1. USING CHLORINE BLEACH TO KILL MOLD. Do not use ineffective
chlorine bleach to try to kill mold growth and mold spores. Bleach is too
weak even when freshly manufactured to kill mold. Bleach that sits on
store shelves and in your home continually gets ever weaker over the
passage of time. In addition, read the manufacturer’s usage directions on
the bleach container. The manufacturer does not recommend its use to kill
mold. Bleach is NOT an EPA-registered fungicide. If you want effective
mold kill, use EPA-registered
Coverage Plus.
2. USING OTHER INEFFECTIVE PRODUCTS TO KILL MOLD---such as
Kilz, regular paint, paint containing a mildicide element, any paint,
Lysol, ammonia, and other household cleaners and disinfectants. Painting
over a mold problem does not solve it---it only hides the problem
temporarily and gives the mold something delicious to eat---the paint
itself.
3. ASSUMING THAT AFTER A WET AREA IS DRY, THAT IT IS NOW MOLD
SAFE. Mold needs moisture to grow and to multiply as its eats your
home building materials and personal possessions. This moisture can come
from high indoor humidity [above 60% some or all of the year], roof leaks,
siding leaks, and plumbing leaks. If mold spores and mold colony growth
run out of moisture, they do NOT die. Instead, they become dormant, and
can wait millions of years for access to high humidity or a future water
intrusion. Dormant mold can make mold-sensitive persons sick. Even the
smell of dormant mold can make some people very sick.
4. ASSUMING THAT THERE IS NO MOLD PROBLEM BECAUSE OF NO
VISIBLE MOLD GROWTH. The worst mold infestation problems are often the
ones you cannot see INSIDE floors, ceilings, walls, basement, attic, crawl
space, and the heating/cooling equipment and ducts. Airborne mold spores
are invisible to the eye, very light, and are easily carried in air
current movements or in the air flows of your heating/cooling system to
mold cross-contaminate your entire house from just one hidden mold
problem. Use our do it yourself mold test kits to mold test the air of
your basement, attic, all rooms, and the outward air flow from each
heating/cooling register for the possible presence of elevated levels of
airborne mold spores, in comparison to an outdoor mold control test.
Visit:
http://www.moldmart.net Use a hidden moisture meter to scan all
walls and floors for hidden water problems. Use a fiber optics inspection
device to check for mold growth inside wall, floor, and ceiling cavities.
5. TRUSTING THAT MOLD REMEDIATION CONTRACTORS KNOW WHAT THEY
ARE DOING. Most mold remediation companies cause and leave more mold
problems AFTER the alleged remediation than before their work because of:
(a) failure to find and fix all of the mold infestation locations in a
home or building due to incomplete mold inspection and mold testing; (b)
poor and inadequate training; (c) failure to utilize proper mold
containment procedures and effective mold remediation techniques; (d)
taking shortcuts that undermine the remediation effort; and (e) sometimes
fraud and dishonesty on the part of the contractor. Insist on hiring only
Certified Mold Inspectors, Certified Mold Contractors, and Certified Mold
Remediators who have been trained and certified by the Certified Mold
Inspectors & Contractors Institute [
http://www.certifiedmoldinspectors.com ].
6. TRUSTING THAT INDUSTRIAL HYGIENISTS AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
ARE EXPERTS IN MOLD PREVENTION, INSPECTION, TESTING, AND REMEDIATION.
The only people who truly care about your family’s health and home
investment are yourself and your family. Although there are many mold
knowledgeable and mold experienced industrial hygienists, most are not.
Hiring an industrial hygienist [trained in industrial safety and health]
to find and fix mold problems is often like hiring a dentist to treat your
heart problems. Hire a Certified Mold Inspector if you value your family’s
health and home investment. Some government websites often promote
ineffective and outdated mold remediation ideas like using bleach to kill
mold. Government employees do not have the personal experience of having
to work in the real world to find and kill real mold that is often hidden
in home walls, ceilings, floors, heating/cooling systems, attic, basement,
and crawl space.
7. SPRAYING SOMETHING ON THE MOLD WILL TAKE CARE OF THE PROBLEM.
Only EPA-registered fungicides can kill mold, but just spraying visible
mold does not solve mold problems. You need to kill all visible mold
encountered in mold remediation, but it needs also to be removed from the
home or building, and all of the water and mold damaged building materials
need to be thrown out and replaced with mold-free building materials. In
addition the cleaned out area needs to be treated with both Coverage Plus
fungicide and Tim-bor wood protectant. Learn all of the steps required for
safe and effective mold remediation at
http://www.moldinspector.com/mold_removal.htm
8. THINKING THAT A NEW HOME IS MOLD FREE. Today’s new
homes often come with built-in mold infestation problems because:
(a) moldy building materials are received from the builder’s
supplier---today's timbers are not kiln-dried as in earlier times, and
thus contain a high internal moisture content that makes mold growth
possible in the timbers;
(b) the builder and its supervisors and employees fail to do
quality control to inspect for, and, thus, prevent moldy building
materials from being used in the home’s construction;
(c)
the builder stores the inventory of building materials on the outside
ground with no
plastic sheeting to protect the building materials from
rain [which thus supplies the necessary water to enable mold to grow in
and on the materials];
(d)
the construction crew fails to cover the entire home under construction
with plastic sheeting at the end of each construction day to protect the
building materials from rain [which thus supplies the necessary water to
enable mold to grow in and on the materials]. The roof and side walls need
to be protected against rain until the entire
roof, siding, windows, and doors are totally
installed to seal out rain;
(e)
the builder fails to inspect and test the home for mold growth while it is
being constructed and at the home’s completion; and
(f)
use of modern building materials like chip wafer boards, drywall
(plasterboard), & plywood--- all of which molds love to eat.
(g) failure to spray all wood-based construction materials on all
surfaces with at least one spraying of the EPA-registered fungicide
Coverage Plus and at least one spraying of the EPA-registered Tim-bor wood
protectant----visit:
http://www.moldmart.net
9. IGNORING POSSIBLE MOLD
HEALTH SYMPTOMS BEING SUFFERED BY ONE OR MORE FAMILY MEMBERS OR
CO-WORKERS. Be concerned about possible mold problems if one
or more occupants is suffering from unexplained health problems such as an
ongoing itchy eyes, bloody nose, sinus problems, headaches, nose
congestion, runny nose, skin rashes, skin sores, coughing, breathing
difficulties, difficulty in remembering things and in thinking clearly,
feeling disconnected from the world around you, and/or chronic fatigue.
Please remember that some occupants may experience mold health
symptoms, while others may have none, with all living or working in the
same mold-infested area. People differ significantly in their sensitivity
to mold.
10. IGNORING HOME MAINTENANCE PROBLEMS & MOLD CLUES. You
contribute big-time to becoming a mold victim when you ignore roof leaks,
plumbing leaks, sewer line leaks, water stains on ceilings, the indoor
smell of mold, visible mold growth, high humidity [60% or more to drive
mold growth from humidity alone], a wet or damp basement, and a wet or
damp crawl space.
More
Environmental Health News |
