- Mold Control
- Caution to all
MCS/ES persons:
- Check all
advice with your doctor. Some sources are not trained in
addressing the specific needs of MCS/ES persons. Natural
products can provoke serious reactions, depending on the
individual case.
-
- Lawrence Gust
- Carolyn Gorman
- Lawrence J. Gust
- Mold
- Three conditions must be met to have mold growth: a food
source, fungal spores, and moisture. Food for a fungus is
everywhere- plants, plant debris, wood, fabric, paint,
paper- anything with carbon and hydrogen. Mold spores,
the reproductive vehicle for fungi, are part of the dust
that settles on everything. The key growth condition,
then, is availability of moisture. My recommendation,
then, is to control moisture.
-
- Moisture
- Some fungi can grow in an elevated local relative
humidity of 70% and above. Other fungi requires more
moisture to grow- 60 to 80% of saturation for the
material of interest. For fungi that require high
moisture, condensation provides this wetness.
Water vapor condenses on surfaces when the surface temperature
falls to the dew point temperature. This is what happens when one
finds dew on the grass in the morning or on single pane windows
at night. The dew point is a function of the absolute air
moisture content. The more moisture, the lower the dew point
temperature. My recommendation is to control dew point by
reducing air relative humidity or by increasing room temperature.
The source of water in the house can be intrusion from the
outside in the form of leaks in the structure or from rising damp
caused by capillary action through building material in contact
with the ground (typically the concrete foundation and slab).
Recommendation: This source must be stopped by making appropriate
repairs to the structure (roof, walls, windows, plumbing) and
water using appliances.
- Time is of the Essence
- Mold spores that are already available and waiting for
water take about 24 to 48 hours to germinate, begin to
grow and start to propagate. Once this happens production
of spores, gases and possible mycotoxins rapidly
escalates in a geometric progression. My recommendation:
Water must be stopped and materials dried out within this
time window to avoid mold substantial mold growth. If
this is done the job is relatively non-hazardous for
people of normal sensitivity.
-
- Cleaning up Mold (not water)
- Once the source of the moisture is fixed clean up can
begin. Clean up begins by removal of wet porous materials
and mold damaged structural members along with drying of
the remaining parts of the structure. There are safety
protocols to be followed to avoid creating health hazards
for workers and occupants.
Application of chemicals is not recommended. Chemicals may
kill mold, but they do not remove the spores or the mycotoxins
produced by some molds under some conditions (conditions which
are not clear).
After drying is complete, mold is removed from the remaining
surfaces by a combination of wiping and mechanical removal while
HEPA vacuuming the dust created. There are safety protocols to be
followed to avoid creating health hazards for workers and
occupants. Usually a third party affirms that the clean up has
been done. Then reconstruction begins.
- Mold Spores
- Even if no water problem exists in the house resulting in
mold growth, the accumulation of outside dust containing
spores will result in indoor air dust that contains mold
spores.
The levels and types of fungi indoors [for a home which is
often open to the out of doors] is a function of the outdoor
distribution of fungi. If the home has moisture problems and
fungal growth, the indoor quantity and species of fungi will be
different than the outside reflecting an increase in fungi
associated with various types of water damaged building
materials.
Because an individual's response to an allergen (mold spore)
is very different from person to person, it is difficult to
determine an acceptable concentration of that allergen for the
population as a whole. The concentration of an allergen needed to
elicit a serious response in a sensitive individual could be
thousands of times lower than that needed to invoke so much as a
sniffle in an equally healthy, but non-sensitized person.
- Toxic Mold is a Meaningless Term
- The term "toxic mold" is a meaningless term,
used mostly by the press and by individuals who are not
familiar with mycology or toxicology. It is thought that
virtually all molds have the potential to cause all
degrees of anaphylaxis (including anaphylactic shock)
following exposure. The common mushroom can be as toxic
as the deadly Amanita mushroom to the person who is
allergic to it. Therefore, all molds have the potential
to be toxic molds.
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- Getting Some Perspective
- However, as recent as November 2002, a prestigious
medical organization reported that indoor molds, compared
to outdoor molds, were considered only a minor, (albeit
important) factor in the development of allergic airway
disease. Similarly, it has been reported elsewhere that
indoor exposures to cats, dust mites and cockroaches
probably causes more health problems than do indoor
molds. So my recommendation is that all indoor
environmental factors need to be assessed before deciding
what the problem(s) might be and taking action to correct
them.
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- Lawrence J. Gust
- IAQA Certified Mold Remediator *
Certified Building Biologist
- Electrical Engineer
- Since 1993
- Indoor Environmental Health Factors
Assessment and Mitigation Planning
- Mold * Mildew * Chemical * Air
Quality * Electromagnetic Fields
- Building Design & Construction
Planning
- www.healbuildings.com
- Carolyn Gorman, M.A.
- MCS/EI Answer
Line. For
expertise on making safe environments for the chemically
sensitive and the environmentally ill. Carolyn Gorman has
many years of experience educating, advising and
providing resources as Patient
Information Specialist, with a renowned
MCS/EI clinic.
- Staffed by:
- Carolyn Gorman,
M.A.
- 972-964-8333
- eianswerline@ sharecareprayer.org
- E-mail received at any time,
will be answered during the hours below.
- Weekly Hours Central
Standard Time
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- There is no fee
to consult with Carolyn on a myriad of subjects regarding
Environmental Illness/Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.
However, contributions are needed to cover this
service. Please send your tax-deductible gifts as able to
Share, Care, and Prayer, Inc., P.O. Box 2080, Frazier
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