Another fungus Story

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A FUNGUS AMONG US

Sunday, January 6, 2002

FEATURES - HOME & GARDEN 01I

By Lee Stratton

Dispatch Home Reporter

Illustration: Photo

To fight mold

Health officials recommend these steps:

* Eliminate the source of moisture and dry the area for two or three days.

* Wear gloves, protective clothing and a mask or respirator when handling

moldy material.

* Remove porous, mold-laden materials such as drywall, paper, insulation,

carpeting and decayed or soft wood. Hard materials, including glass, plastic

and metal, can be kept if they are cleaned and disinfected. Bag and dispose

of the damaged material.

* Clean the area with a nonammonia soap or detergent dissolved in hot water.

Wear gloves and use a stiff brush on block walls. Because bleach is later

used in the disinfection process, ammonia must not be used. Combined, bleach

and ammonia create dangerous fumes.

* Rinse clean with water.

* Disinfect the moldy area with 1 to 1 1/2 cups of bleach in a gallon of

water. Because of the fumes, make sure the area is well-ventilated.

* Allow to dry overnight.

To learn more

Products and information to combat mold are available from government and

private agencies. Some Web sites are:

.. www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/doh/html/epi/moldrpt1.html -- New York City's

guidelines for mold assessment and removal, which also are recommended by

the Ohio Department of Health.

.. www.cdc.gov/nceh/asthma/factsheets/molds/default.htm -- The Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention lists questions and answers on stachybotrys

chartarum and other molds.

.. www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/moldresources.html -- The Environmental Protection

Agency's indoor-air-quality site for mold in homes.

.. www.cal-iaq.org/mold9803.htm -- California Department of Health Services

publication, Mold in My Home: What Do I Do?

.. www.StartRemodeling.com -- a clearinghouse of residential- mold

information and other remodeling resources.

Mold, an organism as old as dirt, is the most recent entrant into the parade

of home-environment concerns -- following lead paint, asbestos, radon gas

and formaldehyde.

Black mold and other toxic strains captured headlines after some houses were

burned or razed, and courts ordered insurance companies to pay damages up to

$32 million.

The reports of these few high-profile cases heightened awareness and

concerns, health officials say.

Mold is enough of a health threat to warrant removal, experts say.

" There is no acceptable threshold of mold. If you can see it or smell it,

it's a problem, " said Mandy Burkett, chief of the Ohio Department of

Health's indoor-environments section.

Mold is considered a more potent threat to people with weakened immune

systems, allergies or respiratory problems such as asthma.

The Columbus Health Department received more than 100 mold-related calls

last year, said Richter, a public-health sanitarian. He attributes the

increased concern to news coverage.

" There are two sides to this mold story, " he said. " The degree of the

problem is up to debate. There is no mold meter. There is no specific level

of exposure in which health authorities say mold is dangerous. "

The Columbus Health Department has never ordered a home vacated because of

mold, although it sometimes is present with other conditions that make a

home unsafe.

Neither the state nor Columbus health departments conduct residential mold

inspections or testing. Representatives said their agencies direct residents

to other sources of information such as the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention in Atlanta.

Mold is not just a problem for poorly maintained rental units or older homes

with leaky roofs.

Anne Haney expected carefree retirement living in the new three-bedroom,

three-bath condominium she and her husband bought two years ago on the Far

North Side.

Mrs. Haney first noted the carpet quickly developed traffic patterns. The

grout in the bathroom tile appeared to wear thin nine months after they

moved in.

In January 2001, large, brown stains appeared in the middle of the

first-floor bathroom wall, she said.

" I had no idea what was causing it, " Mrs. Haney said. " I thought something

was bleeding through. "

She said the builder's representatives offered no explanation or help until

after she hired a lawyer.

A worker arrived to replace the wall, she said.

" He took a hammer to it. When the hammer hit the wall, the entire thing just

crumbled, " she said. " The stench of the mold would have killed you. "

The back of the deteriorated drywall and the inside of the exterior wall

were black with mold.

After the living room's hardwood floors buckled, the flooring contractor

tested the hydrostatic pressure in the concrete slab. He found it was 4 1/2

times the highest level recommended by the National Association of Home

Builders.

Mrs. Haney said poor drainage outside the building is causing moisture to

seep through the floors and walls in a number of the condos.

Mold may offer a greater threat than musty odors and soggy walls.

Burkett was on a team of state health investigators that concluded in 1977

that the deaths of nine infants in low-income housing development in

Cleveland resulted from exposure to a combination of toxic mold and

cigarette smoke. The Centers for Disease Control later disputed that

conclusion, saying not enough scientific evidence linked the deaths to mold.

" But there is sufficient evidence to know that mold can aggravate

respiratory problems and that chronic exposure will cause people to develop

sensitivities, " Burkett said. " It just isn't a good thing to have in your

environment. "

CDC officials say that common reactions to molds include hay-feverlike

symptoms. People with chronic respiratory problems may experience difficulty

breathing, and those with suppressed immune systems may have a greater risk

for infection from molds. Reports of greater problems resulting from

mycotoxins in homes are rare and not conclusive, CDC officials say.

Burkett said 90 percent of the inquiries her office receives concern mold.

" In about the last three years, mold has become the top air-quality

problem, " she said.

Most of the calls are about the much-publicized stachybotrys chartarum or

black mold. It contains mycotoxins, which have been linked to weakened blood

vessels, nose bleeds and bleeding in the lungs.

" There are all kinds of mold that are black, and stachybotrys is not always

black, " said Burkett, an epidemiologist. " Mold comes in all colors and

looks. Its appearance depends on its life cycle. "

She said that in most cases, a homeowner's money is better spent eliminating

the problem than testing to find out what kind of mold is present.

" Any kind of mold in your indoor environment is a problem. "

Mold does not appear randomly from unknown sources. It is the result of a

more basic problem -- moisture.

" Mold spores are omnipresent in the environment, " Burkett said. " You are

always going to have mold spores. You can't control that. They can feed on

anything. Moisture is the control factor. You have to figure out where the

moisture supporting the mold is coming from and cut it off. "

A leaky roof or pipe or a poorly ventilated bathroom or laundry can provide

mold the moisture to grow in drywall, wood or carpeting.

Eliminate the water problem, and you are on the way to eliminating the mold.

Time and area size are other factors. An area that dries within 48 hours is

less likely to support mold. Small areas -- less than 10 square feet -- of

mold usually can be handled by the home's occupant, Burkett said. Scrub the

area with a solution of a cup of bleach in a gallon of water.

But that does not mean remedies are always easy or inexpensive. Sometimes

moisture damage and mold growth are so extensive that carpet and even walls

must be replaced.

" One of the biggest questions we are asked about is carpeting, " Burkett

said. " Carpeting is one of the hardest things to dry. The padding almost

always grows mold when the carpeting stays wet. When rugs are steam-cleaned

or shampooed, the person doing it has to use equipment with enough vacuum

power to draw the water out. "

For major infestations of mold, residents need protective clothing and

special gear, or they should hire a contractor who specializes in mold

abatement.

The latter poses its own problems because there are no credentials or

certification for mold-abatement contractors. Horror stories exist of

contractors making the problem worse, Burkett said.

Consumers must rely on a contractor's references and recommendations.

" For people who rent and say the roof or plumbing is leaking, and the

landlord won't fix it, my only advice is 'You may be better off moving,' "

Burkett said. " People don't like to hear that. But if your health is at

issue, and you don't own the property, it may be the only option. "

lstratton@...

Caption: (1) Jeff Pouland / Dispatch

A photo in the repaired bathroom of Anne Haney's 2-year-old condominium

shows the mold-covered drywall that crumbled when a worker hit it with a

hammer. Haney blames poor ground-water drainage for the mold growth.

(2) StartRemodeling.com

Black mold and other fungi cover the drywall behind a basement shower stall.

(3) StartRemodeling.com

An electron microscope shows the complexity of a mature stachybotrys

chartarum spore, or black mold.

(4) Jeff Pouland / Dispatch

Anne Haney blames drainage problems for the mold she's fought at her

condominium.