Re: Re: air purifier and cleaning house

[Guest guest]

,

Anita gave you some really good and accurate information! What

I would add is a couple of clarifying details.

1. Dogs can detect all kinds of odors at very low levels. But they

must be carefully trained with frequent re-training. And the

training must be for specific objects. A dog trained for mold won't

be able to detect drugs or cancer or track escaped convicts, for

example.

2. HEPA filters are the type you want for particles, including mold.

But if you need odor or fragrance removal then HEPA won't work.

You will need charcoal and other removal materials. But neither

works very well if there continues to be a significant source.

HEPA needs to be properly sized for the room. The box will

usually say something like " 6 air exchanges per hour for a 200 sq

foot room. "

If the room is larger you need a HEPA with more air flow (CFM).

If you need more than 6 exchanges per hour - and I recommend

10-12 or more - then you need either a bigger HEPA or more

HEPAs.

HEPA filters have another important rating called the CADR

(Clean Air Delivery Rate). The best is in the range of 200-300+

and will cost more. 80-120 is often a good compromise between

effectiveness and price.

Less than 50 is usually a waste of money. Most of those will be

the electrostatic types without a fan or the ones that generate

ozone. Those often claim they will " purify " the air up to a 2000 sq

ft room. No way is this possible! Besides, they will cost as much

as a 300 CADR but with an effectiveness of 25-30. Why pay for a

Porsche but get only a bicycle.

3. " Good " remediators can do what Anita said. Begin qualifying

them by going to hhcontractors.org to find which certifications are

credible and independantly accredited. The remediator should not

determine what needs to be done, how to do it, and how much to

do by himself on expensive jobs. It's like asking your car

mechanic if you need a tune-up. Of course you do!

Small jobs usually won't make much difference but as the dollar

amount grows so does the risk from the conflict of interest. Get

an assessment with a defined scope of work and have several

remediators bid on the same requirements. If you leave the

scope to the remediators you will get a typical range of $1000 to

$12,000. All for the same job! Because some want to " get in, get

out, get paid " while others want to do all kinds of unnecessary

work to get paid more money.

How do you decide which is honest? Get an assessment and

scope of work from someone who is independent from the

remediator.

Carl Grimes

Healthy Habitats LLC

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HELLO DENISE,

HOPE THESE ANSWERS HELP.

desperate need to buy 2 for my house. one for bedroom, and for family

room(larger

GET A HEPA FILTER AIR PURIFIER

had a mold sniffing dog and inspector come. HAS ANYONE HEARD OF

OR HAS USED DOGS TO DETECT MOLD?

I DON'T THINK YOU CAN GET BETTER SERVICE THAN THAT. DOGS

CAN DETECT THE SLIGHTEST AMOUNT OF ODOR

the landlord is going to replace.

MAKE SURE HE USES A MOLD REMEDIATOR TO REPLACE IT OR

AT LEAST LEARNS HOW TO REMOVE THE MOLD PROPERLY

HIMSELF. THAT CANNOT BE OVEREMPHASIZED. STRESS THIS

POINT TO HIM, THAT IT MEANS YOUR HEALTH. THERE ARE LOTS

OF BOOKS THAT EXPLAIN HOW TO DO IT YOURSELF. FOR

EXAMPLE; CONTAINING THE AREA WITH PLASTIC SHEETING

AND USING A NEGATIVE PRESSURE MACHINE TO PREVENT

SPREAD OF SPORES THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE. IF HE IS

UNWILLING TO PAY THE EXPENSE OF A REMEDIATOR OFFER TO

SHARE THE COST WITH HIM.

how should area be cleaned?

AFTER REMEDIATORS ARE FINISHED THEY SIMPLY WIPE DOWN

THE WALLS WITH PLAIN WATER IF NEEDED. SPORES DO NOT

NEED TO BE KILLED, SIMPLY REMOVED. THEY ARE LIKE SEEDS

THAT CANNOT GROW WITHOUT FOOD OR WATER.

if mold has extended, beyond the molding, how do we safely remove?

A REMEDIATOR WILL KNOW HOW.

i unwrapped the bubbled wrapped items and we wiped with bleach

wipes.

is that good enough?

IF THERE ARE ONLY SPORES ON NON POROUS SURFACES THEN

WIPING WITH WATER IS SUFFICIENT. IF THERE IS MOLD

GROWTH ON HARD SURFACES THEN KILLING IT WITH BLEACH

OR PEROXIDE IS NECESSARY. IF NON POROUS ITEMS HAVE

MOLD AND CAN'T BE WASHED THEN DISCARD ITEMS.

how do i clean my house now?

WIPE DOWN WALLS WITH WATER AND VACUUM WITH HEPA

VACUUM.

if mold boxes are out, do i hepa vacuum all of home, walls, furniture,

floors.

YES

i have a sensitivity to chemicals. what do other do to clean hose and rid

as much as possible, mold spores?

SPORES WIPE AWAY WITH PLAIN WATER

have i cross contaminated again?

AIR OUT THE HOUSE WELL, WIPE WALLS WITH WATER AND

HEPA VACUUM. THAT SHOULD DO IT.

i wonder how the boxes in cc storage got mold?

HMMM...... PERHAPS ITEMS WERE DAMP WHEN PACKED, OR HAD

MOLD EXPOSURE FROM PREVIOUS DWELLING. I HAVE THINGS

IN CC STORAGE TOO, BUT ITEMS WERE IN HOUSE WITH MOLDY

KITCHEN CABINETS, SO I WONDER WHAT SPORES WERE

BROUGHT INTO STORAGE WITH IT.

i am beside myself right now.

I KNOW, I GET SO FREAKED OUT ABOUT MOLD. RELAX, IT WILL

HURT YOU WORSE PHYSICALLY TO BE AGITATED. YOU ARE

DOING THE RIGHT THINGS. YOU HAVE EVERY REASON TO FEEL

CALM. THAT WILL HELP YOU A LOT.

after cleaning do air purifiers help and which do i buy?

HEPA FILTER PURIFIERS. NOT SURE ON THEIR EFFICACY.

if house is clean except for the window, which is being replaced, is it safe

to say the place is fairly safe? can one get rid of most spores, with

cleaning, hepa and purifiers?

YES

do anyone every get well from all of this?

YES

i am on csm and see a tiny improvement in 3 1/2 weeks, just don't know

if i will every get better having be exposed for 2 years in one house,

unknowing what was wrong, moved to new place with only clothes,

books. picture (so still had mold with me) got better but still sick. moved

to another new house, moved all moldy furniture to new house,

unknowing, and was badly re=exposed a second time. has now moved

from louisiana to colorado and rented a new house and as above have

described problems.

DID YOU REPLACE THE FURNITURE? WIPE DOWN HARD

SURFACES OF GOOD PIECES?

can anyone help?

YES, AND YOU CAN GET BETTER. I WAS EXPOSED FOR 9 YEARS

AND NOW THAT I KNOW WHAT TO DO I SEE IMPROVEMENT.

i know there are mold spore everywhere, but do we ever recovery from

this? are we ever safe? if i have cross contaminated, i am dunned b/c i

am out of money and still very sick.

IT TAKES A LONG TIME TO GET BETTER. YOU WILL BE OK NOW

THAT YOU KNOW WHAT IS WRONG AND WHAT TO DO. YES,

THERE ARE MOLD SPORES EVERYWHERE, BUT IT IS GENERALLY

ONLY ELEVATED LEVELS THAT ARE A PROBLEM. YOU CAN HAVE

AIR SAMPLING DONE IN YOUR HOME BY THE SAME KIND OF

MOLD EXPERT WHO CAME. IT CAN GIVE YOU PEACE OF MIND TO

FIND OUT THE MOLD COUNT OF SPORES IN YOUR HOME. IF

THEY ARE IN THE LOW HUNDREDS THEN YOU ARE FINE. I AM

SURE ALREADY THAT THE SAMPLES WOULD COME OUT FINE

BECAUSE THE DOG ONLY FOUND MOLD IN ONE AREA. IT COULD

BE THE TINIEST AMOUNT IN THE WORLD AND A DOG WOULD

FIND IT. THEY ARE THAT GOOD.

thanks for help, support and response to questions

YOU ARE SO WELCOME. ALWAYS ASK, THAT IS WHAT THESE

GROUPS ARE FOR. I AM NOT AN EXPERT AND THERE ARE

OTHERS WHO CAN GIVE BETTER ANSWERS THAN ME, BUT I

HAVE BEEN THROUGH A LOT WITH MOLD AND HAVE LEARNED A

LOT ABOUT IT THIS YEAR.

sorry so long

NO PROBLEM ;-) I ONLY HOPE THIS HELPS. YOU SOUND LIKE YOU

ARE DOING THE RIGHT THINGS. BEST OF LUCK WITH

EVERYTHING. LET US KNOW HOW THINGS TURN OUT. SOMEONE

ELSE WILL PROBABLY HAVE BETTER ADVICE THAN ME ON THE

MOLD REMOVAL.