You are right – everyone has an opinion. Being informed and educated on the causes and effects of mold is a good thing. Unfortunately some people exaggerate and embellish on what they know and preach to others that all mold is deadly. This is simply not true.
While I am not an alarmist I do believe if you have mold present in your home it needs to be addressed. Evidence of mold means there are other problems with your home that need to be identified and corrected. Mold just does not happen – it requires water, or even elevated humidity levels, in order for mold or fungi to grow and flourish.
Fact: First off, only your physician can tell you if your health is at risk. Every one of us has a different threshold limit value (TLV) and can tolerate different levels of toxins, bacteria or other airborne materials. Simply put, if mold is present young children (under the age of 18), the elderly, chronically ill, pregnant and immune compromised individuals are at greater risk.
A good factor in determining if you need your home tested is if you can visibly see mold, have a strong musty odor or if you have been experiencing health related issues that you cannot determine or identify the reason for your symptoms. A home should be inspected and tested by either a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) or a Certified Indoor Environmentalist (CIE). To locate an Indoor Air Quality professional in your area you can use your favorite search engine to help or visit www.iaqa.org.
It is a good concept for convenience, but it is not recommended. You need to have a system of checks and balances to insure the work is done properly. Most contractors would recommend that an Indoor Environmental Professional (IEP) be hired to test for mold and a separate remediation contractor be hired to perform the required work. Neither party should have any type of financial or business interest in the other company. This provides you, the homeowner, a system of checks and balances to insure the project was handled properly and you home was returned to a healthy state.
A typical project should be handled in the following manner:
- A CIH or a CIE performs a visual inspection and testing of your home. The samples are sent to a certified laboratory for analysis.
- The CIH or CIE writes a protocol on the required work and any special requirements.
- A Certified Mold Remediator (CMR) performs the work in strict compliance with the protocol. Typically a protocol will require compliance with the IICRC S520 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Mold Remediation. Please visit the IICRC website at www.iicrc.org for more information.
- Upon completion of the required work the CIH or CIE will inspect the project and perform post-clearance testing. Samples will be sent to an independent laboratory for testing.
- The CMR will be notified of either passing the post-clearance testing or additional work will be required to return the structure to a healthy state.
This scenario documents the recommended procedures to follow to protect you, the homeowner. There are no safe-guard systems in place to verify the work has been done properly with contractors that perform both testing and the remediation work.
First off, there are certain conditions that must be present for mold to grow. Think of this as trying to grow a garden; you will need the seeds, soil and water to make you garden grow. Mold spores are everywhere – these are the seeds for your garden. The spores remain dormant until the conditions are just right for them to grow. Next we have the soil. Mold grows well on things that contain cellulose – items like paper, wood, drywall and textiles that have natural fibers (does your home have any of these materials?). The missing ingredient is water – if you have had water damage, or even if you relative humidity that is too high – this excessive moisture can allow molds and fungi to grow. The source of the water intrusion must first be eliminated and then the structure dried to its equilibrium moisture content (EMC) level. If either of these conditions are not corrected the mold may reappear or continue to grow.
There are some topical sprays that will kill mold, but these are far too dangerous for the average, untrained person to use without the proper training and personal protection equipment (PPE). Some contractors claim they have a spray that will kill the mold on contact or within two (2) hours of application. Some sprays can accomplish this, such as a spray containing a minimum of 30% Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). A disadvantage of a topical spray is if the mold is killed the staining will still be visible to the naked eye. In the event you ever sell your home and there is a home inspection performed, this staining has the potential to be noticed by the inspector and possibly become an issue. The staining would indicate that there is, or has been, a problem with mold or fungi growth.
