Ten Mold Facts for
Homeowners, Landlords, Tenants, and Employers
February 28,
2005 — By Phillip Fry
Homeowners, landlords,
tenants, and employers should use these ten mold facts to cope with mold
in homes, apartments, and workplaces, advises Phillip Fry, Certified Mold
Inspector and author of the book Do-It-Best-Yourself Mold Prevention,
Inspection, Testing, and Remediation.
1. Airborne mold spores are
everywhere both indoors and outdoors. Resident and employee health is at
serious risk if there are elevated levels of mold spores indoors, as
compared to an outdoor mold control test.
2. The most dangerous
indoor molds are Alternaria, Aspergillus, Chaetomium, Cladosporium,
Fusarium, Mucor, Penicillium, and Stachybotrys. Laboratory analysis is
required to identify specific mold species.
3. Molds spores can cause
serious health problems even if the spores are dead or dormant (inactive
while waiting for more moisture to resume growth). Even the smell of dead
or dormant mold can make some mold-sensitive persons ill.
4. It is impossible to get
rid of all mold spores indoors. Some mold spores will always be found in
house dust and floating in the air.
5. The mold spores will not
grow into mold colonies if there is insufficient moisture. Indoor mold
growth can and should be prevented or controlled by controlling moisture
indoors. If organic materials are wet for more than 24 hours, mold growth
can begin.
6. Mold grows by eating and
destroying organic building materials and other cellulose-based materials
such as carpeting, upholstery, and clothing. The longer that mold grows,
the more mold damage to the building.
7. Cellulose is the main
substance in the cell walls of plants (and thus of wood), and it is used
in the manufacture of many organic building materials such as drywall,
plasterboard, plywood substitutes, and ceiling tiles.
8. Mold can grow hidden and
undetected inside wall and ceiling cavities; beneath wallpaper, paneling,
and carpeting; and inside heating and cooling equipment and ducts, attics,
crawl spaces, and basements.
9. Mold growth is often the
result of a structural or construction defect, or of maintenance neglect,
that allows moisture to enter the building.
10. The owner or employer
must first fix the water problem (roof leak, plumbing leak, high indoor
humidity) that enables the mold to grow. Effective mold remediation
requires killing the mold with an EPA-registered fungicide, removing it,
and treating the cleaned area with an EPA-registered preventive fungicidal
coating.
For more information about mold, visit---
http://www.moldinspector.com
http://www.certifiedmoldinspectors.com
http://www.mold.ph
http://www.moldmart.net
http://www.envirosurf.com
Contact: Phillip Fry, author
Phone: 11-63-921-352-1287
Email:
moldinspector@yahoo.com |
