Top Nine Mold Mistakes To Avoid
Mold Terms to help with mold problems.
1. Ignoring possible mold health symptoms suffering by family members or co-workers.
Concerning possible mold problems if one or more occupants is suffering from unexplained health problems such as itchy eyes, bloody nose, sinus issues, headaches, stuffy nose, runny nose, skin irritation, skin sores, coughing, breathing problems, difficulty in remembering things, and in thinking, feeling disconnected from the world around you, and chronic fatigue.
Remember that some people may experience mold health symptoms, while others may have none. At the same time, all are living or working in the same mold-infested area. People differ in their sensitivity to mold.
2. Ignoring home maintenance problems and mold indicators
You contribute to becoming a mold victim by ignoring roof leaking, plumbing leaking, sewer line leaking, water-stained ceilings, the indoor odor of mold, sightly mold growth, contributing High humidity [60% or more to encourages mold growth from moisture alone], a wet or damp basement, and wet crawl space.
You assume that there are no mold problems because there is no visible mold growth.
Terrible mold infestation problems are often the ones you cannot see.
Underneath floors, above ceilings, inside walls, basement, attic, crawl space, and the heating/cooling equipment and ducts.
Mold spores airborne is invisible to the naked eye and floats lightly. Easily carried through current air circulation, or your HVAC system’s air flows to mold cross-contaminate the entire home from just one hidden mold problem.
Use a moisture meter to scan all walls and floors for hidden water problems. Use a borescope inspection device to check for mold growth inside wall, floor, and ceiling cavities.
3. Hoping that a new home is mold-free.
Today’s newly built homes often come with built-in mold infestation problems in themselves:
(a) Mold containing building materials received from the builder’s supplier. Today’s lumber is not kiln-dried as in earlier times, thus preventing a high indoor moisture content that makes mold growth possible in the wood.
(b) The builder and its foreman and employees fail to do quality control to inspect for mold and prevent moldy building materials used in the home’s construction.
(c) The builder storage for the inventory of building materials on the outside ground with no protection. Use of plastic coverings to protect the building materials from weather, moisture, and humidity [which supplies the necessary moisture to enable mold to grow in and on the materials];
(d) the construction people fail to cover the entire home under construction with plastic sheeting at the end of each construction day. This protects the building materials from rain and humidity [which therefore supplies the necessary moisture to promote mold to breed on the materials]. The roof and side walls need protection against rain until the entire roof, siding, windows, and doors are installed to keep out the rain.
(e) the builder doesn’t inspect and test the home for mold growth while it is being constructed during the home’s completion; and
(f) use of modern building materials like wafer boards, drywall (plasterboard), & plywood, all of which is food for mold.
(g) failure to treat all wood-based construction materials on all surfaces with at least one spraying of the EPA-registered fungicide
4. Speculating that after a wet area has dried and
is now mold-free
Mold needs moisture to grow and to breed as it consumes your home building materials and personal possessions. The dampness comes from high indoor humidity [above 60% some or all of the year], roof leaking, siding leaking, and plumbing leaking. If mold spores and mold colonies’ growth run out of moisture, they do NOT perish. Instead, they become dormant and can wait thousands of years to access high humidity or a future water outbreak. Stationary mold can make mold-sensitive persons sick. Even the odor of inactive mold can make some people ill.
5.Chlorine bleach used to kill mold
Do not use ineffective chlorine bleach to eliminate mold growth and mold spores!
Bleach is not adequate even when newly manufactured specially to kill mold. Bleach stored on store shelves and in your home gets weaker over time.
Besides, read the manufacturer’s usage directions on the bleach bottle. The manufacturer does not recommend use to kill mold.
Bleach is NOT an EPA-registered fungicide. If you want effective mold kill, use EPA-registered products.
6. Using ineffective products to kill mold
Kilz, regular paint, paint containing a mildewcide content. Any color, Lysol, ammonia, and other household cleaners and disinfectants. Painting over a mold problem does not remove it—it only hides the problem temporarily. Paint gives the mold something delicious to eat.
7. Spraying something on the mold will remove the mold issues.
Only EPA-registered fungicides can kill mold, but just spraying mold does not resolve mold problems. Please destroy all visible mold encountered in mold remediation. Also, it still needs removal from the home or building. All of the moisture and mold damaged building materials need to be thrown out and replaced with mold-free building materials. The cleaned-out area needs treatment with both Coverage Plus fungicide and Tim-bor wood protectant. Learn all of the steps required for safe and effective mold remediation at Mold Removal.
8. Trusting that mold remediation contractor
knows what they are doing.
Most mold remediation companies cause and leave more mold problems.
AFTER shoddy remediation work because of:
- Preliminary mold inspection and mold testing.
- No mold training.
- Failure to use proper mold containment procedures and effective mold remediation techniques.
- Shortcutting that undermines the remediation effort.
- Sometimes cheating and lies on the part of the contractor.
9. Trusting industrial hygienists and government agencies are experts in prevention, mold inspection, testing, and remediation.
The only people who genuinely care about your family’s health and home investment is yourself and your family. However, there are many mold knowledgeable and mold experienced industrial hygienists. Hiring an industrial hygienist [trained in industrial safety and health] to find and fix mold problems is like hiring an eye doctor to treat your tooth cavity.
Hire a Certified Mold Inspector! If you value your family’s health, wellbeing, and home investment.
Some government websites often promote ineffective and outdated mold remediation ideas like using bleach to kill mold. Government employees do not have the personal experience of working in the real world to find mold. The whole mold is hidden in home walls, ceilings, floors, heating/cooling systems, attic, basement, and crawl space. Materials. The cleaned-out area needs treatment with both Coverage Plus fungicide and Tim-bor wood protectant. Learn all of the steps required for safe and effective mold remediation at Mold Removal.
