Re: Can pink fiber-glass insulation grow mold?

[Guest guest]

No mold or bacteria can use any fiberglass for food no matter what the color.

The difference in the colors is the binder that glues the fibers together in the

shape of a batt. Different manufacturers use different colors so theirs will be

identified. However, dust and dampness on the fibers can grow mold and

bacteria.

If air is moving through the insulation then the fibers will filter dust and

mold spores out of the air. But if it stays dry the mold cannot grow.

Keep in mind the difference between spores (seeds) and growth (colonies).

Carl Grimes

Healthy Habitats LLC

(fm my Blackberry)

[] Can pink fiber-glass insulation grow mold?

[Guest guest]

yes i believe so.

From: research1844 <research1844@...>

Subject: [] Can pink fiber-glass insulation grow mold?

Date: Friday, June 25, 2010, 4:10 AM

[Guest guest]

RESEARCH1844,

Technically, Carl is correct (that mold cannot subsist on minerals)

and in reality, all exposed insulation collects dust (which can get

moldy when exposed to moisture).

The unfortunate reality is that exposed fiberglass insulation in

basements and crawl spaces can be severely mold-infested and still be

as pretty pink or yellow as the day it was installed.

I have taken samples from the exposed insulation in hundreds of

basements and crawl spaces. About 70% of the samples from basements

and 100% of samples from crawl spaces have mold growth (usually

Aspergillus and/or Cladosporium). More than a third of the samples

contain very significant infestations of mold-eating mites, another

source of allergens.

In many homes, the moldy insulation is infested with mice, who help to

disturb and aerosolize the spores.

The only way to prevent this mold growth is to control the basement

relative humidity (RH), by maintaining it at no more than 50%; the RH

must be independently measured with a hygrometer.

In new construction, most insulation batts sit first on the basement

floor which is usually covered with sawdust. I have investigated homes

that were still under construction in which basement RH was not

controlled during August and September and which contained mold growth

in the insulation before the home was even sold.

There is a scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of mold growing on

fiberglass in " My House is Killing Me! "

There is no exposed fiberglass in the basement of my new home and I

would never install this insulation below grade.

May

May Indoor Air Investigations LLC

Tyngsborough, MA

www.mayindoorair.com

978-649-1055

7a. CAN PINK FIBER-GLASS INSULATION GROW MOLD?

>

> POSTED BY: " RESEARCH1844\ " R

>

> Fri Jun 25, 2010 6:36 pm (PDT)

>

>

> RE: CAN PINK FIBER-GLASS INSULATION GROW MOLD?

[Guest guest]

However, stachy toxins stick very well to fiberglass and to plastic, and don't

degrade easily. That can be a problem as these toxins are nasty.

>

> No mold or bacteria can use any fiberglass for food no matter what the color.

The difference in the colors is the binder that glues the fibers together in the

shape of a batt. Different manufacturers use different colors so theirs will be

identified. However, dust and dampness on the fibers can grow mold and

bacteria.

>

> If air is moving through the insulation then the fibers will filter dust and

mold spores out of the air. But if it stays dry the mold cannot grow.

>

> Keep in mind the difference between spores (seeds) and growth (colonies).

>

> Carl Grimes

> Healthy Habitats LLC

> (fm my Blackberry)

>

> [] Can pink fiber-glass insulation grow mold?

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Jeff, thanks so much for that useful information.

I am considering looking at rental or purchase of an MCS safe house outside

Austin. It seems like he did much correctly. He used fiberboard instead of

drywall, agriboard (those concrete panels that look like wood) on the outside,

metal roof, shielded wiring, tile floors, formaldehyde free etc etc. My two

concerns (not having seen it yet) are the recycled denim insulation in the roof.

To my mind this is problematic. Cotton molds easily. It loves water and moisture

and it molds very fast. Wool would have been better. OTOH with a metal roof and

the house only 5 years old, if he's controlling humidity it might be fine.

In addition, I have no idea how he maintains his hvac. The compressor is

outside, but if people don't use the filters you mention and keep RH down in the

house, can't mold enter the system?

I wonder if that's the case, if it can be fixed...perhaps by installing the

right merv filters?

Again I haven't seen the house yet but much about it sounds great.

>

> RESEARCH1844,

>

> Technically, Carl is correct (that mold cannot subsist on minerals)

> and in reality, all exposed insulation collects dust (which can get

> moldy when exposed to moisture).

>

> The unfortunate reality is that exposed fiberglass insulation in

> basements and crawl spaces can be severely mold-infested and still be

> as pretty pink or yellow as the day it was installed.

>

[Guest guest]

I was told by a mold remediation company that pink fiberglass is the least

inexpensive fiberglass on the market due to materials that used to make it and

that it can grow mold. Than I was told by another mold remediation company that

insulation cant grow mold regardless of what it's made of but if there's any

dirt in it that mold can and will grow. We have white fiberglass in the basement

and pink in the crawl space, believe it or not I feel less symptomatic in the

crawl space than in my own bedroom.

Beings I asked the same question to two different mold remediation companies and

received two different answers Im just as confused as ever about insulation and

mold growth

[Guest guest]

i don't know about mold growth on fiberglass insulation but i have been

led to believe that spun fiberglass insulation is unhealthy as it sheds

small fiberglass particles, unhealthy for the lungs, if I were building

or remodeling, i would look for a better solution. sue v

>I was told by a mold remediation company that pink fiberglass is the

>least inexpensive fiberglass on the market due to materials that used to

[Guest guest]

We can react to hundreds of other things besides mold growth. Many of us who are

reactive to mold are also reactive to other sources.

Also, our body is constantly changing. The more exposed we have been the more

likely it is that our immune system has become more erratic. We react go one

thing today but not the day before, for example.

Just as we can't diagnose our environment one hazard at a time neither can we

explain our experience with it one reaction at a time.

Horribly complex!

Carl Grimes

Healthy Habitats LLC

(fm my Blackberry)

[] Re: Can pink fiber-glass insulation grow mold?

I was told by a mold remediation company that pink fiberglass is the least

inexpensive fiberglass on the market due to materials that used to make it and

that it can grow mold. Than I was told by another mold remediation company that

insulation cant grow mold regardless of what it's made of but if there's any

dirt in it that mold can and will grow. We have white fiberglass in the basement

and pink in the crawl space, believe it or not I feel less symptomatic in the

crawl space than in my own bedroom.

Beings I asked the same question to two different mold remediation companies and

received two different answers Im just as confused as ever about insulation and

mold growth

[Guest guest]

I have tested my fiber glass insulation in my basement, it does have mold.