Mold poses challenge for flood clean-up

[Guest guest]

Mold poses challenge for flood clean-up

Minnesota Public Radio - Saint ,MN

by Sea Stachura,

September 9, 2007

Listen to feature audio

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/09/07/mold/

The Minnesota Department of Health says where there is water,

there's mold. And most of the 1,500 homes affected by the last

month's flash floods are still drying out. State officials say mold

contamination is a health concern, but it's up to homeowners to deal

with it.

Rushford, Minn. — It's a balmy afternoon in Rushford, the kind where

you might expect an ice cream truck. But things are different now.

Instead of the chimes, you hear this from the vehicle creeping up

the street: " Red Cross, cold water and snacks. All Red Cross

assistance is free. Just step up to the truck. "

Rushford still has no businesses open, and no potable water. Houses

gutted to the studs stand next to homes still leaking watery mud

from its doorways.

Reimann's houseThe smell of mold hangs in the air. According to

experts, mold can cause upper-respiratory infections, asthma,

allergies and skin rashes. It also rots wood and other materials.

Five people in the Rushford area have reported respiratory problems,

potentially related to mold.

The Minnesota Department of Health distributed flyers and held

meetings on how to decontaminate a house. Mix a quarter cup of

bleach with a gallon of water and scrub thoroughly the department

advised. Let wood and sheet rock dry completely. But these are just

suggestions. There's no officials check on a homeowner's

decontamination efforts.

Joyce Lee is prying the slats from one wall with a crowbar. Water

filled her basement and rose over three feet in the main floor. Lee

shows what she and her husband have done so far. They've removed a

foot of the drywall around the base of all the interior walls. The

studs stick out like exposed ribs.

Joyce working " Cut all the way around here, pulled all the insulation

out about six feet so it would dry out. Sprayed with Clorox. We've

used tons of Clorox, scrubbed all the floors with Clorox, " she says.

When water floods a house, the building becomes a sponge. According

to the MDH, walls will wick moisture about a foot above the highest

water mark. In Lee's house that would be just over four feet. But

Lee and her husband decided against removing all of that drywall.

" He's trying to save as much as we can not to disturb our good

windows. So we go up inside there and pull the insulation down, all

the wet insulation, and then when we hit dry then we quit, " she

explains.

Lee says she knows of homeowners around her who aren't bothering to

remove anymore than the carpet.

Joyce LeeYou can smell the mold in the house, though. Department of

Health mold specialist Dan Tranter says Lee and her husband may be

taking a bit of a risk.

" It might be okay as well. So if they can monitor the area, look

behind the sheet rock periodically, check for stains or

discoloration or peeling, then the problem has returned and they

need to go back in there are replace the sheet rock, " he says.

That would be fairly difficult, and Macalester microbiology

professor Steve Sundby, says fungi can be hard to detect, and not

all mold gives off an odor.

" Certainly the easiest way to detect it would be if they are

actively growing and you see the hyphae stage, which is normally

what we would call mold, " Sundby says. " The spore stage would be

much harder to detect, especially if they're dispersed around. "

JunkpileSundby says spores can be inhaled and grow inside the lungs.

But if mold doesn't have moisture, it can't grow.

According to the Department of Health detecting mold in a home is

the responsibility of the building inspector.

But officials in cities throughout the flood affected region say

their building inspectors aren't focusing on mold. They're making

sure the structure is sound and the electrical system is safe. Any

visual signs of mold may be noted in the report, but it wouldn't

stop an inspector from issuing an occupancy permit.

Rushford City Administrator Windy Block says he's considering

requiring a specific inspection for mold. The flood partially

submerged over 300 homes in Rushford.

Rushford sign " It does no one any good to long-term build something

back only to have it fail three years down the road. And my concern

is we don't want homes that have been flooded, not properly taken

care of at this time and then left for some future generation to

deal with that will have issues, " he says.

If Rushford does require a mold inspection, the city could face

another hurdle: the Minnesota Department of Health says the state

has no standard for what is an acceptable mold level. Officials say

that's because each person's reaction to mold, varies widely.