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Q.
I have an air conditioner that leaks water, which we catch in a bucket.
Today I walked by the area, which is wet from a day or so ago when we let
the bucket overflow. There was a few dots of bright yellow substance on top
of the carpet. I asked my child if he had been eating something with
mustard on it, because it looked just like mustard, but he said no, so I had
let my cats in and thought they were the ones at fault. I put them out and
in like 2 hours it was back again and also in another spot. The "bright
yellow substance" smells peculiar and it so nasty... makes me want to throw
up and I have a stomach of steel. I have been researching molds, but I have
yet to find anything on a yellow mold.
[August 6, 2003]
A.
There are
thousands of different mold
species, with
almost all colors of the rainbow being the color of some mold or
another. Yellow mold is common. To know what mold it is, you
would need to collect a sample of the mold for mold
identification by a certified mold laboratory. The most important step you can take to determine whether or not
you have a mold
problem in your home is to
mold test the air of each room, plus the attic air, basement or crawl space air, and
the air flow out of all heating/cooling duct registers for the
possible presence of elevated levels of
airborne mold spores,
which, if present, would indicate a mold problem, especially if the mold
colony counts exceed the outdoor control test you do.
To test carpeting for
mold infestation, use do it yourself
mold test kits available from a large hardware, home improvement, or safety
store.. Hire a
Certified Mold
Inspector.
To find a
Certified
Mold Inspector
or
Certified Mold Remediator
in your area,
or to be trained and certified as a
mold inspection,
mold testing,
mold remediation, and
mold prevention expert, please visit:
Mold
Professional. |
Do-it-yourself Mold Prevention Guide
The
Do-It-Best-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing &
Remediation
book by mold expert Phillip Fry [Certified
Mold Inspector, Certified Mold Contractor, Certified Environmental
Inspector, and Certified Home Inspector, and formerly with the U.S. Public
Health Service National Institutes of Health, and formerly a hospital and
medical center administrator], enables you [or
others working under your directions] to do your own mold repairs on your
home or other real estate property so that: (1) you can be assured that the
mold-related work was done both safely and effectively; (2) you protect your
family's health and the value of your home or other property; and
(3) you
get your property mold work done at a small fraction of the cost of hiring
so-called "mold professionals" to do the mold necessary mold prevention,
inspection, testing, and remediation. This book is extremely valuable and
helpful to you even if you plan to hire a
Certified Mold Inspector or
Certified Mold Remediator
to do the work because you need to know precisely what steps and
procedures are required to be done by the contractor or remediator to
achieve safe and effective mold remediation. For details, please visit:
Do-it-Best-Yourself Mold
Prevention, Inspection, Testing, and Remediation Guide. |