I’m always advising my clients to avoid the use of fragrances to cover up musty odors. Instead, I recommend Air Filtration Devices like the IQ Air Health Pro Plus which does a great job of removing mold and allergens along with VOC’s.

Study Shows Living in Damp Homes Increases Risk of Illness.

A recent survey of healthy people in Sweden identified an increased risk for building related illness when dampness or mold is present in the home.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “the term “sick building syndrome” (SBS), is used to describe situations in which building occupants experience acute health and comfort effects that appear to be linked to time spent in a building, but no specific illness or cause can be identified. The complaints may be localized in a particular room or zone, or may be widespread throughout the building. In contrast, the term “building related illness” (BRI) is used when symptoms of diagnosable illness are identified and can be attributed directly to airborne building contaminants.”

Symptoms of building related illness include fatigue, mental confusion, sluggishness, sore throat, headache, and other health complaints which present shortly after entering a sick building. Because symptoms are generally alleviated when away from a sick building and sick building syndrome has been closely examined only in occupational settings, building related illness is often initially dismissed as a person wishing to avoid going to school or work.

A signal that it may be building related illness is a worsening or alleviating of symptoms in certain parts of a building, or upon taking a break outdoors.

The most likely causes of sick buildings include inadequate ventilation, chemical contaminants, from indoor sources such as adhesives, carpets, upholstery, manufactures wood products, copy machines, pesticides, and cleaning agents, chemical contaminants from outdoor sources and biological contaminants.

The easiest way to prevent a sick building is to eliminate sources of pollution, increasing ventilation, use air cleaning devices, and educate/communicate with building inhabitants. The researchers also found that people who develop sick building syndrome from an occupational building are more likely to remain ill if they also live in a damp dwelling.

Dampness leads to mold and mold may lead to illness. Sahlberg and colleagues say, “Reducing dampness in buildings is an important factor for reducing symptoms in the general population.”

References Sahlberg B, Wieslander G, Norback D. Sick building syndrome in relation to domestic exposure in Sweden-a cohort study from 1991 to 2001. Scand J Public Health. 2010 May; 38(3):232-8. Epub 2009 Oct 22.

US Environmental Protection Agency, Initials. (2010, April 26). Indoor air facts no. 4 (revised) sick building syndrome. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/iedweb00/pubs/sbs.html

It seems that we’ve been spared once again. The floods that impacted the Tennessee area weeks ago are keeping my suppliers of mold remediation projects quite busy. There’s not a week that goes by that I don’t come across an article or press release on how mold is impacting the homes & businesses in that area. Another common thread amongst these articles is that many suppliers of mold remediation products are responding to meet the needs of mold remediation contractors. It doesn’t take a torrential downpour like they experienced to have mold rear its ugly head. Just this past week I’ve been called out to 2 properties for mold inspections where they were unsure if the drying project to eliminate mold was performed correctly. Wow, is this Deja Vu or what, as I seem to have written a similar article recently. One was commercial & one residential where the property owners were concerned that they might still have a mold and indoor air quality issue. The latter was one where the contractor who remodeled the basement wired the sump pump to a light switch that got turned off and when it rained they had 2? of water in their beautiful, newly furnished basement. The contractor took responsibility and brought in one large dehumidifier. During the mold inspection process, I noted many things the contractor had done correctly such as keeping the GWB (gypsum wall board) a 1/2? off the floor and installing an interior french drain. After scouring over all the contents and building materials I found only one piece of furniture that had mold growth on it. Turns out this was an antique that had been brought in from an unconditioned warehouse. Translation, it could have come in with the mold on it. I had noted, that although the cabinets had not had the kick-plates removed, they were elevated off the concrete slab with shims. As I was completing my mold assessment by utilizing infra-red thermography of the exterior and interior partition wall and the bottom of the high end cabinets for the wet bar, I noticed some thermal anomalies. After scanning with a non-invasive moisture meter and getting elevated readings, I removed the kick-plates only to find mold growing on the back side of them. Invasive moisture meter readings confirmed what the infra-red images had shown. The base of the cabinets had elevated WME (wood moisture equivalent) readings and VMLG (visible mold-like growth) which was later confirmed with swab samples. If only the contractor had the sense to educate himself or bring in a professional schooled in structural drying within the first 48 hours, he could have prevented the mold growth. The end result now is he will end up having to rip out tiled counter top that the cabinets support along with replacing the cabinets. The commercial project was new construction that just been rented out after being vacant and unconditioned for 18 months. The tenant moved in with over 400k of office furniture and supplies. They had been noticing a musty odor every time it rained. After talking with other tenants, they were told that the drywall was installed before the building envelope was closed and some of the building materials had grown mold on them. The developer had his crews wipe it off with bleach and paint it, not the proper way to clean mold. Again, bringing in the mold remediation professionals would have prevented him from now having to pay to have all the tenants contents cleaned as well as removing and replacing most of the impacted GWB at considerable expense. In both cases our clients contracted Advanced Mold Diagnostics to do mold testing and mold inspection which proved to be the prudent thing to do in both cases.

An expensive lesson learned by the parties now responsible for footing the bill? Unfortunately, I doubt it.

Craig Camel

Advanced Mold Diagnostics

Advanced Building Strategies

Well, we didn’t get the flooding that the New England area suffered, but we got our share. Now that the groundwater has stopped trickling or pouring in its time to think about what’s next. The next is, if you didn’t get the water damage impacted areas completely dry within 48-72 hours, you’ve got mold growing. The keyword is completely dry. Many property owners have the sense to wet vac up the standing water, rip up the water soaked carpet & padding and turn the fans on. What is often overlooked in finished basements is how water may have wicked up behind the gypsum wallboard and into the insulation. These interstitial cavities can stay wet for weeks and that is just what mold needs to start growing – often unseen. Other areas that require attention are under base cabinets, enclosed steps or anywhere that the circulating air can’t get to. Of course, you should have been running dehumidifiers along with the fans. You might think that is a given but when it comes to mold remediation, there are no givens.

It’s important to remember that basements dry in, not out. High vapor pressure (moisture) is driven to lower vapor pressures. This resulting force of nature will have the moisture migrating up through the floor and through the walls all the time. There is no way a hole dug in the ground and a foundation put into place can dry to the constant 54-55 degree ground even during a drought. So, monitoring relative humidity and controlling it via dehumidification in the spring and summer is a must for almost all foundations.

You add in excessive amounts of water from unusually large snowstorms and a wet spring and you’ve got the perfect recipe for mold growth to occur.

If you didn’t comprehend these principles before, which the average layperson wouldn’t, then you’re probably noticing things like musty odors (a sure sign that mold is growing) or seeing signs of visible mold growth. You might be suffering allergic type symptoms another sign of mold growth and the need for mold testing and mold remediation.

You might be able to clean up the mold growth yourself after mold testing and evaluation by a competent environmental consultant with a background in mold remediation.

Call Advanced Mold Diagnostics for a free telephone consultation to determine what you might need.

Craig Camel

Advanced Mold Diagnostics