Re: Question concerning a remediated building

February 14, 2011

Tug,

It is hard to get all the spores out of the basement due to the coarse nature of

the surfaces.

I always recommend that all the framing be sealed (joists and subflooring; you

can use diluted Elmer's Glue or any paint if you do not have problems with the

odor) and that the foundation and concrete floor be sealed (AFM makes a

completely odorless, water-based sealant).

Stored items have to be cleaned; if you have lots of junk, store in plastic and

use metal shelving.

May

May Indoor Air Investigations LLC

www.mayindoorair.com

>

> My g/f as many of you know HAD mold in the a/c coils of her home 5 months ago.

The mold was improperly remediated, the a/c coils replaced but the mold spores

were allowed to cross contaminate the basement. How long would someone with my

sensitivities have to wait before the house would be safe enough for me to move

into and is there anything I could do expedite the process? The basement was

wiped down and hepa vacuumed but 5 months ago I was still to sensitive to spend

anytime down there.

>

> I realize this is almost an impossible question due to the fact there's so

many variables involved but there has to be some sort of fix especially now that

so much time has gone by and all the mold has been removed.

>

> Tug

>

February 14, 2011

This is probably what I need but there are so many wires, tube and knob running

here and there, pipes, etc. I could covered the pipes but glue mixture would

get on the wires and I assume that wouldn't be good, correct?

Perhaps I could do areas that do not have the wires. Thanks Jeff

>

It is hard to get all the spores out of the basement due to the coarse nature of

the surfaces.

>

> I always recommend that all the framing be sealed (joists and subflooring; you

can use diluted Elmer's Glue or any paint if you do not have problems with the

odor) and that the foundation and concrete floor be sealed (AFM makes a

completely odorless, water-based sealant).

>

> Stored items have to be cleaned; if you have lots of junk, store in plastic

and use metal shelving.

>

> May

> May Indoor Air Investigations LLC

> www.mayindoorair.com

>

February 15, 2011

Oh wow, like you said, this is very hard to say. 5 months is a long time.

Surely it must be OK by now.

ap

----------------------------------

From: Tug

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My g/f as many of you know HAD mold in the a/c coils of her home 5 months ago.

The mold was improperly remediated, the a/c coils replaced but the mold spores

were allowed to cross contaminate the basement. How long would someone with my

sensitivities have to wait before the house would be safe enough for me to move

into and is there anything I could do expedite the process? The basement was

wiped down and hepa vacuumed but 5 months ago I was still to sensitive to spend

anytime down there.

February 15, 2011

What upsets me the most is I was led to believe that it would be ok to allow the

hvac cleaning company suck the mold out of the a/c coils with the hose they

normally use to clean the air ducts. IMO had the a/c coils been properly

remediated none of this would be necessary and a basement that was safe enough

for me to go down before the mold was removed would still be safe after the

remediation.

At any rate everyting has been removed from the the basement so having someone

go down there and paint it wouldnt be to difficult.

Thanks Jeff

>

> Tug,

>

> It is hard to get all the spores out of the basement due to the coarse nature

of the surfaces.

>

> I always recommend that all the framing be sealed (joists and subflooring; you

can use diluted Elmer's Glue or any paint if you do not have problems with the

odor) and that the foundation and concrete floor be sealed (AFM makes a

completely odorless, water-based sealant).

>

> Stored items have to be cleaned; if you have lots of junk, store in plastic

and use metal shelving.

>

> May

> May Indoor Air Investigations LLC

> www.mayindoorair.com

February 15, 2011

Barb,

For the ceiling framing, you have to do this with a power sprayer. It has been

done successfully many times and can make a big difference in the air quality.

If the applicator is careful, nothing electrical will get wet enough to be a

problem. (Obviously, you can't spray into a junction box!) I would not worry at

all about any pipes.

If the knob-and-tube insulation gets damp, nothing serious will happen. The only

hazard would be spraying loose connections; this could result in some hissing,

possibly an increase electrical resistance at the junction. There should be no

exposed metal connections anyway.

If anything electrical looks particularly problematic, it can always be covered

with electrical tape or if a box, temporarily with duct tape.

If paint doesn't bother you, it's easier to use since you can tell how much has

been applied. The trick is not to use too much paint; the tendency of painters

is to get it " museum " white in one coat. This is unnecessary, uses far too much

paint and takes a long time to dry (and offgas).

May

May Indoor Air Investigations LLC

www.mayindoorair.com

>

> This is probably what I need but there are so many wires, tube and knob

running here and there, pipes, etc. I could covered the pipes but glue mixture

would get on the wires and I assume that wouldn't be good, correct?

>

> Perhaps I could do areas that do not have the wires. Thanks Jeff

>

February 15, 2011

Anita thats what I keep thinking but I went down into the basement the other day

and had the same reaction I had 5 months ago the day AFTER the hvac cleaning

company sucked the spores out.

>

> Oh wow, like you said, this is very hard to say. 5 months is a long time.

Surely it must be OK by now.

> ap

February 16, 2011

Dave, has it been a wet winter and there is possibly too much himidity/dampness

that is growing new mold somewhere or increasing the mold spore count that is

normally ok when it's dry? It is a basement after all. But I suppose it

doesn't really matter. What matters is you can't be there and I'm sorry about

that. :-(

Good thing you are not where I am. It hasn't happened frequently but we heat

with a wood stove and my brother had a lot of pieces of thin wood outside from a

job he had done that they used for kindling. It was covered with black mold,

ugh.... And the pieces were not quite small enough to fit in the stove so they

would bring those pieces in, BREAK THEM UP INSIDE THE HOUSE, they would snap

snap snap the pieces into smaller ones and I just had to close my eyes and cover

my nose and try not to imagine all those spores floating around everywhere.

Twice I felt like my symptoms worsened when they did that but could have been an

emotional reaction, not sure. Fortunately I am mostly the one who makes the

fires in the morning and I don't use that kindling. I'm glad there are only two

pieces of that moldy wood left and am wondering how to dispose of it. I could

put my mask on and break them up outside and cover them with newspaper and put

them in the stove. And on top of that it is a moldy house.

Ahhhhhhh............

Need to call my former roommate and see how it's going over there.

anita

---From: Tug

Anita thats what I keep thinking but I went down into the basement the other day

and had the same reaction I had 5 months ago the day AFTER the hvac cleaning

company sucked the spores out.

February 16, 2011

No it's been a fairly mild winter so far thank God. The good news is I'm not

having such a strong reaction at least not like I had 5 months ago when I was

here which I'm sure is partially due to having the windows open during the day.

I remember the day the hvac tech sucked the mold out with the hose, I went down

into the basement and reacted immediately and beings we've had the crawl space

inspected twice and no mold was found and have since had a vapor barrier

installed tells me it can only be one thing and that's cross contamination. It

was suggested that I'm reacting from the oil thats on the new a/c coils but I

was reacting long before the new coils were ever installed.

Anita if I were in your shoes I would have put on a respirator and put all that

moldy wood in plastic bags and got rid of it or demanded they not bring that

contaminated wood in the house. When I removed the moldy wood from under my

sisters kitchen sink cabinet I reacted immediately for a good 12 hours I had a

headache that felt like the back of my head was going to explode now my biggest

problem is lightheadedness and some balance issues.

>

> Dave, has it been a wet winter and there is possibly too much

himidity/dampness that is growing new mold somewhere or increasing the mold

spore count that is normally ok when it's dry? It is a basement after all. But

I suppose it doesn't really matter. What matters is you can't be there and I'm

sorry about that. :-(

>

> Good thing you are not where I am. It hasn't happened frequently but we heat