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12 Mold Facts for First Time Home Buyers
by Phillip Fry, Certified
Mold Inspector and Certified Mold Remediator
First time home buyers should use these
twelve mold facts to cope with mold that might exist in homes that they
consider buying, advises Phillip Fry, Certified Mold Inspector and author of
the book Do-It-Best-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing, and
Remediation.
1. Mold
is a very large group of microscopic fungi that live on plant or animal
matter. Most are filamentous organisms and produce spores that can be air-,
water-, or insect-borne.
2. 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.
3. The most dangerous indoor molds are Alternaria, Aspergillus, Chaetomium,
Cladosporium, Fusarium, Mucor, Penicillium, and Stachybotrys. Mold
inspection, mold testing, and mold laboratory analysis are required to find
and to identify specific mold species that might be infested a home under
consideration.
4. 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.
5. There no absolute levels of safe or unsafe mold infestation inside
a home or other building. Because of the huge discrepancies person to person
in mold sensitivity, what might be a harmless amount of mold exposure to one
occupant can be devastating health-wise to another person. Usually, mold
infestation is considered to be elevated if indoor mold samples show higher
mold counts and more mold species indoors than in an outdoor mold control
test. Mold infestation usually affects first and most strongly pregnant
ladies [and their unborn babies], infants, elderly, and persons with immune
system problems. But day in and day out, cumulative exposure to mold
infestation can make healthy adults quite sick. Read the ebook Mold
Health Guide to learn about available
medical mold diagnostic & treatment procedures.
6. 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.
7. The mold spores will not grow into mold colonies if there is insufficient
moisture. Indoor mold growth mold 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11.
Mold growth is often the result of a structural or construction
defect, or of maintenance neglect, that allows moisture to enter the
building.
12. 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 removal and mold remediation mold requires killing the mold
with an EPA- fungicide, removing the mold physically from the home, and
treating the cleaned area with an EPA-registered preventive fungicidal
protective coating.
For more information about mold, mold health problems, mold inspection, mold
testing, mold remediation, and mold prevention, please visit these
websites---
http://www.moldinspector.com
http://www. mold-removal-remediation.com
http://www.certifiedmoldinspectors.com
http://www.moldmart.net
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