mold

[ecox1]

Today I found some mold like material on a few bedroom windows and walls.
Can anyone comment on this. There is no evidence of moisture.

[Russel Ray]

Mold in and of itself is evidence of moisture.

However, at the bedroom windows and walls, it could also simply be dust and other gunk that got wet and now looks nasty.

When I find black gunk like that, I put this in my report:

Black substance present in ***** could include mold. Recommend eliminating source of moisture. Recommend having ***** cleaned. Recommend regular homeowner monitoring and maintenance. Click here for helpful information concerning sink cabinets. Click here for helpful information concerning mold and mold remediation.

Here's the two referenced sections as pdf files (I was going to post them as Word files, but even though the Message Board says there is no limit on the size of Word files, there appears to be a 100KB limit:

[Steve McIntire]

Earl,
The mold around the window location could be caused by condensation. There could be several reasons for this such as, clothes dryers not venting outside, High moisture within the crawl space, no vapor barrier within the crawl space, Fish tanks, plants, pets, improperly vented gas appliances (stoves, clothes dryers, furnaces, or this could be a summer condition where the a/c unit is over sized. This can also happen to the windows if they keep the curtains closed (Closed areas tend to have more condensation. Ventilated areas have less).

I could not tell much from the picture of the wall? The mold at the wall would concern me the most and may also be the location of the moisture problem.
Did you use a good moisture meter to check these areas?

I agree with Russell, if you have mold you have a moisture problem
Somewhere.

Even If you were comfortable that you have found the cause of the problem I would still recommend evaluation and remediation for the mold growth. You could be seeing only a small amount of what is actually there.

(There is a mold like growth at _______ Recommend that an indoor air quality specialist evaluate and remediate.)

Good luck,

[Carla Horne]

that window appears to be single pane which will condense
and cause mold growth.
If all of the windows look as bad as that one I would
recommend replacement windows.
Carla

[Marcel R. Cyr]

To make a long story short, it only takes to things to have mold spores exist, and that is food and moisture.
Eliminate either one and you are half way there. Mold will not survive without moisture. Mild cases can be cleaned with 100% chlorine bleach.

Marcel

[Jay Moge]

that's a good poing Marcel (by the way, how've ya been). i think too many people get way too panicy about mold. i don't care how "clean" you keep your house, how dry, and leak free it is, there is always going to be mold of some sort. we live with it everyday. as a matter of fact some medical studies suggest that our immune system relies on small doses of mold and other spores, bacteria, and viruses to build it self stronger. case in point: and artical i read in my mothers medical jurnal monthly stated that a boys emune system is actualy stronger than a girls. why? well thats the best part. they state that in a study of 100 subjects followed form age 2 til 12 the boys has less illnesses, and less hospital stays because of several reasons.....the biggest one.....boys eat boogers......yup all the microscopic contaminates that your nose filters out and turns into those delicious little nuggets of goodness actualy help build your immune system. so next time you catch junior finger mining for nose nuggets, think about that.

[Marcel R. Cyr]

Hi. Jay;

Are you talking from first hand experience or is this factual? Sounds like you have been down that road. ha. ha.


Marcel

[Jay Moge]

well i mentioned before that i have an 8 yr old son, and well yes he's your tipical nasty, rough and tough, dirty little boy. as for me.......well......Mom has incriminating photos, but i plead the 5th.

[Russell Spriggs]

Originally Posted by mcyr

To make a long story short, it only takes to things to have mold spores exist, and that is food and moisture.
Eliminate either one and you are half way there. Mold will not survive without moisture. Mild cases can be cleaned with 100% chlorine bleach.

Marcel

As a PS to that, bleach - when effective at all - is most effective on non-porous surfaces.

I've seen it written and demonstrated that bleach will not penetrate porous items like wood.

I prefer to not suggest a solution when I see a possible organic substance. Rather, I refer it out as something that the client may choose to have environmentally tested.

$0.02

RS

[Russel Ray]

There's really no reason to have it environmentally tested.
If it looks ugly, clean it up.
If it smells nasty, clean it up.
And don't forget to determine where the moisture is coming from that allows it to grow.
It can't grow without moisture.

Spring cleaning when I was young was getting out the Clorox and the steel wool and cleaning the mold out of the bathtubs and showers. Now we sue someone because we're incapable of going to the grocery store and buying Clorox and steel wool.

[Russell Spriggs]

Agreed.
It's a whole 'nother world out there.
The "may choose..." clause is a CYA that I've been thankful for, however, Russel!

RS

[Russel Ray]

I had a tough cookie of a customer on January 1 (yes, we do inspections on all major holidays and during major sporting events, like the seventh game of the World Series with the Padres batting in the bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, two outs, and a 3-2 count--alright, alright--would you believe the Charges in the Super Bowl with one second left in the game, the Chargers on the Steelers' 1-inch line, fourth and goal, down 41-39--no? Must be the margaritas--anyway. . . .). She and her husband are moving here from Serbia and they have an asthmatic 2-year-old son. They were specifically concerned about mold. I talked her out of a mold inspection as a waste of money, but it took about a billion phone calls from her, though. Ultimately, she has called a couple of times after the inspection to thank us for our thoroughness and all the "wonderful information about mold" that we put on our CDs as part of our Interactive Report System (IRS).

[Russell Spriggs]

Agreed, we all have our different CYA techniques - I'm sure you had something in place prior to your new IRS system!

RS

[Russel Ray]

I was putting a couple of web site addresses in my report. Now, of course, the link is live. Oooooooh. A live link. Or is that a live lynx? Darn margaritas.

[Steve McIntire]

Originally Posted by rray

There's really no reason to have it environmentally tested.

Originally Posted by rray

If it looks ugly, clean it up.
If it smells nasty, clean it up.
And don't forget to determine where the moisture is coming from that allows it to grow.
It can't grow without moisture.

Spring cleaning when I was young was getting out the Clorox and the steel wool and cleaning the mold out of the bathtubs and showers. Now we sue someone because we're incapable of going to the grocery store and buying Clorox and steel wool.

I agree that a majority of the time it just requires simple steps to remove, but you are just asking to get sued when you tell your client how to perform these steps.

Are you going to tell them how and what too use to clean it up?

Are you going to ensure them that the non-viable or dormant mold spores, which are not visible, are not going to make their child sick?

How are you going to argue with the attorney, that did have the mold tested and it’s one of the known molds that emit large amounts of mycotoxins? How about the doctor that was hired by the attorney to tell the jury, how these Mycotoxins could have affected the client’s sick child?

How about the client that tells the remediation company “my inspector said there was no need test the mold just clean it up”. Now six months later they’re suing you. Because, they were told there was no need to do a clearance check, or identify it as one of the indicator molds. Now in their own little minds it’s the only possible reason why they have been so sick.

The best one yet, your insurance company tells you that your not covered for any off this ridiculous lawsuit, and that you should have never told them how to remediate the mold.

I really hope I loose this discussion. There are just too many attorneys out there willing to jump all over mold cases, and even more so called mold experts.