Homes are perfect place for mold

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http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/011202/dsd_8306293.html

Saturday, January 12, 2002

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Whisler noticed a bulge in her bedroom wall on the other side of

the bathroom. She removed tiles and found mold.

-- Bob Mack/Staff

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Homes are perfect place for mold

Indoor moisture attracts fungus

What about that mildrew in my shower?

Scientists 'know very, very little' about health effects The Mold War

By Marcia Mattson

Times-Union staff writer

There's a fungus among us. Mold thrives just about everywhere outdoors in

Florida's warm, moist climate.

When mold starts to reproduce inside a home, it can gobble up the structure,

cause thousands of dollars in damage and possibly make family members sick.

Mold spores, sort of like microscopic seeds, are always on the move. They

already are sprinkled around homes, floating inside each time a door or

window opens.

" Mold in the South's more prevalent than pollen, on a yearlong basis, " said

Mizrahi, a ville physician who specializes in allergies and

asthma.

The spores don't require much to start reproducing indoors -- just moisture

from extremely humid air, a slow leak or flooding, and food. Homes are a

smorgasbord for mold, which will eat wood, paneling, some grout, drywall,

dust, glue, paper, paint, insulation, soil, mulch, pet dander, bacteria and

plants.

Most people are used to fighting a mold called " mildew " in their bathrooms.

But mold on the tile isn't such a big deal. Just clean it with the No. 1

mold-fighter -- chlorine bleach. One cup of bleach per gallon of water will

do.

Big problems happen if moisture gets behind the tile. It won't dry out

because tile does not breathe.

Homeowners can follow some basic rules to keep mold from taking over their

house.

The No. 1 thing to do: Stop a sudden water leak right away. Then clean up an

d dry out the area fast.

Some experts say to dry the area within 48 hours. But that's waiting too

long, said Subrato Chandra, the buildings research division director for the

Florida Solar Energy Center, a research institute of the University of

Central Florida.

" If you let water sit in the house more than 24 hours, your house will soon

become a mold factory, and you will have mold all over the house, " said

Chandra, who has directed research on indoor air quality and

energy-efficient buildings for the U.S. Department of Energy and American

Lung Association.

Sometimes water problems aren't as noticeable as a sudden pipe that bursts.

Several Northeast Florida homeowners complain that walls in some of their

rooms grow moldy every so often. They wipe the walls with bleach, but the

mold returns in a few weeks or months.

That is a sign the back side of the wall is getting wet, said

Uhland, president of SkyeTec Indoor Environmental Solutions. The

ville company investigates mold problems for insurance companies and

homeowners.

The cause of a molding wall could range from a leaking roof to a soggy

foundation. Again, the homeowner needs to find and correct the cause of the

moisture, then arrange to have the molded wall removed and replaced.

Typically, when the wall is removed the back side is much moldier than the

side the homeowner sees, Uhland said.

Mold also can grow when the relative humidity in a house is too high.

Meters that gauge relative humidity sell at electronics stores for about

$30, Chandra said. He advises getting one and placing it in a high humidity

area, such as the kitchen, in the early morning when the air will be at its

moistest.

The relative humidity should be at 40 to 50 percent and in the summer should

not exceed 60 percent, he said.

" If it does, you know you have some problems, " Chandra said.

Another problem is too many houses have oversized air conditioners that

quickly lower the temperature inside but don't run long enough to extract

much moisture from the air, said Rose, a research architect with the

University of Illinois Building Research Council. Rose is overseeing a

multi-year moisture-monitoring project as part of a Cleveland study by the

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

" Air conditioners that use a small amount of power but run a long time are

the enemy of mold, " Rose said.

Chandra said large air conditioners in mobile homes are a particular

problem. But a certified air conditioner mechanic can lower a central air

conditioner's blower speed so the unit cools the air more slowly, and thus

runs longer, pulling more air over its cooling coil -- where the water can

condense and drain away.

" You use a little more energy, but you might be coming out ahead, " Chandra

said.

Regular maintenance checks on air conditioners also is crucial.

Houses can develop mold in their air ducts if the air conditioner isn't

draining properly. And if the filter isn't regularly cleaned or replaced,

dirt will get into the duct work, providing mold with food. That duct work

can be hard to clean, and in some cases might have to be replaced.

Making sure showers, tubs and windows are well-caulked is another way to

prevent mold.

Problems with shower pans can cause extensive damage, said Bill Fenwick Jr.

Mold sometimes spreads along the inside of walls, unbeknownst to a homeowner

until the clothes in the back of a closet grow moldy.

Whisler said she had no clue that moisture had gotten behind the tile

in her master bedroom's shower until the bedroom wall on the other side of

the shower suddenly puffed out.

Whisler, who lives in a Southside condo, also had started coughing and

feeling sick at night. Then, the tile started to come loose. Behind it, the

wall had disintegrated. The bedroom wall behind it was black with mold.

She stopped using the shower, and her nighttime symptoms have cleared up.

" It's been much better since it's been exposed and it's dried out, " she

said.

She is having her shower pan replaced and new walls and tile work done.

Marcia Mattson can be reached at (904) 359-4073 or at

mmattson@....