How to find someone who treats mold?
GBA Editor
| Posted in Green Building Techniques on
My home has a mold problem that suddenly occurred and it needs to be treated. It is in my kitchen/hallway.
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Search and download construction details
Replies
If this is green mold, you've come to the right place, since this is a forum for green concerns.
I think what you need is an MD (mold doctor) to determine the correct treatment for your ailing mold. Some new age molds, however, prefer moldiopaths or moldapuncture.
I hope that you find the proper treatment and that your mold regains its joie de vivre.
Sara; I'd be very concerned about the cause of the mold, once you kill what you see. To kill most anything, 10% bleach is hard to beat; they use it to kill kooties in clinics. Once the surface killing/cleaning has been addressed, dig into why it started. Indoor humidity suddenly shoot up? Pipe leaking somewhere? Molds can have very deep "roots", so "killing" the surface may or may not get at the bottom stuff. Is the mold on sheet rock? Wood? How long have you been in the house? Good luck. It can be pretty nasty. john
Sara,
Evidently Robert was in a jocular mood when he responded to your question. Mold is usually a sign of high humidity. The areas of your kitchen and hallway that have mold are apparently damp.
Assuming that you can eliminate sources of major water — roof leaks and plumbing leaks — as the source of the moisture that is causing the mold, it's likely that your home has high indoor humidity. If you don't know how to investigate whether you have a plumbing or roof leak, you need to call a carpenter or remodeler to investigate the problem.
You might want to purchase a humidity meter from a hardware store or Radio Shack to determine whether the indoor humidity in your home is high — say, 45% or higher.
The usual solution to a high indoor humidity problem is improved mechanical ventilation (using an exhaust fan, a supply fan that brings fresh outdoor air into the house, or a balanced ventilation system with a heat-recovery ventilator).
Thank you all for your input. This is a much larger issue, I have water seeping through my wall and need to hire an mold remediation professional. If you have suggestions as to how to find a qualified, preferably green-friendly professional that would be great. I have two young kids and cannot afford to try to fix this myself. Thank you!
Sara,
You now inform us that you have water seeping through your wall. Is it an above-grade wall or a below-grade wall?
You don't just have a mold problem; you clearly have a water problem. Mold is the least of it. Get a contractor into your house to inspect your water seepage problem and to provide advice on remedies.
You won't be able to solve this problem with online advice.
Thank you, we have a specialist coming and a mold specialist.
I agree with everyone else - solve the moisture issue first. As for the mold - hire an independent mold specialist that will write you a protocol and have another company that does the work. Not all, but most of the mold remediation companies out there that do both the testing and the work are borderline scam artists/alarmist in my opinion and will take advantage of you while they wear their tyvek suits and run their air scrubbers at $500 a day. They will tell you that your homeowner's insurance company will cover everything but typically they will not if it was an ongoing leak - they typically only cover one time bulk water leaks like a pipe bursting or washing machine overflowing - slow leaks in the wall do not qualify. Good Luck.
SARA,
SUGGESTION: CHECK YOUR HOME INSURANCE POLICY TO SEE IF MOLD IS COVERED.
I'VE KILLED MANY MOLD PROBS BY CATCHING THEM QUICKLY WHILE THEY'RE SUPERFICIAL--JUST ON SURFACES--WITH CLOROX. SOUNDS LIKE YOUR PROBLEM IS MORE DEEPLY EMBEDDED, INSIDE WALL. YOU OR A FRIEND WHO'S HANDY MIGHT BE ABLE TO HANDLE IT FAR CHEAPER THAN ANY PRO IF IT WERE JUST SUPERFICIAL.
Two people here have recommended bleach to kill or clean mold. Bleach is not EPA or OSHA approved for mold remediation and is often counterproductive and unhealthy.
Physically scraping off surface mold and then washing with detergent is the best approach for modest amounts of mold. Make sure any porous materials are dried quickly after washing to prevent regrowth.
http://www.moldacrossamerica.org/notobleach.htm
Thank you all very much for your time and feedback! We are currently drying out the wall with fans and will then have to demo the wall and treat the mold. The specialist we hired, Phoenix Env., claims to comply with EPA phase I and II so I feel better about that. Still in a battle with Howard's appliances who is responsible for the water line which leaked. Insurance matters are still being sorted out.
Our living conditions will be pretty challenging for a while but we'll make it through.