Getting down to 'bare studs' needed to fight mold problem

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Getting down to 'bare studs' needed to fight mold problem

By AMY WOLD

awold@...

Advocate staff writer

http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/122905/new_mold001.shtml

Associated Press photo

Kayla s of Lafayette, left, breaks mold-covered drywall along

with other workers Wednesday in a New Orleans house flooded during

Hurricane Katrina. is working with a group of 50 girls as

part of Youth for the Third Millennium, a Catholic missionary group.

NEW ORLEANS -- Dressed in face masks and wearing two layers of

protective gloves, 13 volunteers from the Christian Church Disciples

of Christ in Pittsburg, Kan., pulled down Sheetrock from a Lakeview

home Wednesday.

It was their second day " on the job " so they knew the routine:

Always wear the dust mask while inside the house, said group leader

Poznich, 23.

The reason?

" Mold and mildew, " he said while the middle and high school

volunteers continued their work in the background.

Those safety precautions are exactly what members of the Holy Cross

Neighborhood Association and the Natural Resources Defense Council

want people to remember as they clean their flood-damaged homes.

In the weeks and months since hurricanes Katrina and Rita, water

that seeped into home interiors continues to feed mold growth, which

gives parts of New Orleans a musty odor.

On Wednesday, members of the association and the council gave a

brief presentation in the Holy Cross Neighborhood of why just

cleaning the walls won't solve the problem.

Pam Dashiell, president of the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association

and a consultant with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said

mold tests done in October and November show continuing high mold

levels, even in homes that were partially cleaned.

" They found that treating your house and belongings with bleach in

areas that were heavily flooded just won't do it, " Dashiell

said. " You've got to take it down to the bare studs. "

Dashiell said that once more New Orleans area schools reopen, more

people likely will be returning to the city.

" And we want people to stay safe, " Dashiell said.

That's just what Koeferl is doing at his home on Tupelo Street

in the Holy Cross Neighborhood. The home, which was placed at the

site as early as 1911, still stands but the mold now makes it

unlivable.

Inhaling mold spores can trigger asthma attacks, allergic reactions

or worsen existing lung problems.

" We can't see it, but we certainly can feel the effects of it, "

Koeferl said.

Some parts of his home remain mold free, while other areas are

covered in black, green and brown.

" You can see where we had roof damage. The mold is much worse, "

Koeferl said.

Those are the areas that need to be removed before the house is

livable, he said.

Demonstrating how to keep safe while cleaning, Koeferl put on a

disposable protective suit, plastic gloves, goggles and a disposable

face mask.

He also pulled down a piece of the moldy dry wall to show what

people should look for not only on their walls, but behind them. If

moldy dry wall is removed, it might be necessary to spray the

interior of the wall with a bleach solution to kill any remaining

mold spores, he said.

" If it flooded, it didn't just flood in this room. It flooded in the

wall, " Koeferl said.

In testing done by the Natural Resources Defense Council, indoor

mold counts at some homes show extremely high levels. Testing at one

house recorded 650,000 spores per cubic meter. According to the

National Allergy Bureau, mold readings from 6,500 to 11,999 spores

per cubic meter are considered in the moderate range; 12,000 to

49,999 are high; and anything above 50,000 is very high.

In contrast, the council reports that for two homes where the

carpets, furniture and dry wall were removed and the home allowed to

air out, the mold spore counts went down to 72,000 spores per cubic

meter. That's about the same as the outdoor mold counts, according

to a council press release.

Other homes, even flooded ones, may not need as much mold treatment –

such as some homes with plaster walls.

" Plaster is a lot harder and it doesn't give much of a medium for

mold to grown on, " Koeferl said.

That proved true a few streets away where Earl Brown, 36, spent his

second day cleaning his home.

His home's walls are made up of wood slats covered by plaster and

didn't contain any insulation to get wet. Brown said mold hasn't

been a problem during most of his cleanup.

The only room in the house where he had a mold problem is the

bathroom, he said.

That's where the walls were covered with dry wall.