Many commercial buildings vulnerable to mold

[Guest guest]

ON WALTER REED PROBLEMS

AS I SEE IT: Many commercial buildings vulnerable to mold

By DAN THROCKMORTON

Kansas City Star - MO

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/opinion/16989430.htm

The black mold found on the walls of Walter Army Medical Center

should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with building design

and construction. Unfortunately, mold is more than a common

occurrence in most commercial buildings, including hotels and

hospitals.

Exterior walls, usually on the south and west elevations,

constructed with Sheetrock and finished with vinyl wall-covering are

most vulnerable. The mold develops when an exterior wall, which is

not properly insulated, is heated by the sun. The heated air in this

instance builds up inside the wall and eventually dissipates by

passing or " breathing " through the interior side of the wall.

If a vinyl wall covering is applied on the interior side of the

wall, the hot air in the wall will not be able to " breath " or

dissipate. If this trapped hot air is then exposed to a room cooled

by air conditioning, the air will condense between the vinyl and

Sheetrock. Black mold will develop under these conditions. Black

mold will also develop around exterior windows that are not properly

sealed and allow air and moisture to leak through.

Unfortunately, when the mold problem is discovered, walls in most

buildings are not properly repaired or fixed to prevent the

reoccurrence of future mold development.

In many instances a " bandage solution " is used. The mold is sanded

away, the wall resealed or primed and a new vinyl wall-covering

applied. This does not fix the problem. The mold will return. The

only way to effectively prevent the return of the mold is to

properly insulate and seal the wall before a new vinyl wall-covering

is applied.

The conditions at Walter hospital are not an isolated problem

but a problem that many of us are exposed to but unaware of every

time we enter a room surfaced with vinyl wall-covering. The black

mold is there but just not apparent until the wall-covering is

removed. It should be noted the problem is not with the vinyl wall-

covering, which is an excellent surface material, but with the

poorly constructed and insulated exterior walls.

The situation at Walter Army Medical Center is just the " tip of

the iceberg " relevant to mold in buildings. Our exposure to black

mold is much more commonplace than we think, but we are just not

aware of it.

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Dan Throckmorton is the president of Webb Throckmorton and

Associates Interior Design and Space Planning. He lives in Leawood.