A. We are considering purchasing a home that has just been built here in Alberta. A few weeks ago my realtor informed me that a clamp on the main bathroom sink broke off in the middle of the night, sending water throughout the main floor and down the stairs to the finished basement. The water was discovered the next morning after it happened. The flooring on the main floor was ripped out (down to the plywood) and the basement was completely gutted down to the studs. Fans were used to air out the floors and the wet gyproc was taken out. I walked through the house today and everything seemed dry to me. The basement had been completely re-dry walled. I know this because it was completely finished when I walked through before the accident. I could not smell anything that would indicate mould or mildew. It is extremely dry up here in the winter. Although I feel much better after seeing what was replaced and taken out, I still have a nagging feeling I should protect myself "just in case". We do wish to purchase this property but of course want to protect our investment. What do you suggest?

Q. All of the timbers inside newly-constructed home's walls, the new gypsum boards, and the entire cleaned out area should have been inspected for mould growth, mould remediated, and then sprayed with at least two wet sprayings of a fungicide, followed up by the application of antimicrobial coating. Learn the 25 steps for safe and effective mould remediation. At this point in time, since you really like the home, you should use our do it yourself mould test kits [which we can send to you in Canada] to mould test the air of the basement, each room, attic, and the outward air flow from each heating/cooling duct register.

February 02, 2005

Q. We live in Canada in a 4 year old house. Over the last two weeks, we have been smelling this unusual smell in the basement. It is very difficult to determine what it is. It is sort of stagnant old type of odor. The smell comes and goes throughout the day. It is particularly worse around dinner. There are no signs of mice or any other anima. We have no pets either.

The smell is now coming through the vent of my son’s room which is on top floor, yet there is no smell at all on the main floor. It seems to be concentrated in the ceiling area of the basement near the front door (it is an unfinished basement). Yet the vent up to my son’s room is on the other side of the basement. There are no signs of mould or moisture along the walls or floor. We are going crazy to figure it out! Do you have any suggestions? We need to stop this very annoying odour!

Mould growth in a home in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. A. basements are famous for high humidity and/or water leaks and mould growth. The strange smell may well be from mold. Protect your family’s health by an in-depth mould investigation. You need to inspect your basement and your entire house very closely for visible mould growth by following the steps in http://www.moldinspection.com. You also need to basement and the entire house with out do-it-BEST-yourself mould test kits, now available for delivery in Canada at our online mould products catalog.

February 01, 2005

Q. My wife and I bought a 50 year old house in Barrie, Ontario 3 years ago. I started sleeping in the basement guest room and became rather ill – dizziness and then pneumonia. For 3 years running, I have contracted pneumonia, and I am thinking it is something in the basement. Whether I am in the workshop area or the guest room or anywhere for a prolonged period (3-4) days), I seem to feel real woozy and running nose and stuffed up nose. The illness cleared up but I am still stuffed and I wonder if it is a basement air quality thing. My immune system is low because it has not affected my wife. Can you help me?

A. To find out if your serious mould health problem might be related to your living in mould contamination, you should mould test the basement and your entire house with our do-it-yourself mold test kits we can express to you in Canada. Any existence of molds in your home can be associated with your health conditions. You also need to see your physician immediately. Here are other helpful suggestions:
To get rid of the mould threat to your health and real estate investment, check your home or other building for water intrusion problems. Make sure your kitchen and bathroom exhaust vents go directly to the outside, not into your attic or inside walls. Check your home or building carefully for roof, siding, plumbing water leaks, construction defects, or maintenance degradation, which permit water to enter your home. Properly vent the attic to allow moisture to escape rather than collect in the attic. Attic mould easily grows into the walls and ceilings below. Check all areas of your house or building year round (including basement, crawl space, each room, attic and garage) for the possibility of high indoor humidity with a $30 hygrometer from a large hardware store, Home Depot, or Lowe’s. If the humidity exceeds 50-60% some or all of the year, you have invited mould to be your permanent building resident. Use a programmable dehumidifier to keep indoor moisture to a mold-discouraging 30-40%. Air conditioning systems should be checked to ensure that they drain properly and do not retain moisture. Moisture along with dust particles that occur in the system, creates a breeding ground for mould that spread via the heating/cooling system through out the house or building. You should visually check all areas of your home or building with a flashlight and your sense of smell (e.g. duct registers, attic, crawl space, basement, etc.) in accordance with the physical mould inspection tips provided in Phillip Fry's mold advice ebook Do It Best Yourself Mold Inspection, Testing, Remediation, and Prevention. You should use do it yourself mould test kits to mould test any visible mould growths, the air of each room, basement, crawlspace, attic, garage, the outward air flow from each heating/cooling duct register, and inside the passenger compartment of your vehicles (often mould cross contaminated if your home or office is mould infested). If there is even a hidden mould problem inside the basement, crawlspace, attic, walls, ceilings and the heating/cooling system, usually detectable airborne mould spores will make it into the air. If the indoor mould levels are elevated in comparison to your outdoor mould control test, you know that you probably have a serious mould problem which needs further investigation and possible mould remediation. Watch the mould test kits for 7 consecutive days.
Use our self-analysis forms for analyzing the results of your various mould test samplings. If any of the test kits show a large number of mould colonies of one or more different types of mould (visually different to you), you can also submit the mould test kits mold laboratory for mould analysis and mould species identification.Complete mould test instructions, self-analysis procedures, and testing techniques are explained in the website section Mould Inspection. If mould test results indicate a problem, you may then want to hire a Certified Mould Inspector to use fiber optics to inspect inside walls, ceilings, floors and the heating/cooling ducts for evidence of physical mould growth and to do in depth mould investigation and inspection.Learn the 25 steps recommended for safe and effective mould remediation. Buy the best air cleaner to remove airborne mould spores from your home, apartment or office air to protect your family or co-workers against breathing in elevated levels of airborne mould spores. This electronic air cleaner is rated the most effective by the leading, non-profit USA consumer products testing organization. Become your own effective mould expert to improve your personal home or apartment environmental safety and/or the environmental health of your workplace and investment properties by reading all three of our mould advice, email delivered books. Read Mould Health Guide, $15; Mold Legal Guide, $15; and Do-It-BEST-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing, and Remediation, $15). To order, please visit Mold Mart. Become a Certified Mould Inspector and Certified Mould Remediator through our distance training program. For details, please visit Ecology College Online.

Real Estate & Mould                                          Real People & Mould
Mould Advice                                                     Q&A Removal
Carpet & Mould                                                  Legal Q & A
Mould In Schools                                                New Home Q & A
Workplace Q & A                                               Mould FAQ 2005 Collection

Do-It-Best-Yourself Mold Solutions

Phil can help you fix your own property’s mold problems at low-cost, more safely, and better-in- results than what is done by many mold inspectors and mold contractors. How can Phil help you?

     1. Read Phil’s five plain-English, mold advice books to master mold inspection, testing, removal, remediation, and prevention for your house, condo, apartment, office, or workplace.

     2. Buy do-it-yourself, affordable mold test kits, mold lab analysis, video inspection scope, mold cleaner, mold killer, and a mold-killing high ozone blaster for the successful toxic and household mold inspection, mold testing, mold species identification and quantification, mold cleaning, mold removal, and mold remediation to find mold, kill mold, clean mold, and remove mold from your residence or commercial building.

     3. Get FREE mold advice, mold help, and/or answers to your mold questions, by emailing mold expert Phillip Fry at envirodangers@yahoo.com. You can also email pictures of your mold problems in jpeg file format as email attachments.