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Canada Toxic Mould Inspection & Remediaton
Canadian Guide on Black Mould Prevention, Mould Inspection, Mould Testing,
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If you have any mould questions, please send your email to: moldconsultant@yahoo.com >> September 6, 2005 Q. We are thinking of buying a building which when we inspected had considerable mould covering the ceilings in the basement (large black rings of it). It appears the mould may have developed due to a defective water fountain on the main floor as the floor around the fountain is damp and rotten. Also the basement windows have been boarded up for some time as the building has not been in use for about 5 years. The smell in the basement is overwhelming yet the main floor seems in good shape with no smell or evidence of mould there. What do you think our chances are of getting rid of this problem? And how do we go about it? Incidentally the basement is 90% above ground. A. It is likely that the basement mould will have grow into the insides of the floor and walls above, necessitating doing internal ceiling/floor/wall inspection through 2 inch by 2 inch or smaller inspection holes cut into those surfaces, as explained at Mold Inspection and in the mould remediation section at Mold Removal & Remediation. It is also likely that airborne mould spores form the basement mould will have traveled in air currents to mould cross contaminate the entire house and its heating/cooling system. Use do it yourself mould test kits [available for delivery in Canada at http://www.moldmart.net] to mould test the air of the basement, each room above, attic, and the outward air flow from each heating/cooling duct register for the possible presence of elevated levels of airborne mould spores, in comparison to an outdoor mould control test. >> February 20, 2005 Q. I have a client who has light colored vinyl flooring in her basement bathroom and there are dark spots under the vinyl flooring that look bluish or blackish. The spots look like mould to me, they had this floor put down around 5 years ago and they now want it replaced before it gets worse or spreads. I believe it's because the cement floor is drawing moisture and being trapped and causing mould. Can I take the vinyl floor up, kill the mould and then use a ceramic tile on the cement floor? I have heard there is a rubber membrane available you can put on the floor then your mesh then scratch coat, does that sound right? A. Your diagnosis and treatment plan are very good. What is your profession? You should expand your expertise to becoming trained and certified as a Certified Mould Inspector and Remediator. There is a big demand in Canada for such services, but very few trained inspectors and remediators. Visit our training website: http://www.ecology-college.com. As an alternative to the rubber membrane and probably more effective on a long-term basis is to remove the vinyl, kill the mould with a strong fungicide, remove the mould growth, and then apply about a one inch thick new basement floor cement finish containing adequate amounts of waterproofing compound---or do both this approach and your good idea of putting a rubber membrane on top of the new floor waterproofed cement liner. >> February 17, 2005 Q. I rent a home in Toronto, Ontario and have recently had many problems with leaking and flooding in the basement. The landlord has denied any structural problems with his house and so I had an inspector come to assess the property. Over 20 violations were cited but unfortunately this inspector was not able to assess the mould problem because that falls under another jurisdiction. My question is about black mould. I have seen what I believe to be this type of mould in the basement and have just recently discovered that in all probability that the walls are full of it although it is not all visible. I have a two yr. old daughter who has also just been diagnosed with asthma and I am now worried for the safety of my family. My landlord has just had the roof repaired and tells me when I express my concern about the mould that "it will all go away without moisture, now". Unfortunately I have also just renewed a lease and I want to know the exact danger that we are potentially in. Thank you for your time and I would greatly appreciate further information about this. A. The leaking and flooding problems in the rental house are going to generate huge levels of indoor mould infestation, both visible, and growing inside floors, walls, ceilings, and the heating/cooling system. The health of your young daughter and your entire family is at serious risk for major and permanent health damage unless you move promptly to a mould safe place to live. Unless you take steps like the Tenant Notice to Landlord About Mould, and doing your own documentation of the mould problem with our do it yourself mould test kits which we can ship to your Toronto home, it is likely that your landlord, like most landlords, will do nothing as to safe and effective mould inspection, testing, and remediation of your rental unit's mould infestation problem. You would be wise to move to a mould-safe place as soon as possible. Most mould lords will not spend money to protect tenants against mould health threats. Learn about landlord mould liability. If you are going to move out from your present mould hell, or just move out temporarily during mould remediation, you should carefully mould inspect and test your temporary or new living quarters prior to renting or buying and moving to make sure you are not moving from one mould hell to another. As for your personal property, you are wise to do mould decontamination by washing all items outdoors by washing them thoroughly with Borax laundry detergent, a natural mould cleaner, in warm water. Use one pound of Borax per 1.5 gallons of water. Then spray all items with one or two wet sprayings of your home-made mold killer recipes. To document your apartment mould health threats, you can use our do it yourself mould test kits, available from http://www.moldmart.net. Learn the mould remediation steps that your landlord needs to take AFTER you vacate the apartment [mould remediation while you are in the apartment will make your family even more ill]. >> January 26, 2005
Q. The complex I live in has a lot of black mould in the insulation in the basement. We have started to notice that members of the complex are getting sick. Most are dealing with bleeding noses, headaches and allergy symptoms. Could this possibly be coming from the mould?
A. Yes, the health problems you list are possibly mould health symptoms---read the list of the top 60 mould health symptoms at http://www.moldinspector.com home page.
Basement mould can easily grow into the floors and walls above. In addition, airborne mould spores from the basement mould can travel in air currents to mould cross-contaminate the entire Canadian apartment complex. Here are several helpful mould tips---To get rid of the mould threat to your health and home investment, first, check your home or 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 carefully for attic, siding, plumbing water leaks, construction defects, or maintenance degradation which permits water to enter your home. Make sure that the roof is properly vented to allow moisture to escape rather than collect in the attic. Check all areas of your house year round [including basement, crawl space, each room, and attic] 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 to 60 percent, you have invited mould to be your permanent house guest. Use a programmable dehumidifier to keep indoor moisture to a mould-discouraging 30 to 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 can then be spread by the heating/cooling system through out the house. Also use your sense of smell and a strong flashlight to thoroughly inspect all areas of your home for visible mould growth.
Second, use a do-it-yourself mould inspection and mould air testing should be your first steps to determine whether your home and workplace have a serious mould infestation problem. You should visually check all areas of your home 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 at Mould Inspection. If there is even a hidden mould problem inside walls, ceilings, attic, 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. You can use mold test kits to mould test any visible mould growths, the air of each room, basement, crawl space, 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]. Watch the mould test kits for 7 days. If any of the test kits show a large number of mould colonies of one more different types of mould [visually different to you], you can submit the mould test kits into a mould laboratory for mould analysis and mould species identification [only $49 per mould sample submitted]. If mould test results indicate a problem, you may then want to then 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's or co-workers against breathing in elevated levels of airborne mould spores.
This electronic air cleaner is rated the most effective by the leading, nonprofit 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 [Mould Health Guide, $15; Mould Legal Guide, $15; and Do-It-Best-Yourself Mould Prevention, Inspection, Testing & Remediation, $15; Mold Monsters, $15, and Mold Home Remedy Recipes, $15] for just $49, the price of only two of these valuable “how to” manuals when you purchase through PayPal or from our online mould products catalog.
>> July 11, 2003
Q. Having
new home built and are scheduled to close July 25th. We have noticed in
the basement along one long interior wall is concrete but I refer to it as
interior as it is not the true outside concrete wall. It is the basement
concrete wall along the inside back of garage.) Since the foundation was
poured in January, it remains damp half way up the wall. It is now July.
We live in Pennsylvania.
A. You must get this water problem fixed to your satisfaction before buying the home or you are going to have sufficient water intrusion to enable big-time mould growth in your new home. The wet wall will drive up indoor humidity levels, thus making mould be able to grow through out your home, especially after continually re-circulating airborne mould spores through your heating/cooling equipment and ducts. The wet wall can also ultimately have mould growing on it as organic dust and dirt lands on the wet wall, providing food for airborne mould spores to grow after landing on the wet wall. You need to have the wall and water problem inspected by a qualified professional such as a licensed physical engineer, basement foundation contractor, and/or home inspector. You must discover for sure what is the cause of the water problem and what is the solution that will work. If the problem is simply the grade that the home builder says will take care of the problem, delay the closing until a few weeks after the grading is done. Better yet, ask your attorney to negotiate a holding of some of the purchase funds of the house into an escrow account to cover future water problems. Keeping water and high humidity out of your home is of the utmost importance to your family's health and financial well-being.
Q. I received a letter from my home builder explaining that they found mould in my new home, but that they took care of the problem. They also asked me to sign a waiver agreeing to not bring any claims against them with regards to the mould found prior to closing. Is it safer to build a new home, refuse to sign, or sign?
A. You need to ask your legal question of an environmental attorney in your area [Mould Lawyer]. You need to pay for your own mould inspection and mould testing to know the truth about the existence, types, and extent of mould infestation in your home and its heating/cooling equipment and ducts. Your family's health is too important to ruin by living in mould infestation. To find a Certified Mould Inspector, please visit: Mould Professionals.
>> July 2, 2003 Q. I think there is a serious mould problem in the house we are renting. There has been water / sewage leak under the house. I don't know how long this has been happening but there was a substantial amount of sewage / water building up under the house. As soon as the problem was discovered, we notified the landlord and within a couple of days a plumber came to the house and fixed the broken pipe. However, he did not clean up any of the existing sewage / contaminated water. There is a very distinct musty / damp odor in the house and just recently my infant son has become sick. I am not sure if there is a connection or not but for my peace of mind, I would like to find out how much it would cost for testing and when it could be performed.
A. You should use our do it yourself mould test kits with our expert mould laboratory analysis [Mould Mart] to mould test the area beneath your house, every room of your house, the attic, and the air flow out of heating/air conditioning ducts. What you are testing for is the possible presence of elevated levels of airborne mould spores, a sure sign that you are living in mould contamination. The sewage line breaks beneath your house will have caused massive mould growth that may be eating its way into the floors and walls above. Moreover, broken sewer pipes will cause severe biological contamination of your home. Your best bet is to move as soon as possible to a safe place to live. Most landlords will not spend any money for effective mould inspection, testing, and remediation.
>> June 30, 2003 Q. I think I have found black mould in our basement shower. I don't want to turn a claim into our insurance company because I fear it will cause our insurance price to raise. Our basement has flooded a couple of times in the past few years . I've been using bleach to take off the mould. Is this sufficient? I've been reading some of the stories on your Q&A section and we have also had to snake our drains once a year for the past several years. We have many old trees around our house and my husband says the roots are the problem but should I be concerned about mould there as well? The shower is concrete slab and the bleach is slowly removing it . I'm also removing mould from the basement ceiling and removing carpet that it was under. Is this something I can continue on my own using bleach and thoroughly cleaning or would it be best handled professionally?
A. Bleach is too weak to be an effective mould killer. Moreover, it is not EPA-registered as a mould fungicide. If you want the maximum killing power, use two wet sprayings of EPA-registered antimicrobial protective coating. Even more important to you is to find the water source that enables mould to grow in your basement. You cannot continue to have basement floods if you want to rid your home of mould. Stopping water problems must be your number one mould remediation step! You also need to remove all visible mould in accordance with the precise steps recommended at Mould Removal. You also need to inspect and mould test the rooms above the basement, your attic, and your heating and cooling equipment and ducts for the possible presence of elevated levels of airborne mould spores, which, if present, would be a sure sign of a serious mould infestation problem. With as much flooding and mould growth as your house has experienced in the basement, your upstairs is possibly mould-contaminated through cross-contamination by airborne mould spores.
>> June 29, 2003 Q. I am possibly seeking a mould inspection in my home, particularly in the crawlspace. Since I have turned on my AC this summer, I have noticed a strong odor coming from the vents. (I have baseboard electric heat in the winter and did not notice this smell this past winter.) Upon further inspection (pulling off the cover to the crawlspace) I noticed the same foul odor there. I suspect that my AC is drawing some of its air from the crawlspace and I would like to know if I have a mould problem growing under my 1975, 1400 square foot ranch style home. What type of inspection do you do? What does it require on my part? I live in North Manchester, IN and would be interested in finding out what you can do for me.
A. Heating and cooling equipment and ducts can cross contaminate mould spores and mould infestation from one area [such as your crawl space] to other areas [such as your entire house!]. Your first step should be to mould test the crawl space air, the air of the various rooms of your home, and the air flow out of heating/cooling ducts. You can do this either with one of our Certified Mould Inspectors in Indiana [Mould Professionals] or use our do it yourself mould test kits with our expert mould laboratory analysis Mould Mart. You will need to find and stop the water source that enables mould to grow in your crawl space. You will need to remove all mould growth in the crawl space and treat the area with antimicrobial protective coating [Mould Removal].
>> June 20, 2003 Q. I have a customer wanting to buy a condo and mould was discovered in the attic from the bathroom fans venting into the attic. The insulation is black with mould as well as the plywood sheathing on the roof. The seller thinks that if he just redirects the vent to the outside this should be all that is needed. Now, I think this is just the first step. Is it safe for the insulation to stay where it is and the roof plywood to stay without any clean up?
A. The insulation will have to be thrown out. The mould growing on the wood will have to be completely removed by a power planer and a wire brush attached to a grinder----or, better, replaced with new mould-free materials. The area will need fungicidal treatment with an EPA registered antimicrobial coating [available at MoldMart]. All of the other required steps for safe and effective mould treatment explained at: mould removal section and mould types section. In addition, the following areas of the home will need to be professionally inspected and mould tested: INSIDE the ceilings beneath the attic, INSIDE the walls beneath the attic, plus testing the room air of all rooms and the air flow out of heating/air conditioning duct registers for elevated levels of unhealthy mould spores. To find a Certified Mould Inspector in your area, visit: Mould Profession.
>> June 10, 2003 Q. I recently moved out of an apartment building that I had lived in for approximately 3-4 years. It seems that after living there for 6 months or so, I started developing sinus infections and upper respiratory infections which would lead into bronchitis and pneumonia. I never thought that it was where I lived. I have allergies and I unfortunately smoke, so I blamed myself. But the past two years I have been having difficulty thinking, remembering, and even speaking. I'm turning 31 years old at the end of this month and don't believe it's from age. When I moved into this apartment, it was remodeled and new carpeting was put down in the bedroom and the living room. However, about a year later, the bedroom carpet started developing black spots, I thought at the time mould. But it had absolutely no odor when I smelled it. Once the black spots were in the light of the sun for so long, they faded, almost bleaching circles EVERYWHERE. The bedroom was the worse place for me to sleep. I just thought that the building was built in 1960 and it probably was damp. And I've always had one allergy or another, just not to dust and mould.
Well, about 1 1/2
years ago is when my memory started to go. I would black out, I couldn't
concentrate long enough to tie my shoes, so I went to a psychologist and a
psychiatrist, thinking I was psychotic over some instances. I was
diagnosed, but no medicine worked. So I was at a loss. My fear is my
health, however, I gave birth to my daughter at the end of February. She
was at the apartment with me for five weeks before we moved from there. I
had to get her out because I knew there was something wrong. I'm in fear
for her health. At the time that I moved, I was experiencing severe
headaches, a dusty fumy smell that I thought was a gas leak at one point.
I would sleep like I was drugged. I couldn't breathe well, and plus my
memory problems, and other things I just can't think of. My questions are: If this is from Stachy, now that I'm gone from there, will my memory still get worse? or will it just stay as it is? Also, do you think my daughter will have severe damage of any sort from living there for 5 weeks? And what should I do now?
A. There is very little research on the lingering health effects of prior exposure to mould infestation. You were very wise to move from that mould hell for the well-being of you and your child. You and your child should be examined by a pulmonary physician who can do diagnostic testing like lung biopsy, lung x-ray, and mould antibody blood testing. You can check with an ear-nose-throat specialist to test for mould growth inside your and your child's nasal cavities and sinus cavities. You can check with a neurologist as to possible brain damage. The brain problems you have suffered are typical symptoms of deadly Stachybotrys mould which destroys brain tissue. Other Questions & Answers are at---
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