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Condominium Mould Problems
[Aug. 17,
2003]
Q. I live in a 2 story
condominium in NC. In my upstairs 2 story hallway which was painted last
year, I have developed mould in a corner over a door & over another door
(where a heat/ac vent is behind the wall). I had this problem prior to
painting but hoped the new paint would eliminate the problem. I suspected
this may have something to do with my duct system which is located in this
vicinity coming from the attic area. I have been advised by a heat/ac
professional who looked at the problem prior to painting to re-wrap the
vents in the attic which he believes will help this problem, but I was not
sure if this was the answer. The wall was painted with good quality yellow
paint & I do not want to do anything to damage the color. Is there any kind
of solution I can use to remove the mould & present further damage? Or should
I proceed with re-wrapping the attic vents? The mould is only in these two
areas & no where else on the wall.
A.
You need to look for more fundamental, underlying causes of your
house mould infestation problem. You need to find the high indoor
humidity problem [60% or higher indoor humidity some or all of
the year], roof leak, or plumbing leak that makes the mould
growth possible in the first place. You need to find and remove
all mould growth that may be hidden inside your heating and
cooling equipment and ducts or elsewhere [such as inside
ceilings, walls, and floors]. Your first step is to mould test
the air of each room of your home, attic, basement, and crawl
space, plus the outward air flow out of each heating/cooling
duct register for the possible presence of elevated levels of
airborne mould spores, which, if present, would indicate a
possible serious mould problem, especially when compared to the
mould test results of your outdoor mould control test. For our do
it yourself mould test kits, please visit:
Mould Mart To find a Certified Mould Inspector,
please visit:
Janitorial and Sanitation For advice on effective
mould repairs, visit: Mould Removal.
[June 15, 2003]
Q. I recently had a condo inspection done
and the inspector said the condo was very well built. The one problem is
that there is a fiberglass tube and water is leaking through the metal
handle where the soap dish is and there is a small water stain the size of a
grapefruit on the dining room ceiling below. The inspector said caulking the
metal bar area should stop the problem. However, who is to say there is not
excessive mould in the walls. If I purchase this condo I was told that the
best way to approach this is to cut through the sheet rock in the dining
room ceiling and address the possibility of mould this way. However, is it
possible that the problem is too large and extensive to fix? It is possible
this problem has been going on for a few years. I am not sure of the exact
time frame. Would it be best to pull out and not purchase this condo b/c I
could be endangering my health and also have a problem that is not fixable
and will make my condo difficult to sell in the future?
and can any health issues be corrected to our satisfaction or should we give
up on this house?
A. For effective
condominium mould inspection,
you need to open up and inspect and test for mould growth INSIDE
the affected wall, ceiling, and floor. A continuing water leak
inside a condominium wall, floor, or ceiling is a great way to grow the
highly dangerous Stachybotrys mould that can destroy brain
tissue. To learn the steps required for effective mould
remediation, please visit: Mould Removal. You also
need to hire a Certified Mould Inspector to inspect and mould test
the entire condominium, including doing air tests for possible
elevated levels of airborne mould spores in all rooms of the
condo, plus the outward air flow from heating/cooling duct
registers. To find an inspector in your area, please visit our
inspector directory:
Mould
Profession. Please remember that mould
remediation can cost from a few thousand to tens of thousands of
dollars. Also remember that you will have to disclose this mould
history of the condo even if you fix the problem to any
prospective buyer, thus making it difficult for you to re-sell
the condo in the future. |
