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Toxic Mold &
Household Mold Growth
Detection & Remediation
Toxic mold and household mold growth are dependent upon the presence of
mold spores, food to eat
(cellulose-based building materials or personal
items), and adequate moisture such as high humidity or water
such as from a
roof leak or plumbing leak.
Large amounts of home or building mold growth can
happen in a few days to a few weeks provided
that there
are sufficient amounts of moisture or water to drive the rampant
mold growth. See mold
growth photos.
To find toxic mold and household mold on a do it yourself basis
use do it yourself
mold test kits. To hire a
Certified
Mold Inspector,
please visit
Mold Inspection.
To get rid of toxic mold and household mold safely and fully,
please visit
Mold
Removal and
Mold Remediation.
Microscopic view of Mucor species mold growth. Mucor
causes numerous respiratory and other health problems.
Don't Make These
Top Ten Mold Growth Errors
1.
DISREGARDING LIKELY
MOLD HEALTH
SYMPTOMS EXPERIENCED BY OCCUPANTS. Worry about
the likely existence of toxic mold and household mold growth infestations if one or more
home residents or workplace co-workers
is suffering from serious health problems such as an ongoing itchy eyes,
bloody nose, sinus problems, headaches, nose congestion, runny nose, skin
rashes, skin sores, coughing, breathing difficulties, difficulty in
remembering things and in thinking clearly, feeling disconnected from the
world around you, and/or chronic fatigue. Please remember that a few
residents or employees may experience toxic and household mold health symptoms, while others may have none,
even though both the mold-affected and unaffected persons are all living or working in the same mold-infested
building. This disparity arises because people differ
significantly in their sensitivity to mold. The top one hundred toxic and
household mold health
symptoms are listed at
Mold Health
Symptoms.
2.
NOT NOTICING BUILDING MAINTENANCE PROBLEMS & MOLD SIGNS. People often
become mold victims after they don't notice and/or take care of roof leaks,
plumbing leaks, sewer line leaks, water stains on ceilings, the indoor smell
of mold, visible mold growth, high humidity [60% or more to drive mold
growth from humidity alone], a wet or damp basement, and a wet or damp crawl
space.
3.
THINKING THERE IS NO MOLD PROBLEM BECAUSE OF NO VISIBLE MOLD GROWTH. The worst
toxic mold and household mold growth problems are often the
ones that occupants or employees cannot see hidden INSIDE floors,
ceilings, walls, basement, attic, crawl space, and the heating/cooling
equipment and ducts.
4. EXPECTING THAT A
NEWLY-BUILT HOME IS MOLD SAFE. Often new homes
have built-in
mold infestation problems because:
(a) mold-infested building materials are received from the
lumberyard---today's timbers are not kiln-dried as
in earlier times, and
thus contain a high internal moisture content that makes mold growth
possible in the timbers;
(b) the home builder and its
management and workers fail to do
quality control to inspect for, and, thus,
prevent moldy building
materials from being used in the home’s construction;
(c)
the builder stores the inventory of building materials on the outside
ground with no
plastic sheeting to protect the building materials from rain [which thus
supplies the necessary water to enable mold to grow in and on the
materials];
(d)
the construction workers don't protect the house during construction
with plastic sheeting at the end of each construction day to protect the
building materials from rain [which thus supplies the necessary water to
enable mold to grow in and on the materials]. The roof and side walls need
to be protected against rain until the entire
roof,
siding, windows, and doors are totally installed to seal out rain;
(e)
the home builder fails to inspect and test the home for mold growth while it is
being constructed
and at the home’s completion; and
(f)
use of modern building materials like chip wafer boards, drywall
(plasterboard), & plywood
--- all of which molds love to eat.
(g) failure to
apply mold killers and mold prevention protectants to the building
materials.
5. DECIDING THAT
AFTER A WET AREA HAS DRIED, THAT THERE WON'T BE A MOLD PROBLEM.
Mold needs moisture to grow and to multiply as its
eats your home building materials and personal possessions. This moisture
can come from high indoor humidity [above 60% some or all of the year],
roof leaks, siding leaks, and plumbing leaks. If mold spores and mold
colony growth run out of moisture, they do NOT die. Instead, they become
dormant, and can wait millions of years for access to high humidity or a
future water intrusion. Dormant mold can make mold-sensitive persons sick.
Even the smell of dormant mold can make some people very sick. If building
materials have been wet for more than 24 hours, it is likely that mold
growth will have begun.
6. SPRAYING BLEACH TO KILL MOLD.
Do not use weak chlorine bleach in an attempt to kill mold growth and mold
spores. Bleach is not strong enough even when newly made to kill mold.
Bleach that is stored on store shelves and/or in your home for a few
months continuously gets weaker and weaker over time. In addition, examine the manufacturer’s
usage directions on the bleach container. The manufacturer does not
recommend its use
to kill mold. Bleach is NOT an EPA-registered fungicide
or effective mold home remedy. Find out much more about the
Bleach Mold Myth.
7. UTILIZING OTHER
INEFFECTIVE PRODUCTS TO KILL MOLD---such as
Kilz, regular paint, paint containing a mildicide element, any paint,
Lysol, ammonia, and other household cleaners and disinfectants. Painting
over mold growth does not get rid of the mold---it only conceals the mold
infestation for a short period of time and gives the mold more to eat---the paint
itself.
8. SPRAYING SOMETHING ON THE MOLD WILL TAKE CARE OF THE PROBLEM.
You need to spray an effective mold killer like one of the
mold home remedy recipes
or an EPA-registered fungicide.
9. EXPECTING THAT
MOLD REMEDIATION
CONTRACTORS HAVE THE SKILL, EXPERTISE, AND EXPERIENCE TO DEAL WITH MOLD
INFESTATION. Many mold remediation services
cause and leave more mold problems AFTER the alleged remediation than
before their work because of: (a) failure to find and fix all of the mold
infestation locations in a home or building due to incomplete mold
inspection and mold testing; (b) poor and inadequate training; (c) failure
to utilize proper mold containment procedures and effective mold
remediation techniques; (d) taking shortcuts that undermine the
remediation effort; and (e) sometimes fraud and dishonesty on the part of
the contractor. Insist on hiring only
Certified Mold Inspectors,
Certified
Mold Contractors, and
Certified Mold Remediators who have been trained
and
certified by the Professional Certification Institute.
10. HOPING THAT INDUSTRIAL
HYGIENISTS AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES ARE EXPERTS IN MOLD PREVENTION,
INSPECTION, TESTING, AND REMEDIATION.
The only people who truly care about your family’s health and home
investment are yourself and your family. Although there are many mold
knowledgeable and mold experienced industrial hygienists, most are not.
Hiring an industrial hygienist [trained in industrial safety and health]
to find and fix mold problems is often like hiring a dentist to treat your
heart problems. Hire a
Certified Mold Inspector if you value your family’s
health and home investment. Some government websites often promote
ineffective and outdated mold remediation ideas like using bleach to kill
mold. Government employees do not have the personal experience of having
to work in the real world to find and kill real mold that is often hidden
in home walls, ceilings, floors, heating/cooling systems, attic, basement,
and crawl space.
Mold growth on a wall.
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Do-It-Best-Yourself Mold Solutions
Phil can help you fix your own property’s mold problems at low-cost, more
safely, and better-in- results than what is done by many mold inspectors and
mold contractors. How can Phil help you?
1. Read Phil’s five plain-English,
mold advice books
to master mold inspection, testing, removal, remediation, and prevention for
your house, condo, apartment, office, or workplace.
2. Buy do-it-yourself, affordable
mold test kits,
mold lab analysis,
video inspection scope,
mold cleaner,
mold killer,
and a mold-killing
ozone generator
for the successful toxic and household
mold inspection,
mold testing,
mold species identification and quantification,
mold cleaning,
mold removal,
and
mold remediation
to
find mold,
kill mold,
clean mold,
and
remove mold
from your residence or commercial building.
3. Get FREE mold advice, mold help, and/or answers to
your mold questions, by emailing mold expert Phillip Fry at
envirodangers@yahoo.com.
You can also email pictures of your mold problems in jpeg file format as
email attachments. |