How to Find and Eliminate Mold

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How to Find and Eliminate Mold

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/02/realestate/02home.html?8dpc

By JAY ROMANO

Published: October 2, 2005

MOLD thrives in damp places. Often, health experts say, ideal

breeding grounds are the insides of walls and ceilings exposed to a

recurrent source of moisture from a roof or plumbing leak.

So how do you know if you have mold in your house, and what do you

do if you do? " Not all mold is the same, and different people

respond to mold differently, " said Dr. Eckhardt Johanning, an

occupational and environmental physician with offices in Albany and

Manhattan.

Dr. Johanning said that while some people may have no reaction to

mold spores inside a home, those who are sensitive to mold can have

allergic reactions ranging from mild to life-threatening. " People

with asthma, allergies, lung problems and immune-system dysfunction

are usually more inclined to experience problems when they're

exposed to mold, " he said.

C. May, principal scientist for May Indoor Air

Investigations in Cambridge, Mass., said that a first sign of mold

is an allergic reaction that occurs only inside the house. " If

someone feels better when they're away from the house, there's

probably something wrong with the house, " Mr. May said. " If you

smell a musty odor, you probably have mold. "

Another way to determine the presence of mold is to use a home-test

kit sold in stores and on the Internet for less than $50. Most kits

designed for homeowners, Mr. May said, use petri dishes with a

growing medium to capture mold spores. After being exposed to air

inside the home for a period of time, the petri dish is returned to

the manufacturer, which then determines the type and quantity of any

mold spores present.

" Home test kits might be good for preliminary screening, " Mr. May

said. " But they can't tell you the source of the mold. "

Since mold often grows in areas that make visual inspection

impossible, he said, other strategies must be used. " One way to find

out if mold is growing inside a wall is to make some kind of hole, "

he said, adding that in many cases, he will test for mold spores by

pulling air out of electrical switches and outlet boxes.

" I'll collect the dust particles on sticky tape and examine it under

a microscope, " Mr. May said. Another way is to pinpoint the source

of any musty odor. " Ordinarily, its impossible to tell where a musty

odor is coming from, " he said. " But I use a simple trick. I put a

fan in a window to pull air out of the room; I seal up the room and

then I crawl around on my hands and knees and sniff at every crack I

can find. " (A professional mold inspection starts at about $400.)

Olmsted, an industrial hygienist in Garrison, N.Y., said that

while taking air samples is one way to address the problem, he uses

another technique. " For me, the best way is to look for moisture, "

he said, explaining that he uses a moisture meter and visual

inspection to detect the presence of moisture in walls, floors and

ceilings. " Once I've found a place that looks like it has had some

water damage, that's where I'll look for mold. "

Mr. Olmsted noted that identifying the location is only the first

step. In most cases, he said, it is necessary to open the area and

remove and replace any wallboard or insulation that has mold.

And while it is often said that washing down a moldy surface with a

bleach solution will remove the mold, doing so typically will not

work on porous surfaces like wallboard and wood. " You might be

killing the spores that are there, " he said, " but in most cases the

mold will grow right back. "

In fact, he said, the only sure way to eliminate a mold problem is

to eliminate the moisture causing it.

" Mold is like a factory that produces billions of spores, " he

said. " The factory runs only when moisture is available. Eliminate

the moisture, and you shut down the factory. "