How to Find Indoor Mold

Jun 18, 2018 by

How to Find Indoor Mold

Indoor Molds can be found just about anywhere, but most often they are found indoors on or around plumbing fixtures like sinks, tubs, toilets, showers, air-conditioning systems and water-heaters. It is also quite commonly found near points such as roof leaks, improperly sealed windows, foundation slab cracks, unsealed concrete foundations, cracks in siding and plumbing leaks. It can also be found, as in the picture at the left, behind wallboard or flooring, especially in humid climates or when insulation is lacking.

Image: A lot of mold was hidden behind these sheetrock panels, invisibly but negatively affecting the health of everyone living there.

Checking for Hidden Mold

Carpeting that has been water damage or is exposed to high levels of humidity is prone to mold growth. You can detect mold by lifting a small section of the carpeting away from the floor and looking for.

Get down to floor level – look under bathroom and kitchen cabinets in spaces that are not easily seen.

Open up wall cavities in the kitchen and bathroom to check for mold growth.

Air conditioners and furnaces need to be thoroughly inspected for stagnant water and serviced regularly. Furnace duct systems should also be thoroughly cleaned regularly.

Mold colors may be white, gray, black, brown, yellow or greenish, or a combination of these. Colonies of mold may appear cottony, velvety, granular, leathery and glassy.

WHERE TO LOOK FOR MOLD

Around and under plumbing fixtures:
sinks
tubs
toilets
showers
air-conditioners
heating systems
water-heaters

Places leaks from outside are likely:
uninsulated outside walls
improperly sealed windows
cracks in siding
roof eaves
concrete slab cracks
unsealed building foundations

Q. If you do have mold, do you need to call a professional?

A. Not necessarily, it depends on the type(s) of mold and how much has grown. If you have less than 10 square feet of molds that are strictly a Type I Allergen these may be usually be cleaned up and kept at bay using a soapy or 25% bleach and water solution. If, however, the mold is Toxic, the services of a professional remediation company should be acquired.

Next : How Mold Gets There

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History of Mold and Man

Jun 7, 2018 by

History of Mold and Man

Since Biblical times it has been known that indoor mold growth can be a health hazard:
Leviticus 14:39-47. “On the seventh day the priest shall return to inspect the house. If the mildew has spread on the walls, he is to order that the contaminated stones be torn out and thrown into an unclean place outside the town. If the mildew reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house is scraped and plastered, it is a destructive mildew and the house is unclean. It must be torn down – its stones, timbers and all the plaster – and taken out of town.”

Image: Rooms that are not well ventilated, or rooms exposed to the weather in humid climates, can be overrun by mold in a short time.

Several times throughout history mold has been identified as the cause behind the mysterious deaths of farm animals.

Stachybotrys chartarum was found growing on wet grain used for animal feed, and the resulting toxins poisoned the animals. Today, the agriculture industry keeps a close eye on mold and mycotoxin levels in grains to prevent the contamination of animal feed and human food supplies.

Stachybotrys chartarum is a fungus that has become notorious as a mycotoxin producer that can cause animal and human mycotoxicosis. Over the past 15 years in North America, evidence has accumulated implicating this fungus as a serious problem in homes and buildings and one of the causes of the “sick building syndrome.” In 1993-1994, there was an unusual outbreak of pulmonary hemorrhage in infants in Cleveland, Ohio, where researchers found S. chartarum growing in the homes of the sick infants. This incident increased the awareness of home/building molds and brought this fungus to the immediate attention of the medical community. In recent years there has been a cascade of reports about toxic molds in the national media.

The New York Times Magazine, August 12, 2001, ran a front page story on toxic mold. Newspaper articles (Fig. 1) such as “Fungus in ‘Sick’ Building” (New York Times, May 5, 1996) or “Mold in schools forces removal of Forks kids” (Fargo Forum, June 1997) are eye-catching news items. The nationally syndicated comic strip Rex Morgan ran a series on Stachybotrys, and television news shows have run entire programs on Stachybotrys contamination of homes. The fungus has resulted in multimillion dollar litigations and caused serious problems for homeowners and building managers who must deal with the human issues and remediation.

In the 1970s, building construction techniques changed in response energy crises, and homes and commercial buildings became more air-tight. At the same time, cheaper materials such as drywall moved into common use. This combination of increased moisture because of higher humidity and suitable surfaces for mold growth led to an increase in mold indoors.

The recent increase in serious storms and flooding has increased the danger greatly, and some health experts have even predicted a large number of deaths among those of the threatened population with suppressed immune systems.

Molds and fungi growing inside buildings may be the source of indoor air-quality problems known as the “sick building syndrome.” While the syndrome has been blamed on a variety of causes, from the emissions of particleboard partitions and paints to carpets and cleaning supplies, Georgia Tech research has found that metabolic gases emitted from molds and fungi may be a significant source of airborne volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can cause indoor air-quality problems. The new research suggests that control measures prescribed for sick buildings may need to be altered to address microbial problems as well as building materials.

Next : Types of Mold and the Harm They Cause

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