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Mold!!! Answers to Commonly Asked Questions

       Question:  Mold has been around forever,  why is it a problem in my home?

     Answer:  You are correct, mold has always been around and always will be.   Mold is even mentioned in the bible, Leviticus 14:35-67.  We are in constant contact with mold spores.  The problem comes when we are exposed to high concentrations of mold spores and their mycotoxins, the potentially harmful substance that mold produces.

      Question:  Why do I have visible mold growth.

     Answer:  Invisible individual mold spores germinate and then reproduce forming visible colonies of  hyphae (mold plants) when they receive both moisture and organic material (plant food).  Visible mold colonies indicate that porous items remained wet for an extended amount of time.

      Question:  Is it safe to turn up the heat and put a fan on mold?

     Answer:  The simple answer is no.  Let's talk a little about how easily mold spores cross contaminate your home.    Once a mold colony is visible there is a potential for millions of mold spores in one square inch so like dandelion seeds, mold spores will take flight upon any air movement.  The more air movement the greater chance of contaminating the rest of your home through natural air movements and through your heating and air conditioning system.

     Mold colonies thrive in warm and damp indoor environments.  The more heat the faster the mold will grow, producing massive numbers of spores. 

      Question:  Why is mold so bad for me?

     Answer:  Both live and dead mold spores are an allergen that can cause and trigger asthma  attacks and allergic reactions.  The mold plant can also produce mycotoxins which can cause adverse health effects resulting in suppression of the immune system, skin rashes, impacting the nervous system (headaches, dizziness, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, nausea, depression and memory loss), vomiting and diarrhea and can also affect the Vascular system by damaging the outer lining of the blood vessels. 

      Question:   Why can’t I just bleach the mold?

     Answer:  Using bleach to clean up mold does more harm than good.  It use to be acceptable to use bleach or an antimicrobial to kill or control mold until more research was done and found out that all this is doing is making things worse. 

1. Bleach doesn’t control 100% of the mold growth.  Lets say you did a great job and got a 90% kill on the mold with your bleach clean-up.  That means out of a 10 billion plant mold colony you killed 9 billion leaving 1 billion fungi to grow and spread.

2. The remaining mold that was not killed now has the dead mold that was killed as an additional food source to create a bigger colony than before.  Since bleach is 99% water you have added additional water for the mold to flourish.

3. Mold spores (compared to the dandelion seeds) are an allergen, it doesn’t matter if the spore is viable or nonviable (alive or dead).  The only way to remediate spores is to remove them from the indoor environment.

4. While you were bleaching the mold colonies some colonies will produce a mycotoxin to try to kill whatever is trying to kill it (YOU!).  Mycotoxins in a lot of ways are more dangerous than the mold itself.  Mycotoxins can cause adverse health effects resulting in suppression of the immune system, skin rashes, impacting the nervous system (headaches, dizziness, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, nausea, depression and memory loss), vomiting and diarrhea and can also affect the Vascular system by damaging the outer lining of the blood vessels. 

5. Mold like the dandelion has a root structure.  Bleach doesn’t kill any of the root system and with viable roots intact the mold will regrow.

      Question:  Once the moldy materials are dry is the mold dead?

     Answer:  No,  once the moldy materials are dry the mold is just dormant.  If and when the materials get wet the mold will start growing again immediately.

      Question:  Why can’t I remove the mold my self.

     Answer:  You need to protect yourself from the mold spores and mycotoxins.  This requires a full face respirator,  Tyvek suits and disposable gloves.  Most home owners don’t have access to these items.  A full face respirator with HEPA and organic vapor filters.  Mold spores and mycotoxins are absorbed through your eyeballs and go directly into your blood stream, so it is important to have a full face and not a half face respirator. 

     The area that needs to be remediated needs to be contained from the rest of the home to prevent cross contamination of mold in the rest of your home that doesn’t have mold growth.  Containment is a very involved process of building decontamination chambers and 6 mil plastic barrior walls to isolate the mold effected areas from the rest of your home

     HEPA air scrubber and negative air machines need to be used during the remediation process.  Once containment has been set up a negative air flow needs to be created to prevent cross contamination.   These pieces of equipment are not available to most homeowners.

     Proper removal and HEPA vacuuming procedures of the mold contaminated items needs to be followed to ensure all the mold, mold spores and mycotoxins are removed.

     Sanding and soda blasting of studs and sill plates need to be completed to remove the mold roots from the wood.  Without removing the roots the mold will immediately start growing if the same materials get wet again. 

      Question:  Is it covered by insurance?

     Answer:  Maybe yes or maybe no.   It all depends on the insurance company and your policy.  Some Insurance companies will cover mold remediation if it directly the result of a covered water loss.  If the mold is   due to water seepage or a non-covered loss the mold remediation will usually not be covered.  Some Insurance company will not cover any mold remediation at all.  All insurance companies and policies are different, just call your insurance agent and your agent will be able to find out what your coverage is.