Mold: It can be a major headache

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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04251/374544.stm

Mold: It can be a major headache, in more ways than one

Tuesday, September 07, 2004

By Gretchen McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

At first, Goldberg didn't think too much of the grayish-black

residue that seemed to appear from nowhere on the second-floor window

sills and baseboards in her new home in the South Hills -- she simply

wiped it up and made a mental note to at some point have it looked

at. That was before she got sick.

Heller, Post-Gazette photos

Goldberg (above) is back in her South Hills home after having a

mold problem remedied. A windowsill in a rear bedroom of Goldberg's

home (below) was covered with mold.

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Related coverage

Treating the problem: What to do if you find mold

On the Internet

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is at www.epa.gov/mold.

The CDC's National Center for Environmental Health is at

www.cdc.gov/nceh/airpollution/mold

Allegheny County Health Department, 412-687-2243

Mold Dog, www.mold-dog.com, 1-800-665-4633. This is a Web site

explaining how specially trained dogs can be used to sniff out mold.

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Within a month of moving into the 2 1/2 story home last November, the

33-year-old social worker and teacher was waking up tired every

morning, often with a headache and sore throat. She was also getting

nosebleeds. When she got to work, she felt fine.

Like many people who have recently relocated, Goldberg chalked her

ailments up to the stress of moving and adjusting to a new

environment.

Before long, though, her fatigue was so bad anytime she was in the

house that she almost couldn't function.

" I'd come home from work and just collapse on the couch, and sleep

until it was time for bed, " recalls Goldberg, who had moved to

Pittsburgh from Tampa.

It wasn't until she decided to redecorate one of her bedrooms shortly

after New Year's that she got her first clue to the cause of her

symptoms. Pulling up some carpet, she noticed a patch of mold

underneath; it was also growing behind the 1970s wallpaper she peeled

off the wall.

Goldberg called several mold remediation companies to come take a

look. What they discovered was alarming. In the attic, between the

rafters and the roof sheathing, was a virtual forest of mold. A small

leak in the roof had allowed water to collect on the ceiling and

under the insulation, and when mold spores drifted in place, they

grew and spread. In all, there were five kinds of mold throughout the

house.

Still, Goldberg didn't quite make the connection between the cottony,

whitish-gray spots and her health problems until research showed her

how exposure to mold can trigger allergic reactions and other

respiratory ailments.

Shortly after Easter, she took her allergist's advice and moved out

of the house with her two dogs and in with her father in Squirrel

Hill. Her symptoms disappeared within three weeks.

She also hired a company to get rid of the fungus.

Whether the previous owners and their real estate agent knew about

the mold or if the home inspector should have uncovered it is still

being debated. The inspector noted some water in the basement and a

few small stains on the wall, though nothing in his report indicated

a mold problem. In the meantime, Goldberg is considering a lawsuit.

It's everywhere

Goldberg's experience may sound extreme, but home mold problems are

common. Spores of hundreds of kinds of mold are present at all times

in the air and under the right conditions -- namely, when there's

moisture and an organic food source, such as common building

materials -- they can grow on virtually any surface.

Most molds are fairly harmless; a few, however, are toxigenic (that

is, they can produce toxins).

One of the most dangerous molds -- and the one that's generated the

most headlines, along with several lawsuits, in recent years -- is

Stachybotrys atra, a slimy, greenish-black mold that grows on

material with a high fiber and low nitrogen content, such as paper,

jute or wood, and rotting hay.

According to Allegheny County Health Department spokesman Dave Zazac,

there have been no reported cases of " stachy mold " in Western

Pennsylvania, most likely because it requires very wet or high humid

conditions for days or weeks in order to grow.

Many other types of mold, however, Zazac notes, can cause health

problems if spore levels are high and persistent. Some of the most

common symptoms are nasal and sinus congestion; skin rashes and

irritation; nose, throat and eye irritation; chronic fatigue; and a

dry, hacking cough. Exposure to mold also can aggravate asthma and

trigger allergies in sensitive individuals. The elderly, children and

people with compromised immune systems are the most susceptible to

fungal infections.

Problems with mold inside the home are more prevalent today than a

generation ago, some experts maintain, because homes are being built

with increased insulation and tighter construction and decreased

ventilation. New building materials, such as synthetic stucco, also

can cause moisture problems.

But May, author of " The Mold Survival Guide " and " My House is

Killing Me, " (s Hopkins University Press, argues it's just as

much a lifestyle issue.

Thirty years ago, he says, children played outside most of the day

and central air conditioning was still a luxury for many. Today's

kids come home from school and are inside on the Internet or playing

video games, and we even exercise indoors, he says.

" We don't even open the windows anymore, so our exposures are much

greater, " May notes. " We're continually exposed to the same

contaminants. "

How to find it

Detecting mold can be tricky. A musty odor; discolored patches or

speckled growth on walls or woodwork may be clues. More often the

mold is hidden inside heating and cooling systems, in crawl spaces,

around pipes, behind cabinets, and under carpets in an unfinished

basement. It can even thrive inside upholstery.

A growing number of home buyers are opting for air sampling to test

for mold, in addition to traditional testing for wood-destroying

insects and radon gas, says n , president of EnviroCare in

Middlesex, County particularly those whose families have a

history of allergies.

Several companies sell home mold-detection kits for $20 or less; you

collect dust samples in a special collector, mail it to a lab with a

processing fee and wait for a report. You can also hire a

professional who will typically take a physical sample (swab test) or

use a hand-held device that measures moisture and takes air samples,

both inside and out, to measure spore count. If the spore count is

significantly higher inside than out, you know you have an active

colony, says , whose company charges between $300 and $350 for

limited sampling.

It's important to point out, though, that while air sampling assists

in determining levels of mold, it cannot be relied on fully because

air levels at the time of testing are likely to differ from those at

the time of exposure. Similarly, if the sample is taken when the mold

is not active -- and mold can become dormant if there is no water

source -- you're not going to get a reading.

Mold doesn't just cause health problems.

According to a recent study by Interactive, 72 percent of

those surveyed said they would walk away from buying a home if they

noticed mold or a musty smell, no matter how well they liked the

house.

And professional air sampling for mold can be expensive, remediation

by an expert to rid a room or entire house even more so. In

Goldberg's case, it took workers more than eight weeks to get rid of

the mold, at a cost of more than $10,000. (The contractor she hired

for the job declined to comment.)

The remediation included washing the affected areas with a detergent

to disinfect the mold and painting it with mold-resistant paint. She

also replaced all her linens and was able to return to her home in

August.

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(Gretchen McKay can be reached at gmckay@....)