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More and more people are becoming
aware of the hazards of mold infestation. There are many who look for more information
about the health effects of
mold and how
to remove mold. Some are lucky
enough to get rid of their mold problem in time. Some are less fortunate, learning about
toxic mold only when it has affected their health, destroyed their home and interrupted
their normal way of living; not to mention give them both financial and legal problems.
When mold problems are discovered,
homeowners, landlords and property managers fall prey to inadequate,
unprofessional
mold remediation
services because
mold
contractors often untrained and inexperienced mold remediators.
Instead of making the situation
better, the so-called "mold remediators"
leave homes, buildings and real estate in worse condtion than before they began mold
remediation and removal. This leaves home owners, landlords and property managers
frustrated because their expectations and requirements are not met. They pay for expensive
mold removal
but are often left with even
bigger mold problems.
On the other hand, there are
knowledgeable, capable, and experienced
Certified Mold Inspectors
and Certified Mold
Remediators who are well trained and experts in
mold inspection and
mold
removal. Home owners, landlords and property managers can hire them to do thorough
mold testing and mold
remediation of their home, office, apartment, condo, building or real estate property. For
cost-effective mold remediation,
more homeowners and property managers are doing their own mold removal.
Do It Yourself Mold
Remediation
Learn the 25 do it yourself
mold removal steps to your own effective mold remediation at low
cost by visiting
mold removal.
Knowing the correct techniques to
remove mold also helps you to supervise
in mold remediation if you decide to hire
a professional to do
mold remediation
and mold removal for you. You can also learn how to do your own mold remediation and mold removal
from by reading the in depth ebook
Do-It-Best-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing, and Remediation.
Crawl Space Mold
Remediation.
Find a professional mold contractor and remediator in your state, city or
locality to do professional mold removal for you:
Certified Mold Inspector.
Mold
and Environmental Certification Training
Enroll and be trained and certified as
a
Certified
Mold Remediator,
Certified Mold Inspector,
and/or Certified
Environmental Hygienist with the
Professional Certification
Institute (P.C.I.).
Study mold at home with P.C.I.'s
Distance Learning
Program.
How Mold
Grows
by
William B. Rose, in his book Water In Buildings: An
Architect’s Guide to Moisture and Mold, pp. 236-237
Mold spores are the principal means of mold reproduction. Most mold
spores are transported in the air, in order to find new sites for
colonization. Spores may carry toxins capable of disposing of previous
colonizing organisms. Penicillium mold, for example, may poison
bacteria in the neighborhood with penicillin. Stachybotrys
spores may…contain toxins such as tricothecenes to wipe out the
indigenous local bacteria or simpler fungi.
All organisms digest food; mold does its digestion outside the organism
itself. It excretes enzymes capable of breaking down long-chain
hydrocarbons. Those enzymes need to travel by diffusion in a thin water
film to the food molecules, which they break down into simpler sugars
and starches. These water-soluble simpler compounds then diffuse
outward from the site where they were created, and some of them migrate
back to the hungry mold organism. Mold relies to a great extent on
having a thin film of water several molecules thick that can transport
the enzymes outward, but not too far, and transport the broken-down
compounds back to the organism. The film, of course, is nothing like a
flat membrane because the surface of materials at the microscopic level
is mountainous and cavernous. The mold organism grows hyphae, which are
thin strands the tips of which are capable of conducting the same
reactions where they touch the upholstery (or other cellulose-based
surfaces) on which the organism resides. The strands of hyphae form a
mat called a mycelium. The mycelium creates a buffer that helps
to regulate the wetness of the surface. It retards evaporation of the
surface, helping to guarantee a stable moisture film necessary for
digestion. Mold needs an edible substrate, air, and a multi-molecular
film at the surface.
The conditions for initial mold growth on a surface may be quite
different from the conditions under which growth continues,, or under
which growth recurs on affected but scrubbed surfaces. Generally,
initial growth requires higher levels of moisture than is required for
continued growth. Mold continues to grow on surfaces:
►Where the moisture content of the substrate provides a dependable
water source.
►Where the air humidity is high. This ensures that the water film is
thick enough to permit diffusion of enzymes
outward and simple hydrocarbons back to the organism.
►Where there is no water flow on the surface.
►Where sufficient food can be found.
►Where there are no significant inhibiting chemicals or treatments.
Different (mold) organisms require different thicknesses of films. The
phylloplane (leaf-inhabiting) fungi, such as Penicillium and
Cladosporium, get by with rather thin films. Thehy can thrive where
the relative humidity in the air is 80% or greater. Stachybotrys
requires more water and a thicker film; it requires a surface relative
humidity around 95% or greater.
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Dangerous Aspergillus mold growing on wood floor joists in
home crawl space. |
Mould growth inside an air conditioning duct and register in a resort
in the Caribbean. |
10
Mold Facts for Homeowners,
Landlords, Tenants, & Employers
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. Mold testing
and mold laboratory
analysis are required to identify specific mold species. See
mold pictures and detailed
information on the most
dangerous 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 present 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 a
mold home remedy, removing
it, and treating the cleaned area with an EPA-registered preventive
mold home remedy.
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