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Get
Rid of Mold and Mildew!
THE INVASION OF MOLD AND MILDEW
"About 38 percent of homes have mold and fungus
growth due to elevated moisture."
(The American Society of Home Inspectors) This problem
is often worse in modern, tighter homes with little
ventilation. Molds are fungi, simple microscopic plants.
Mildew is a thin, black, or sometimes white, growth
produced by mold. There are thousands species of molds.
Outdoors, they live in the soil and help in the breakdown
of organic matter. Molds grow indoors on virtually
any substance when moisture is present.
Molds can be usually detected by a musty odor. They
produce mold spores (seeds), which waft in the air
throughout the house, forming new colonies wherever
they land. They grow on paper products, cardboard,
ceiling tiles, wood products, paints, wallpaper, insulation
materials, drywall, carpet, and fabric. Molds flourish
in damp areas like crawl spaces, basements, bathrooms
(especially shower stalls), air conditioners, humidifiers,
clothing closets, refrigerator drip trays, house plants,
garbage pails, mattresses, upholstered furniture,
and often in new houses because of high moisture in
the building materials.
HEALTH PROBLEMS FROM EXPOSURE TO MOLD
Exposure to molds occurs when people inhale mold spores.
Mold spores are so small that they evade the protective
mechanisms of the nose and upper respiratory tract.
Although thousands of molds exist, only a few dozen
are significant allergens. They aggravate or cause
allergies and asthma, particularly, in children.
The incidence of allergies and asthma has doubled
in the last decade,
which has been linked to the increase in air-borne
molds in modern energy-efficient homes.
One of five Americans suffers from allergies.
The other common effects of exposure to molds include
nasal stuffiness, eye irritation, wheezing, flu like
symptoms, chronic sinus infections, rashes, nosebleeds,
fever, shortness of breath, headaches, dizziness,
inability to concentrate, fatigue, and respiratory
infections. Some pathogenic molds effect the central
nervous system or suppress the immune system.
The growth of molds in your house should be prevented
to minimize the exposure to yourself and your family.
You cannot eliminate all mold spores in the air, but,
at the very least, you must reduce the exposure to
allergens below the threshold at which your family
experiences reactions
BLACK MOLD
Some molds produce extremely potent toxins called
mycotoxins. Large amounts of mycotoxins in air can
cause serious illnesses like toxicosis (invasive infection).
Some are carcinogenic and cause, for example, kidney
cancer.
Toxic "black molds" in homes and schools
have caused public alarm. Some schools and many private
homes had to be evacuated. Homeowners have lost their
homes, because insurance companies normally do not
cover this misfortune. There is actually a number
of mold types that are black in color or produce black
pigments. Such mold growths are common in houses,
particularly in bathrooms and basements.
The black molds known to produce mycotoxins include
Stachybotrys and Memnoniella. Stachybotrys is a greenish-black
mold that grows on materials with a high cellulose
content, such as drywall sheetrock, dropped ceiling
tiles, and wood that become chronically moist, due
to excessive humidity, water leaks, or flooding. Stachybotrys
can cause nervous system symptoms such as personality
changes, sleep disorders, and memory loss. It has
been linked to fatal bleeding in the lungs of infants,
but this is very rare.
Stachybotrys has been found in 2% to 3% of homes. If black mold is growing on materials containing cellulose it is
prudent not to disturb them until they are shown not
to contain toxic mold. Samples can be taken with transparent
sticky tape and analyzed by microscopic exam in a
laboratory providing microbiological analytical services.
DUST
MITES
Dust
mites have been identified as the
single most important trigger for asthma attacks.
Mites thrive on dead human skin cells in bedding,
carpeting and upholstery. These microscopic animals
multiply by the thousands in warm and humid conditions,
when humidity exceeds 45 percent and temperature is
above 65° F.
The average bed can easily
have over 10,000 dust mites living in it. Dust mites
leave behind droppings and disintegrating body parts
that we inhale. Dust mites produce about 20 pellets
per day, each measuring about 10 to 24 microns in
size (the diameter of human hair is 80-100 microns).
One-tenth of the weight of an old pillow can be attributed
to dust mites and their droppings.
It is the protein in
the fecal products and disintegrating body parts of
dust mites that is one of the most powerful biological
allergens. It is the most important allergen associated
with asthma. Over 10 percent
of the population are allergic to dust mite extracts.
Mites have eight tiny
legs with sticky pads, which enable them to burrow
deep into carpet fibers and furniture, easily resisting
the pull of even the most powerful vacuum cleaners.
They do not drink water but absorb moisture from the
air. Dust mites cannot live at humidity below 45%.
Do not bother cleaning your air ducts. Your main weapon
against dust mites reducing humidity in your house.
CLEANING
UP MOLD
There is no simple way
to sample the air in your home to find out what types
of mold are present. And even if you had your home
tested, it is uncertain at what levels molds would
cause health problems. Hazardous levels are unknown
and exposure guidelines have not been established
Therefore, it is more important to get rid of the
mold rather than find out more about it.
THE
KEY IS TO ELIMINATE THE UNDERLYING MOISTURE PROBLEM
Exercise caution
in removing molds, because they release mold spores
when disturbed. Discard moldy items. Use chlorine
bleach solution (1 part bleach and 4 parts water)
to kill and wipe off the mold. Add detergent to cut
through dirt and grease. If you suspect "black
mold," call your state department of health or
consult professionals (Industrial Hygiene consultants
in Yellow Pages or the American Industrial Hygiene
Association at www.aiha.org).
ELIMINATE
MUSTY ORDERS
Get rid of mustiness
by scrubbing the cement floor and walls in your basement,
and tiled walls and floors in bathrooms with a dilute
solution of chlorine bleach. Use 1/2 to 1 cup of liquid
household bleach to a gallon of water. Then rinse
with clear water and wipe as dry as possible. Keep
windows open until walls and floors are thoroughly
dry.
In basements, sprinkle
chlorinated lime (called chloride of lime or bleaching
powder) all over the floor and let it stay until all
mustiness disappears. Then sweep it up.
PREVENTING MOLDS, MILDEW AND DUST MITES
The
only effective way to control biological air contaminants
like molds, fungi, dust mites, and bacteria is to
control the cause. Eliminate
the sources of moisture and reduce humidity in your
home! Repair any water leaks in the roof,
walls or basement. Prevent condensation on walls and
windows by maintaining a low relative humidity in
your home, ideally 30-40 percent. Humidity levels
are measured by hygrometers, which are available at
hardware stores.
Central air conditioning
reduces humidity levels throughout the house. Cool
air holds less moisture than warm air. But keep in
mind that condensing the dampness that gets into the
house increases your air-conditioning bills. Minimize
the sources of dampness.
Cooking, laundering,
and bathing may add 3 gallons of water a day to the
house. Install exhaust fans in bathrooms and in the
kitchen. Make sure that your clothes dryer is exhausted
to the outside.
Basements
or concrete slabs are the largest source of moisture
Pores in concrete do
not only let in moisture, but they actively draw it
inside by capillary action. The average slab lets
in 2 gallons of moisture each day, several times more
than bathrooms and kitchen combined.
Healthy
Home Association developed the Revolutionary
Injector2 for under- foundation termite
/ insect control. For mold and mildew control Healthy
Builders use the Special
MoldShield.
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