensitivity.”

Don’t despair, you can still enjoy your live tree this holiday season and avoid allergy problems by simply running an air cleaner in the room where the Christmas tree is for a few hours. This may remove enough of the spores in the air that you can still live harmonious with your live or fresh cut tree without resorting to an artificial tree. Also limit how long the Christmas tree is in the home. Experts suggest 4 to 7 days. This is perfect, especially if you are opting for the more eco-friendly live tree that you can replant because they shouldn’t be inside for much longer than a week!

And if you think that your artificial tree will make the problem go away, you might be wrong on that account because those trees are usually stored in basements and attics, places in the home that are usually higher in mold spores and dust.