Mold is viewed as growing problem

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Jul 20, 2003Mold is viewed as growing problemThat velvety, unappetizing growth darkening your kitchen wall, closet floor or bathroom shower may have had its origins in the oil crisis of the early 1970s.Or it could have been born out of a water leak, or improper air conditioning. Even - sorry - your slovenly housekeeping.Whatever the cause, mold is a growing problem that can lead to health problems, structural damage to homes and higher insurance costs.But even in Gainesville - ranked the nation's fifth most humid city for July by meteorologist and author - people don't have to live with fungal gardens growing in their homes."When you have clean and dry conditions, you very seldom have visible mold or mildew conditions," said Kimbrough, a University of Florida professor of plant pathology whose specialty is mycology, the branch of botany that deals with fungi.But in Florida and other humid climes, moisture is a fact of life. And moisture is the key ingredient in any recipe for the growth of the more than 17,000 known species of fungi called mold or mildew.Ironically, in the days before air conditioning - which removes moisture from the air inside a structure - mold wasn't as much a household problem as it is today. People opened windows to aerate their homes and stabilize its inside temperatures, which helps prevent moisture in the air from condensing into the liquid form mold thrives on. They built their homes off the ground to further increase air flow."People had a lot of techniques for preventing mold in the pre-air conditioning days," said Virginia Peart, a retired associate professor emeritus in UF's department of consumer and family science and a specialist in mold in the home environment."One woman told me that when she was a little girl, her job every Saturday was to put the family's shoes out in the sunshine," said Peart, who has written consumer bulletins on mold and mildew for the ative Extension Service of UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. "Closets tend to collect moisture, and moldy shoes could be a real problem if they weren't dried out."The advent of air conditioning helped reduce mold in homes and commercial buildings. But Kimbrough said modern-day mold problems began anew in the early 1970s, when the oil crisis that caused high fuel prices and shortages led to construction of super energy-efficient buildings with little "breatheability," or natural airflow."That often created a climate conducive to mold because of improper sizing of air-conditioning systems, usually oversizing," said Kimbrough, who as a consultant to several air-quality companies has identified mold or mold spores in hundreds of buildings in North Central Florida."An oversize system causes the building to cool too quickly and then the air conditioning compressor stays off a lengthy time," he said. "During those intervals, moisture encroaches from outside to condense on surfaces inside the house and mold starts to form."More dramatic mold growth can occur after a building has been flooded or experienced a leak in its plumbing system. Kimbrough said wallboard or any surface that stays wet for more than about one week is almost guaranteed to host serious mold - which can start growing in as little as 48 hours after exposure to moisture.

Mold claims growThe potential for mold damage is not lost on the insurance industry. Many insurance companies in Florida have appealed to state regulators to allow them to limit their liability in mold claims, including capping the amount of money insurers pay on such claims.State Farm, Florida's largest insurer, recently won a judge's approval for excluding all mold-related claims in standard homeowner policies, said Tom Hagerty, spokesman for the Winter Haven-based company. It now is awaiting action by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation on its plan to offer mold coverage only as an optional, extra-cost addition to a homeowner policy.Hagerty said mold only recently started becoming a serious claim issue for his company."In 2000, we had 37 mold claims in Florida," he said. "In 2001, it jumped to about 350 and in 2002, about 950. Before 2000, mold claims were so infrequent we didn't even track them individually."Hagerty said he thinks the dramatic increase in claims is related to high-profile cases in Texas and elsewhere, in which homeowners sued and won large payouts from insurance companies over damage caused by mold."I think there was one well-publicized case in which (TV celebrity) Ed McMahon's dog died from mold in the home," he said.Insurance policies "are not designed to cover mold except in very limited circumstances," such as a natural flood, Hagerty said. "Mold often results from maintenance issues that were not taken care of. And maintenance is not something covered by homeowner policies."He said he didn't know what the company's mold-claims experience is in the Gainesville area. But Bill Zegel, president of Water & Air Research, a Gainesville-based firm that has been assessing mold and other air-quality issues in homes and businesses since 1970, said he hasn't seen a significant problem with residential mold locally."The concern of insurance companies generally is for more (commercial) and industrialized settings. I'm not aware of any large-scale residential remediation," he said, referring to the process of getting rid of mold growth in a building."Homes may have mold problems, but they're fairly well controlled by keeping things clean and dry," he said.

Cleaning it upThe cost of mold damage can vary widely, Zegel said. In many cases, homeowners can clean up mold themselves at minimal cost with a little diluted bleach or other household cleaner. In cases where mold is extensive, the fix can reach into the thousands of dollars."You could have situations in which mold was growing inside drywall, either due to some flaw in the design or a water leak that is not apparent," he said. "The worst case would be you'd have to remove all that and possibly do something with the studs behind the drywall - potentially even structural work. That could get rather expensive."I recall some problems during the El Nio (in early 1998) that flooded some low-lying houses, and they had to have all the drywall replaced."Zegel encountered one residential mold problem in his own house."My house used to have fiberglass material on the inside of the duct work," he said. "As a result, you had a great matrix for creatures to grow in."Through action of the air-handling system, moisture can accumulate inside the ducting that distributes heated and cooled air throughout the house. The condensation provides the medium for mold spores that exist naturally in the air to take hold on a surface and grow.Zegel had his duct work replaced with a newer design that features a smooth interior surface, which is less prone to trap the dust and moisture that promotes the growth of mold.Although many newer houses are being built with the new-style ducting, older fiberglass ducts can be cleaned. Companies specializing in that and other mold remediation have sprung up in recent years - including a few fly-by-night operations that Kimbrough said have helped contribute to the increase in insurance claims.He cautioned homeowners to beware of companies that point out a patch of black mold they claim is at "toxic" levels that could sicken everyone in the house if not immediately removed. He said he's heard of cases in which such alarmists have charged people $60,000 to take care of mold spores that were well within normal household levels.

Health concernsWhatever is done legitimately to reduce the chance of mold will decrease the possibility of related illnesses."When you can see and smell mold growth, that may present an unacceptable health risk," said Tim Wallace, coordinator of the indoor air quality assistance program for the Florida Division of Environmental Health.He said health officials' main concerns related to mold growth include allergic illness, potential for infection and mold toxicity. "The current philosophy held by most mainstream health agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control, is that allergic disease is the main concern," Wallace said.He's not aware of any deaths related to an allergic reaction to mold, he said. And not everyone who is exposed to mold gets sick from it, he said, just as not everyone is allergic to tree pollen or other allergens that cause others to become ill.Although he can't say for certain, it's possible people with compromised immune systems - the very young and old, and people with diseases such as AIDS - have died from infections caused by exposure to mold, he said."On the other hand, we're all exposed to mold all the time," Wallace said. "We can't eliminate mold spores that are in the air. But we can limit our exposure by addressing mold growth indoors."If you want to prevent mold," he said, "keep your building clean and dry."Bob Arndorfer can be reached at 374-5042 or arndorb@....