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FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
About Mould Problem, Mould
Removal, Health Problem, Toxic Mould, Mould Analysis, Mould Inspector, Black
Mould, Mould Products, Mould Services, Mould Training, Mould Inspection, Mould
Testing, Canada Home Inspection, etc.
FAQ Collected from the
International Mould Questions Collection, 2003-2004.
Q.
How bad is
household mould for children under 2? How should it be cleaned? Thank you,
Liz.
A.
Thank you for the
email. Regradless of age, living or working in mould infestation can easily
cause serious health problems, problems so serious that they can become
permanent health afflictions, allergies, sinusitis, or in worse cases,
cancer [Aspergillus mould] and death [Stachybotrys mould]. You can learn
about all of the mould health symptoms by reading the mould health sections
of http://www.mold.ph and
Mould Inspector.
You should also read our new book Mould Health Guide which includes
information on all of the mould health problems, plus diagnosing mould
health problems, and curing mould health problems. You can buy this in
depth, health-saving book at
Mold Mart.
Q.
Dear Mr. Fry,
I am planning to
build a house in Amman,
Jordan in few years and was horrified to discover that
mould is just a fact of life there! All of the buildings are made from
stone blocks. From what my sister-in-law has told me the water condensates
on the walls that have contact with the outside air. We are not sure this
is actually what is happening, but that appears to be the cause. My
father-in-law has applied some sort of mould resistant sealer on the
interior walls, but it didn't help. One interior wall that was not in
contact with outside air became moldy with the paint bubbling and peeling
off. Everyone there just accepts this as normal and just cleans up with
bleach and repaints every so often. There is very little air conditioning
in these houses (the summers are mild, winters cold), they use window
units if they must, but most people don't need them. The heating is mostly
done by radiators in the winters, some people use portable kerosene
heaters instead.
My question is this: How
do I build a house there that won't get moldy? It will have to be stone
block like all the others, but will most likely be on the top floor of a
3 or 4 story building. I may be able to get central heat, but I've never
seen dry wall there. I don't know what insulation would be available
either.
Thank you for any
advice you can offer me.
A.
What is the humidity
level indoors year-round? To discourage mould growth indoors, the indoor
humidity level needs to be in the 30 to 40% range. If humidity is 60% or
greater some or all of the year [e.g., from the condensation problem],
there will be a big mould problem. You need to buy a digital hygrometer
[about US $30 in
USA,
but I don't know where you are located] to monitor year-round indoor
humidity. It is light weight and can be shipped by Fed Ex or DHL to
Jordan. If there is an indoor humidity problem, we sell the best
dehumidifier available [especially at a reasonable price for its high
quality]. Visit: Mold
Mart for product info. We could ship it via Fed Ex or DHL to
Jordan, but what are the Jordan import duties for your family to receive a
dehumidifier as an import? I don't know. Another recommendation: On both
the outside and the inside of the stone blocks, you need to plaster both
with a concrete plaster into which you have mixed an adequate amount of
waterproofing chemical powder to make the concrete totally impervious to
penetration by water or high humidity. If you have any follow up
questions, please le me know.
Q.
Dear Philip,
Hope you can help
Our house is experiencing
black mould forming where the ceiling meets the wall (exterior walls) and
where the wall returns to the double glazed windows.
It also is penetrating
the centre of a north facing gable. It only happens in the winter months.
I have tried fungicidal
wash, but it isn't working.
Can you advise please.
Paul
A.
You need to physically
remove the mould growth down to clean, mould-free wood, spray it wet with
a fungicide [hydrogen peroxide is available at low-cost from your drug
store], re-paint, and then spray with a liquid plastic sealer to keep
future outdoor moisture from getting to the wood to drive mould growth.
Study the procedures involved in safe and effective mould remediation at
Mould Removal
Q.
Hello, hoping you can
give me some advice. I'm aware that mould can cause problems for health in
the home and while I don't see any visible mould at the moment, I'm
concerned that it may be developing with me realizing it.
Two weeks ago the next
door neighbor's house had a burst pipe. Unfortunately they were out all
day and as a result the water came through one ceiling, and through the
walls into two rooms, soaking the walls in parts and also parts of the
carpets.
It seems to have dried
out now though the wall in one room feels a bit tacky (the wall paper came
off easily after the flood so now exposed) and there is a faint smell of
something in both rooms affected.
We dealt with the matter
by blasting the heat, lifting the carpets and opening windows etc. There
is repair work to be done to plaster on the ceilings and wall paper etc
plus new carpet but I was wondering if by doing that we would be simply
'papering over the cracks' so to speak. Should we do anything else with
regard to having something applied to stop mould?
To top it all, a leak has
now sprung in our flat roof and the water is dripping down into one of the
rooms following heavy rain. Hope you can give me some
advice, thank you, Anne (N Ireland)
A.
Dear Anne,
Thank you for referring
your mould (mould) problem to us. The following are ultimate mould
prevention and remediation tips. Please read them thoroughly and feel free
to get back to us if you have further questions.
Since moulds basically
develop in wet and humid surfaces, you need to find the water source that
enables mould to grow in your apartment. If it is a water leakage such as
plumbing leak, etc., it’d be wise to hire a plumber to fix it. If it
caused by high indoor humidity, you need to use several programmable
dehumidifiers that run to keep your indoor humidity year-round in 30 to
40% range, discouraging moulds to grow. Please visit Surround Air
Dehumidifier for more details about our dehumidifier.
You need to find out how
toxic your mould type is. Samples of any visible mould should be collected
using the Scotch tape lift sampling method explained on
Lift Tape Sampling . You can have your
mould sample submitted and analyzed by certified mould laboratories, so
that you will find out the toxicity level of your mould. You can use the
result of the mould laboratory test as evidence, in case your mould
problem will be brought to trial or any legal means. You can conduct your own
mould inspection and testing by using a Do It Yourself Mould Test Kits.
If you are suffering any
mould health problem (please visit
Mould Types for
mould symptoms), you need to consult with your doctor as soon as possible.
Learn about how doctors diagnose and treat mould health illnesses in our
new book Mould Health Guide. Serious health problems and visible mould
growth combined together would suggest that you move immediately to a
mould-safe place to live until your home has been effectively mould
inspected, tested, and remediated. Don’t take any clothing or possessions
with you unless you first mould decontaminate all items prior to moving so
that you don’t mould cross-contaminate where you move to. Please visit
Toxic Mould Health Guidebook.
Mould decontamination tips
for your household properties such as kitchen utensils, clothing,
furniture, photographs, books, carpets, etc. are readily available in our
Do It Yourself Mould Prevention, Inspection, Testing, & Remediation Mould
Book (available online at Mould Legal
Guidebook . These Mold Inspector Laboratory, Ltd., mould books will be
delivered via e-mail.
If you are from USA or
Canada, you can avail of efficient mould products with free delivery.
Please visit Mold Mart
for details.
Q.
Hi there! Beside using bleach solution to get rid of moulds and fungi
indoor, especially the toilets, what other products are available? Which
is the most effective ones? Kindly advise urgently. From: Bessie
A.
Thank you for your
question. Do NOT use bleaches (particularly Chlorine) to kill mould (mould)
or disinfect mouldy areas. It is NOT an effective or lasting killer of
mould and mould spores. Bleach is good only for changing the color of the
mould, and in slowing down mould growth for about 3 weeks. Chlorine Bleach
is NOT registered with the EPA as a disinfectant to kill mould. You can
verify that important fact yourself when you are unable to find an EPA
registration number for killing mould on the label of any brand of
chlorine bleach. To kill mould growth now existing and to help stop any
future growth, use the EPA-registered Tim-bor which is both highly
effective and low-cost. You can conduct your own
mould inspection and testing by using a Do It Yourself Mould Test Kits. If you are outside USA
or Canada, it is advised that you get your own copy of a compiled ultimate
mould prevention, inspection, testing and remediation book available at
Mould Legal Guidebook . This book
features mould decontamination tips for your household properties such as
kitchen utensils, clothing, furniture, photographs, books, carpets, etc.
Q.
Would you be so kind as to send an email informing me of any training in
the UK regarding Fungus / Mould removal and Mould Training in general. I
look forward to receiving your reply.
Regards, Chris (UK)
A.
Dear Chris,
Thank you for inquiring
about the international mould (mould) training. Professional Certification Institute (PCI) accepts students from any part of the
globe.
The successful training
had just ended last January 15-17, 2004 while the scheduled soonest
incoming class will be on February 19 - 21. Please visit the Mould
Training Schedule for more details about the PCI mould training.
For your convenience, you
can also become a mould expert without leaving UK through our Home Mould
Training program. You will be provided with sufficient devices and aids to
conduct your own study at home. After a considerable length of time, you
will be given a written exam and once our mould training instructors are
satisfied of your answers, you will be given a certification and relative
benefits as a mould expert.
Please visit this link
for more details: Mould Training for Mould
Inspector, Mould Investigator and Mould Remediator Aspirants.
Q.
Dear Phillip,
I live in a usually dry
climate "The Central Highlands, Central Queensland, Australia" and we use
"water coolers" to cool our houses. On the odd day or week it is actually
humid and we are told we can't use the water to cool our homes as it could
cause mould. I know this is correct, and I was wondering if you could tell
me, what is the level of humidity which will cause mould, ie. 5 days of
80% dew point, or 2 days at 60%. relative ??? and what does a hygrometer
measure, dew point or relative.
We are new to all this
weather watching!.
Thanks. Grace
A.
You are wise to
be concerned about the impact of water-based cooling systems on mould
problems. The desert area homes in western USA that use evaporative
cooling [water coolers] often have serious mould problems from: (1)
creating too high of indoor humidity level; and (2) water leaks into the
building materials from the water supply line to the evap cooler
[especially if mounted, as usual, on the roof]. What is too high? Mould
can grow quite well at 60% or higher indoor humidity. You need to buy a
low-cost digital hygrometer to continually monitor your indoor humidity
levels. Please visit
Mold Mart and Mould Removal for more
details.
Q.
Dear Mr. Fry,
I have black coloured
mould coming through my ceiling in various spots in the house I live in.
We are renters, and the landlords seem unwilling to fix the problem. Is
there anything I can do to get rid of the mould so it does not pose a
health risk to my five children? We are on a limited budget so
cost-effectiveness is a concern. Also, exactly how dangerous is mould and
should I have the air quality tested? Thank you so much for your help in
advance, I have made multiple phone calls and come out with no more
information than I started with. Your service is well appreciated.
Cindy (Canada)
A.
Dear Ms. Cindy,
Thank you for the e-mail.
Exposing yourself to moulds (moulds in USA) is like putting your health and
your family's to risk. It is important to know the toxicity level of your
place. Here are helpful suggestions relevant to your current mould
problem.
Review your
landlord-tenant contract. Your landlord may have potential legal
liabilities to his tenants for mould damage to tenants' health, medical
bills for medical mould testing and treatment, loss of earnings because of
mould problems, mould damage to tenants' personal properties, moving
expenses, testing, and remediation of the rental units. Seek out the
advice of an attorney specializing landlord-tenant law or environmental
law. Consider using Tenant Notices to Landlord about Mould available
online, please visit Landlord Liability.
You can also conduct your
own mould inspection and testing by using a Do It Yourself Mould Test Kits
and be able to identify the mould type you have all by yourself.
In order to determine the
toxicity level of the mould now infesting in your house, collect them
(wearing protective gear to protect yourself from mould spores) and have
them studied and analyzed by certified mould microbiologists or
laboratory.
Mould decontamination tips
for your household properties such as kitchen utensils, clothing,
furniture, photographs, books, carpets, etc. are readily available in our
Do It Yourself Mould Prevention, Inspection, Testing, & Remediation Mould
Book (available online at Mould Legal
Guidebook .
It is also advised that
you visit Mould Types for
additional information about mould types, habitats, and other
characteristics.
Click here for
more answered International Mould Inquiries!
Click here to send your mould questions now!
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