As an ANSI-accredited standard-development organization, the IICRC has led the way in establishing the main industry standards and reference guides for water damage restoration and mold remediation.

Each IICRC standard takes years to develop and the coordination of several experts in the field, including allied trades persons; manufacturers; international, national and regional trade associations; individual or franchise professionals; cleaning, inspection and restoration industry organizations; insurance industry; training schools; contractors; and public health professionals.

If indoor humidity exceeds 60% to 70% for prolonged periods (several days) and you have pre-existing mold conditions with already established mold growth that may be in suspended animation, the materials that the mold are growing on can become damp enough to allow for mold growth to re-activate. Hope this helps.

Mold like pollen is everywhere.  Mold needs 3 things to grow:

•    Warmth
•    Food source
•    Water or moisture

2. Bleach is the answer

Chlorine beach may work on nonporous surfaces, but has corrosive effects to people and many materials. The chlorine bleach cannot penetrate porous surfaces but the water can. This can make the mold worse. It has been said that Chlorine bleach on a porous surface just makes mold mad. Spraying chlorine bleach on drywall, wood or metal is NOT a recommended answer.

3. New houses have less risk of mold

Older houses have less risk, new houses are more airtight allowing wet components to remain wet. Tighter houses can also concentrate the toxins.

4. If you can’t see or smell mold then you do not have a mold problem

Incorrect. Many times mold is hidden behind walls, ceilings and floors. That is when air samples are used to determine if a structure has mold growth.

5. Mold grows only on organic material

Mold can feed on dust and oils on any surface, many metal air conditions are covered in mold.

6. You can tell if it is toxic mold by its appearance

Testing is the only way to be sure. However, black or slimy mold indicates it may be toxic.

7. Only toxic mold is hazardous to your health

Nontoxic mold is also affects you and your house. Everyone reacts differently.

8. The problem is solved once mold is removed

False. Until the moisture problem is taken care of the mold will continue to appear.

DOOR GASKET ISSUES

Michael Schanne bought a front loading washer to save on his energy use in his Butler County, Ohio home. But he says he’s burning up a lot of personal energy trying to rid it of what appears to be mold in the door gasket.

“We started to notice a really heavy concentration of what we thought was staining, but when we tried to clean it, it appeared to be a black mold type thing that wouldn’t come off or be able to remove it,” Schanne said. The mold won’t go away, despite running loads with bleach, and leaving the door open to dry it out. “You can take a nail, a fingernail and rub it on the rubber, and it won’t come off,” he said. “It’s gotten progressively worse.”

Schanne ‘s washer is a GE model. GE is now the subject of a lawsuit in federal court in New Jersey just filed in the past few weeks that may expand to a class action. The suit contends GE did not warn customers enough that extra maintenance was required.

But GE is not alone. Several washer manufacturers have faced similar suits over mold in recent years, including Maytag, Kenmore, Electrolux, LG, and Bosch.

NEW MACHINES NOT AS PRONE

Roma Mount is sales director of Cincinnati appliance retailer Recker and Boerger.

She says new machines have virtually eliminated mold with special vents in the back, hold open doors to get air inside and even self cleaning cycles. “The newer washing machines have put an actual cycle in, rather than a regular cycle, with a ‘basket clean’ or washer clean cycle physically into your options,” she explained.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

But what if your machine is not a brand new model?

At Day’s Appliance Repair in Anderson Township, Ohio, repair technician Pat Joseph replaces lots of moldy door gaskets.

He says many homeowners shut the door with the gasket still damp, a recipe for mold growth.

“That is a big problem because the door seals so tight that it cannot dry itself out,” he said. “At the end of every cycle, open the door, wipe this off, which takes about a minute, and leave your door open.”

GE won’t comment on the pending lawsuit. But a spokeswoman told us they “stand by their product,” and will work to remedy any issues. To avoid mold in any washer, GE says owners should:

-Use only H.E. detergent.
-Run a cleaning cycle once a month.
-Never leave damp items in the dryer.
-And leave the door open when not in use.

Bottom line: If you follow all the suggestions, most appliance repair experts say you should be able to avoid a mold problem. But if you feel that’s too much to worry about, consider a top loader for your next machine.

Mold only grows in warm, wet conditions and may have been inactive and unnoticed during the winter months. It can lurk throughout a home, from the attic to the basement and crawl spaces.

State and federal disaster recovery officials warn that mold can cause serious, long-term health problems. The best defense is to thoroughly clean, disinfect, and dry areas where mold is found. Porous materials-things that absorb water-can trap mold forever and should be discarded.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone avoid unnecessary exposure to mold, especially anyone at high risk for infection. For more information on mold or mold cleanup visit their website at www.cdc.gov/mold/cleanup.htm

The Environmental Protection Agency offers a comprehensive, 20-page guide, “Mold, Moisture and Your Home” at www.epa.gov/mold/moldguide.html.

I hope this information is useful.

Bob

If mold is a problem in your home, you must clean up the mold and eliminate sources of moisture. Fix the source of the water problem or leak to prevent mold growth. Reduce indoor humidity (to 40-60%) to decrease mold growth by: venting bathrooms, dryers, and other moisture-generating sources to the outside; using air conditioners and dehumidifiers; increasing ventilation; and using exhaust fans whenever cooking  and cleaning. Clean and dry any damp or wet building materials and furnishings within 24-48 hours to prevent mold growth.

Clean mold off hard surfaces with water and detergent, and dry completely. Absorbent materials such as ceiling tiles, that are moldy,  need to be replaced.

Bob

AHEPA Apartments 242 is located on Woods Lake Drive. AHEPA is a non-profit organization that provides affordable housing for low-income and disabled seniors in 21 states, receiving funding from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

25 of the 48 units in Greenville were evacuated Thursday after an environmental testing firm detected “elevated levels of mold” in the 25 units, according to John Hayes, an attorney representing AHEPA. Hayes says some residents complained of allergies and asthma-like symptoms that could be caused by the mold. AHEPA has also partially evacuated two of its apartment buildings in Columbia because of mold.

“We believe it has to do with the way these buildings were built,” says Hayes, who specializes in construction law. “But we have to not only figure out what’s going on; we have to come up with a plan to fix it.”

He says the same general contractor and architect designed and constructed all three buildings. He says AHEPA has filed a lawsuit against the firms, declining to name them because of the pending litigation.

Hayes says the respiratory issues caused by the mold have not created any more serious health problems for the residents.

“I’ve had bad allergies and headaches,” says Caroline Yokim, one of the seniors who was evacuated. “But I’ve had allergies for a long time, so I can’t say for sure that it was caused by anything environmental here.”

The residents are now being housed at local hotels. Hayes says there is no timeframe on how long it might take to get the seniors back into their apartments.

“We still have to find the exact cause of the mold and fix it because if we don’t fix it, the mold will come back,” says Hayes.

He says an investigation of the two buildings in Columbia showed the structures were built without critical moisture-diversion material that is supposed to be placed between the exterior walls and the facade. The Greenville building will be investigated soon.

Environmental crews were busy Thursday de-contaminating the affected apartments and cleaning residents’ belongings.

Because they lack chlorophyll, fungi are incapable of manufacturing their own food; thus, they are parasitic. They survive by feeding on and digesting the nutrient value from other living and non-living organisms.

Surely, such a description hints that fungi are dangerous, but not all are. While some fungi can and do pose a serious threat to humans and other living organisms, many have beneficial value. For example, a number of mushrooms are highly sought after as delectable delights; yet others are extremely poisonous if eaten.

Furthermore, most gardeners realize that mushrooms, mold and mildew play an important role in the decomposition process. They are the major contributors to rotting. If it were not for these fungi, organic matter would not decay, certainly a necessary process to rid the landscape of dead organisms. Decomposition breaks down dead organic matter into its basic elements, recycling valued nutrients back to the soil.

Other beneficial forms of fungi involve certain molds. Every schoolchild eventually learns that in 1928 a research scientist by the name of Sir Alexander Fleming discovered the antibacterial action of Penicillium notatum mold. His discovery later led to the development of medicines such as penicillin and other wonder drugs used to treat diseases inside the human body.

Did you know a bluish-colored mold called Penicillium roqueforti is what makes blue cheese blue and provides that distinctive flavor in blue cheese and Roquefort dressing? There is also a species of white mold called Penicillium candidum. This mold colors, ripens and favors Brie and a variety of other white cheeses.

Yeast, another fungus, makes it possible for the rising of bread and assists in the fermentation process that gives us beer and wine.

In spite of all the beneficial values, many fungi still pose serious dangers to plants as well as humans and animals. Those who have gardened for any length of time are acutely aware of the many maladies caused by fungi. Whether we refer to these fungal problems as molds, mildews, or blights, they are diseases. Such deadly fungi attack and destroy many of the valued plants we attempt to grow in our landscape. Turfgrass, trees, flowers and vegetables are all at risk.

An estimated 37 million people in the United States suffer from chronic sinusitis, an inflammation of the membranes of the nose and sinus cavity. Its incidence has been increasing steadily over the last decade. Common symptoms are runny nose, nasal congestion, loss of smell and headaches. Frequently the chronic inflammation leads to polyps, small growths in the nasal passages which hinder breathing.

“Up to now, the cause of chronic sinusitis has not been known,” say the Mayo researchers: Drs. David Sherris, Eugene Kern and Jens Ponikau , Mayo Clinic ear, nose and throat specialists. Their report appears in the September issue of the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

“Fungus allergy was thought to be involved in less than ten percent of cases,” says Dr. Sherris. “Our studies indicate that, in fact, fungus is likely the cause of nearly all of these problems. And it is not an allergic reaction, but an immune reaction.”

The researchers studied 210 patients with chronic sinusitis. Using new methods of collecting and testing mucus from the nose, they discovered fungus in 96 percent of the patients’ mucus. They identified a total of 40 different kinds of fungi in these patients, with an average of 2.7 kinds per patient.

In a subset of 101 patients who had surgery to remove nasal polyps, the researchers found eosinophils (a type of white blood cell activated by the body’s immune system) in the nasal tissue and mucus of 96 percent of the patients.

The results, the researchers say, clearly portray a disease process in which, in sensitive individuals, the body’s immune system sends eosinophils to attack fungi and the eosinophils irritate the membranes in the nose. As long as fungi remain, so will the irritation.

“This a potential breakthrough that offers great hope for the millions of people who suffer from this problem,” says Dr. Kern. “We can now begin to treat the cause of the problem instead of the symptoms.”

More research is underway at Mayo Clinic to confirm that the immune response to the fungus is the cause of the sinus inflammation. The researchers are also working with pharmaceutical companies to set up trials to test medications to control the fungus. They estimate that it will be at least two years before a treatment will be widely available.

The researchers distinguish chronic sinusitis — sinusitis that lasts three months or longer — from acute sinusitis, which lasts a month or less. They say that the cause of the acute condition is usually a bacterial infection.

Antibiotics and over-the-counter decongestants are widely used to treat chronic sinusitis. In most cases, antibiotics are not effective for chronic sinusitis because they target bacteria, not fungi. The over-the-counter drugs may offer some relief of symptoms, but they have no effect on the inflammation.

“Medications haven’t worked for chronic sinusitis because we didn’t know what the cause of the problem was,” says Dr. Ponikau. “Finally we are on the trail of a treatment that may actually work.”

Thousands of kinds of single-cell fungi (molds and yeasts) are found everywhere in the world. Fungal spores (the reproductive part of the organism) become airborne like pollen. Some people develop allergies to fungi. The new evidence from the Mayo study suggests that many people also develop a different kind of immune system response.