Roof Leaks &
Mold Problems
Q.
Feb. 3, 2012. OK, I will buy all of your
mold advice ebooks.
We own our home, an old schoolhouse in Vermont, one big room with loft space
above and additions on both sides. The dirt floor (covered with plastic,
big mistake) under the living room is just 1 1/2 feet down. The kitchen
addition is over a crawl space, also with plastic and mold under the
plastic. the bedroom addition to the other side is only on piers, plastic
over the dirt and pulled up with a surround of foam and flashing material on
the outside so it sort of looks like it has a foundation. The bedrooms
smell much like a porch over dirt does, ugh. There have been roof leaks
over the years so there are places that the sheetrock is clearly carrying
mold. Mold grows behind the shower space--- a nightmare. I've been
chronically ill and homebound for about 13 year now, lyme disease but even
with treatment just got worse so I'm sure this mold has something to do with
it. I am leaving next week to stay for 3 weeks in a clean apt, don't want to
bring anything that has spores on it.
I thought i should mention we had an ERMI test done, results were level 7
(I've been told that someone with chronic illness should get out if it is
above 2).
These are the molds found in sample of 5 mg dust
from various places in the house:
apsergillus penicillioides: spores E./mg dust: 23;
aspergillus restrictus: 9;
eurtium (a) amstelodami: 19;
cladosporium sphaerospermum: 20;
paecilomyces variotii: 1; wallemia sebi: 426;
alternaria alternata: 2;
cladosporium cladosporioides 1: 59;
epicoccum nigrum: 31.---Vermont home
owner.
A.
You were very wise to move out of your home in view of your serious mold
health problems and the severity of the mold infestations therein. I
would recommend that you and family members not move back until you have
done proper mold remediation to get rid of the mold health threat.You
were also wise to sample the carpeting for mold infestation using the
ERMI test procedure. Your house’s ERMI score and report is certainly
very high, indicating a serious mold problem.
ERMI is the Environmental Relative Moldiness Index - the combination of
EPA research, powerful Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technology, and a
new method to screen homes for mold. Based on recently published data
from EPA researchers and the 2006 HUD American Healthy Home Survey, the
test has been developed as a tool to evaluate the potential risk of
indoor mold growth and associated health effects.
Although this effective test is usually done by using the DustChek™
cassettes in combination with a hand-held HEPA vacuum cleaner on
carefully measured carpeted areas in two rooms of a home,
mold consultants Fry and Montero also use ERMI testing for other
areas where airborne mold spores settle such as the top edges of window
and door frames, tops of kitchen cabinets, and other seldomly-cleaned
areas. Testing landed mold spores is much more indicative of the true
extent of home mold infestation than the commonly-used 15 minute air
sample test. If you want to buy DustChek™ cassettes with mold lab
analysis of your sampled cassettes, please
email Phillip Fry. What have you done to find and fix the roof
leaks? Roof leaks lead to extensive mold growth inside the attic,
ceilings, and walls. In view of the really bad mold dangers existing in
your house, you need to take big mold remediation steps before moving
back in. Start by running the Bio3Blaster
ozone generator at least two hours in each of the separate crawl
space areas, the attic, and in all living areas of your house. High
doses of ozone gas will go along way to kill mold growth in those
areas. Ozone blasting is especially helpful to you in the low-ceiling,
inaccessible crawl space areas. After ozone blasting, use a fogging
machine ($100 to $300 upward on the net, such as the Hurricane fogger
from
www.dynafog.com) to fog large quantities of boric acid powder (using
the mix formula explained in the boric page of
Mold Mart). Do boric fogging for at least two hours in each crawl
space area, attic, and living areas (after removing all furnishings for
separate cleaning outdoors by scrubbing all furnishings, fixtures,
appliances, and personal possessions with boric mix to remove
landed/deposited moldspores). In the attic and crawl space area, you
will leave the dried boric crystals as an excellent mold preventative.
In your living areas, after the boric has been dry for 24 hours, you can
use a HEPA vacuum to vacuum off all deposit/landed boric crystals
(unappealing visually inside your living area). As far as the
mold-infested drywall, remove and discard all moldy drywall, including 4
ft beyond each moldy area in all directions. Once you have removed the
drywall, you will likely find extensive mold infestation therein, which
also needs to be removed by proper mold remediation. Please read the 25
steps for safe and effective
mold removal. Please email me with any follow up mold remediation
questions, you may have. Best wishes, Phillip Fry, Certified
Environmental Hygienist, Certified Mold Inspector, and Certified Mold
Remediator
Q. I'm
hoping you can help me regarding a mold problem in a home we are renting in
San Ramon, CA. When we first went to see it, It smelled a bit musty and
dusty and I was told this was due to being closed up for awhile. I didn't
see any signs of mold. We were told the place had a new roof and new
double-pane windows, which we thought was great. There are some black
stains inside the house on the wood frame below the windows and we were told
there had been leaks so double-paned windows were installed. I asked if it
was mold and he said no. Also, a built in air cleaner had been installed in
the heating unit. We thought this was a good thing. So we moved in on
July 1, 2003, opened the windows, had the carpet cleaned with a type of
cleaning that uses carbonated water, dries in about an hour or two, cleaned,
etc., etc. Still, the musty smell. The owner had moved into a "Senior"
retirement home, and the son was renting it out. He mentioned "roof leaks"
and a lawsuit, due to faulty roofing materials. He said this house didn't
have roof leaks. That sounded good. A few days go by, I cannot go into the
bedroom, cannot breathe in there. I have to sleep in the den. I think if
it keeps airing out it will be better. There is a good cross wind and so
all of the windows are opened. I am putting clothes in the closet and see
a stain on the ceiling. I poke it with an umbrella, plaster falls, there is
some sort of tape, which I pull, and underneath is dark stuff. This is not
good. Over the next day or two we find about "20" plastic air "odorizers"
in closets, cupboards, under sinks, in every room. Now I work at a
homeowner's association office and am getting quite an education about mold
and roof leaks. We tell our new landlord that we think there may be a mold
problem and want to get it checked out. I can't help but think that there
was a major roof leak here, the windows leaked, there is mold in the walls,
and/or inside the roof (it is a high roof with a space between the ceiling
the the top of the roof). I am beginning to think the water stains on the
wood below the windows inside the house is a black "mold". For all we know
there is mold in the walls, in the insulation, etc... I want to write to our
landlord and tell him I'd like to schedule a "mold inspector" to come out as
soon as possible and he should pay for it. Is he obligated to pay for
it? Can I do this? Does it sound like mold to you? We have health
symptoms that could be attributed to the presence of mold; sinus, bloody
nose, low energy, even the dog is having some symptoms. Different people
have come into the house and can smell mold, mildew, immediately. We have
mentioned to our landlord that we think there is mold. How could he not
know this? He has not offered to get someone out to check. [August
19, 2003]
A. The existence in the past of
serious roof water leaks means your rental house is very
likely heavily mold infested in most or all of your ceilings
and walls, making a big house-wide mold problem that has
resulted from the roof mold problem. Your family is suffering from
mold health symptoms
and you have also found visible
mold growth, and you
smell mold. If you need further documentation of the serious
health threat you are facing, use our do it yourself mold test kits to
mold test the air of the various rooms of your rental house, basement,
attic, and the outward air flow from each heating/cooling duct register.
What you are testing for is the possible presence of elevated levels of
airborne mold spores, which, if present, especially in comparison to an
outdoor control test, means your health is at risk.
Use do it yourself mold
test kits from a large hardware, home improvement, or safety store.
Hire a
Certified Mold Inspector
You will have to pay for your own
mold testing to document the
problem. When you have our mold lab analysis that documents a
serious mold problem in your rental house, you and your
attorney can pursue whatever legal rights you may have against
the landlord for damage to your health, mold contamination of
your clothing and personal property, and the expenses of
moving. If you expect the landlord to pay for testing, that
won't happen. Most landlords do not care about the health
damage of mold to their tenants. Thus, most landlords will not
spend the often substantial sums involved for professional
inspection, testing, and mold remediation. If you value your
family's health, move out as soon as possible. Do not move any
of your clothing or personal property without first mold
decontamination in accordance with the precise
instructions
provided in the
mold book
Do it yourself Mold Prevention,
Inspection, Remediation, & Testing Guide.
Mold Cleaning, Remediation, Abatement, and
Removal Tips
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Certified Mold
Inspector,
Certified Mold Remediator, and/or
Certified Environmental Hygienist.
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Certified Mold Inspector, Certified Environmental Inspector, Certified Mold
Remediator, and Certified Environmental Hygienist!
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