Chicago Area Condo Inspection Service

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Mold Inspection Information

I have mold
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How to get rid of mold
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Moldy Clothes
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I think I have mold at work

Humans have lived with mold since we first began seeking shelter. Mold is known to agrivate allergies and certain types of mold are even deadly. Mold is everywhere so we must take efforts to limit our exposure to this naturally occuring organism. Mold requires the right conditions to grow and thrive.

In the absence of the right growing conditions, mold spores may be present in low quantities but may not take hold, thrive, or bloom. Living with a mold problem in your home or Commercial property can range from no effect to unpleasant to dangerous. Mold spores are ubiquitous and present in all homes no matter what we do.

If you are moving into a new chicago area home you should protect yourself by your home inspected for the presence of a mold or water leak problem. If you have mold, and you want to get rid of it (remediation), you must change the environment the mold is growing in.

Eliminating water is the best line of defense against mold.Removing the conditions mold needs to grow is the most important thing you can do to reduce your exposure to mold.

Mold requires water, absence of UV sunlight, a spore, and a substrate to grow on. Since our chicago homes are built of the types of materials mold likes to grow on and our homes naturallly keep the sun light out, we cannot eliminate those varables when battling mold. Since mold spores are virtually everywhere and very difficult to kill, that leaves the elimination of water as the most controllable variable in the elimination mold growth.

Mold Inspection or Mold Investigation?


There are several methods used to inspect for mold. Individually, I would classify them as a "Mold Inspection". A mold investigation takes all of the inspection techniques, overlaps them, and identifies, through verifiable lab results, the types of molds present.

Visually Inspecting for Mold
When you purchase a new Chicago area home, it is recommended you have a Chicago building inspection that includes, at minimum, a non destructive, visual mold inspection.

You can have a dedicated mold inspection from a certified mold inspector or include it as part of an overall building inspection. A visual mold inspection is a standard part of our standard home or building inspection service. Visual Mold inspection in Chicago consists of visully looking for the signs of mold in your building or home. A visual inspection is non destructive. In a visual inspection, the inspector is not able to see behind walls or under other building materials

If during your home inspection, the inspector visually noticed mold, you can take further action to protect your investment. You may choose to identify the scale of the mold problem, identify the possible sources of the mold problem, measure the volume of the mold spores present, identify the type(s) of mold present and seek mold remediation.

Destructive Mold Inspection
In a destructive inspection, the inspector actually tears down ot disassembles various parts of the building's structure to get to areas that mold may be growing and blooming. As the name implies, this is destructive and repairs will likely have to be made regardless of the outcome of the inspection. Destructive mold inpections are regulated by the State of Illinois to prevent fraud and to protect workers and homeowners from potential negative health effects of disturbing mold colonies.

Sampleing
Sampleing is the process of capturing mold or mold spores, usually to grow them in a labratory conditions with the goal of identifying them. Sampling can be done throgh surface collection or Air Sampling. Each type of Mold sampleing techniqe has pros and cons and costs.

Visual inspection, mold sampling, testing, and identification individually cannot give you a full picture of the mold problem in your home, house, condo or commercial building. Combining mold testing with other evaluation techniques and reporting can give you a better idea of the overall mold impact to your home. If litigation is involved, it is recomended that overlapping techniques be employed.

Testing

Remediation

Is mold dangerous?
The straight answer is "that depends". It really depends on the variety of mold you are dealing with. Some molds are very dangerous and toxic and some are quite harmless and tasty! As a matter of fact, most types of mold are harmless to humans and only a very few live in our homes.

Which types of mold are dangerous?
With regard to indoor air quality, the EPA identifies 36 types of mold commonly found in homes and clasifies them in two groups. Group one includes those molds that are present where high instance of health problems were reported, and group two includes the other molds commonly found in homes that do not seem to affect health adversly.

What makes mold dangerous?
Most molds or fungi are scavengers, relying on dead organic material for food and growth. Some molds however are parasitic and cause living things to die so their organic material can be further broken down for food. Some fungi go great on a salad or sautéed with a steak or mixed with the sauce. Some molds add great flavor to our cheese. I'm thinking about a blue cheeseburger with shitake mushrooms right now!

The toxic varieties of mold give off a toxic byproduct known as mycotoxin. Mycotoxin is secondary metabolites of microfungi that are believed to be responsible for the majority of the health problems or death associated with mold. The most harmful variety of mold is Stachybotrys, more commonly known as black mold, which is frequently found in water-damaged building materials. Black mold is extremely toxic and can be deadly, especially to children with mold allergies.

Actual growth of fungi on human hosts produces the diseases collectively called mycoses, while dietary, respiratory, dermal, and other exposures to toxic fungal metabolites produce the diseases collectively called mycotoxicoses. Mycoses range from merely annoying (e.g., athlete's foot) to life-threatening (e.g., invasive aspergillosis). In contrast to mycoses, mycotoxicoses are examples of "poisoning by natural means" and thus are analogous to the pathologies caused by exposure to pesticides or heavy metal residues.

The symptoms of a mycotoxicosis depend on the type of mycotoxin; the amount and duration of the exposure; the age, health, and sex of the exposed individual; and many poorly understood synergistic effects involving genetics, dietary status, and interactions with other toxic insults. Thus, the severity of mycotoxin poisoning can be compounded by factors such as vitamin deficiency, caloric deprivation, alcohol abuse, and infectious disease status. In turn, mycotoxicoses can heighten vulnerability to microbial diseases, worsen the effects of malnutrition, and interact synergistically with other toxins.

The majority of mycotoxicoses result from eating contaminated foods. Skin contact with mold-infested substrates and inhalation of spore-borne toxins are important sources of exposure.


Health Risks associated with mold

Many individuals are sensitive to mold exposure, and, under the right conditions, can suffer from stuffy nose or nasal congestion, eye irritation like itchy or watery and red eyes, and minor breathing discomfort as a result of mold exposure.

For individuals who are allergic to mold, or those that have experienced long-term exposure to mold in, for example, their homes or work environments, the effects of mold exposure can be much more serious. Such individuals may experience, fevers, respiratory diseases, reduced lung capacity and difficulty breathing, asthma, allergies, skin rashes, hives and various fungal diseases. Additionally pulmonary hemorrhaging and brain damage resulting in memory loss have been linked to long-term mold exposure.

Black mold is extremely toxic and can be deadly, especially to children with mold allergies.

Toxic mold exposure symptoms:
" Coughing up blood.
" Nose bleeds.
" Dizziness.
" Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
" Chest congestion.
" Difficulty breathing.
" Anemia.
" Skin rashes.
" Forgetfulness and memory loss.
" Pulmonary hemorrhage.
" Death.

Are old homes more susceptible to mold growth than new homes?
This depends entirely on the age, design and maintenance of the home. Design and material choices effect mold growth. I would actually suggest that newer homes are more susceptible to mold problems. Newer homes tend to be more air-tight. Like a plastic bread bag, this lends itself to mold growth. Newer homes are typically built with more paper and fast growth lumber than some of the homes built prior to the 1950's. Newer homes typically use drywall rather than lathe and plaster. Where older homes may use common board for roof sheathing, newer homes typically use plywood.

Many older homes in the chicago area were constructed of old growth cedar and ponderosa pine. Old growth species of wood are naturally resistant to mold and fungus growth. Newer processed materials like paper or farm grown lumber species no longer have the natural resistance to ward off mold.

What is Mold?
Mold is a form of fungi. There are more than 100,000 different types of fungi or mold on our planet. Fungi are some of the oldest and most successful living things on earth. Mold is essentially a plant without chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is what makes plants green and allows them to generate food from the sun's energy. Without chlorophyll, mold needs to create energy by breaking down other plants and animals for their food.

History of Mold There are three thousand year old references and advice on living with mold in the Old Testament of the Bible. Scientists beleive mold has been developing on earth for 500 million years.

Where does mold we see come from?
Mold is everywhere, literally! Mold spores are around us almost all the time. It is interesting to know that about one out of twenty living species on earth is a fungus! And to be so successful, mold must reproduce prolifically. Mold reproduces by blooming in clusters and sending out spores, millions and billions and trillions of spores! In most cases, "fresh" air contains more mold spores than pollen grains.

How does mold grow?
Mold starts as a spore, grows in a cluster, blooms, and releases more spores. Some molds can double in mass in as little as an hour. In the right conditions, mold reproduces exponentially until there is no more food left to absorb. Mold Spores are extremely small and everywhere! There are probably millions or mold spores in the room you are in right now! Mold spores are highly prolific and around us all the time.

What does Mold eat?
Mold does not contain chlorophyll and therefore cannot convert the suns energy to sugars or starches for food. Because mold cannot create its own food, it must get its energy by eating. Mold is kind of like a house fly and unlike a human. First we eat, and then we digest. A fly uses enzymes to digest its food, and then it eats. Mold is like the fly. Mold creates enzymes, applies them to living or previously living things, breaks down the cell walls, and absorbs the organic molecules. Mold is not picky about what it will devour. This explains one reason it is so successful.

What are the right conditions for mold to grow?
Mold needs a source of spores, water, food, temperature, and the absence of UV light and some chemicals. Eliminate any one of these variables, and you will slow or stop mold from reproducing. Virtually everyone has seen moldy bread. When you see moldy bread, most of the time it's un-refrigerated and in a plastic bag. As a matter of fact if you take fresh bread, without anti fungal preservatives, put it in a plastic bag, out of direct sunlight, wait just a couple of days, and Viola, Mold! This is simply because the right conditions existed inside the bag for mold to thrive. First off, there must have been mold spores present in the bread. As we know, mold spores are everywhere. The bread acts as a great substrate for the mold to take hold, and source of food for the mold to grow, and third, there is enough moisture to nurture the growth.

What temperatures can mold grow?
Mold thrives in a similar temperature range as most living things. Mold may be killed by cooking at high temperatures, and will go dormant in below freezing temperatures.

What does it mean when mold is dormant?

Mold needs several conditions to survive and thrive.


What can kill mold?
Extreme temperatures, Ultra violet light, and certain chemicals will actually kill mold. The problem lies with its reproductive strategy. The spores are so small and there are so many of them, it is impossible to kill them all in a normal living area. The bottom line, you are better off attempting to control them rather than kill them off completely.

How do you control mold growth?
You can control mold growth by eliminating the conditions it needs to survive. Mold needs a source of spores, water, food, temperature, and the absence of UV light and some chemicals. Eliminate any one of these variables, and you will slow or stop mold from reproducing. Since mold likes the same temperatures we like, this is difficult to remove. Since one of the reasons we create a home is to shade us from the sun, this too is difficult to eliminate. We have a bit more control over the materials we use to build our homes, but this too may be difficult. Chemicals work to kill mold, however, since we a usually sensitive to the same chemical, we tend to use them sparingly only after mold has bloomed. That leaves water! Since humans only need minimal humidity to survive, all we need to do is keep the humidity below the threshold mold needs to survive.


How much water does mold need to grow?

Where does the moisture mold needs come from?
Water leaks
Cooking
Bathing
Showering
Laundry
Humidifiers
Heating Devices

Where does mold commonly grow?
Mold and mildew growth is obvious when it grows in bathrooms along tile grout in shower stalls. However, mold also can grow in:
" Closets and storerooms.
" Foam pillows.
" Refrigerator door gaskets.
" Self-defrosting refrigerator water pans.
" Refrigerator cooling coils.
" Under-sink cabinets.
" Room air conditioner units.
" Washing machines.
" Dryer vents.
" Garbage cans.
" Basements.
" Carpets.
" Sheetrock and wallboard.
Mold needs a good substrate, food, water and the right environmental temperatures to grow and thrive. All of these are typically Present in our indoor living environments with the possible exception of adequate water. The key to preventing mold growth lies in eliminating one or all of the variables mold needs to bloom and reproduce.

Mold loves fibrous materials for food. Because we build our homes with many products made of fibrous materials like wood and paper, we are creating some of the conditions mold needs to thrive.

Controlling mold allergies:
" Reduce your exposure to mold and mold spores.
" Use exhaust fans in bathrooms to reduce the humidity levels.
" Use mold-killing solutions in bathrooms and shower stalls, on bathroom tiles, shower curtains, around the bathtub and toilet tank.
" Use paint with a mold inhibitor, or add a mold inhibitor to standard paint for use in baths.
" Replace bathroom carpets with tile or linoleum.
" Check tree bark for mold before using it in a home fireplace or wood-burning stove.
" Use a chemical moisture remover in closets.
" Never put away wet shoes or clothing.
" Use exhaust fans in the kitchen to remove cooking steam and food vapors.
" Repair all water leaks promptly.
" Use a dehumidifier to keep the relative humidity below 40 percent to deter mold growth.
" Install a high-performance electrostatic filter in your central air conditioning and heating system to trap mold spores and inhibit mold.
" Never put damp clothing in closets or drawers.
Prevention of mold growth indoors can not be achieved without proper moisture control.
The following are some of the moisture problems that cause indoor mold growth.
Water Intrusion

Rainwater can enter a building through leaks in walls, windows or the roof. Surface or ground water may enter when there is poor foundation drainage. Flooding can, of course, cause catastrophic intrusion. In buildings that have slab construction, water can seep or wick up through the cement floor causing mold to grow on carpet pads or carpet backing. The building envelope (walls, windows, floors, roof, etc.) must be well maintained to prevent water from coming in, both to prevent mold growth and to maintain the structural integrity of the building. Water Vapor

When relative humidity (a temperature-dependent measure of water vapor in air) becomes elevated indoors, building materials and furnishings absorb the moisture. Those damp materials can then provide a good place for mold to grow. If there are no cold condensing surfaces and the relative humidity (RH) is maintained below 60 percent indoors, there will not be enough water in those materials for mold to grow. However, if the RH stays above 70 percent indoors for extended periods of time, mold will almost certainly grow.
In the summer, air conditioning can de-humidify indoor space. But if the system is too large or too small for the space it serves, the cooling system can create high humidity by cooling without removing water vapor. A properly sized and maintained system will dehumidify and cool a building.
When there are cold surfaces in a building, water vapor can condense on those surfaces, just as water condenses on the outside of a glass of ice water. Insulation of exterior walls can prevent condensation and mold growth during the winter.
You should always be mindful of indoor sources of water vapor that can be problematic. Clothes dryers must be vented to the outdoors. Invented gas or kerosene space heaters can generate enormous amounts of water vapor (as well as other air contaminants), and should be used sparingly and never as a primary heat source. Always run the bathroom exhaust fan when showering or bathing, and make sure the vent is exhausted to outdoors. A properly vented kitchen exhaust fan can remove steam created during cooking.

What kind of mold do you have?
Extensive research conducted by the US EPA, using State-of-the-Art DNA forensics, has established the Environmental Relative Moldiness Index, otherwise known by the acronym ERMI. The ERMI study narrowed down the total number of critical mold species to 36 indoor-indicator mold species. Furthermore, the 36 species were subdivided into two very different groups of mold (fungal) species; these included the Group 1 and Group 2 molds. The Group 2 molds were found to be common in most homes and in low concentrations. Occupants living and working in indoor environments that contained predominantly Group 2 molds were healthy and suffered few respiratory related illnesses, nor did the building structures suffer leaks and water intrusion.

However, Group 1 molds were much less benign, and occupants of these homes and environments suffered significant respiratory and asthma related illnesses. Moreover, Group 1 molds were significantly correlated to water intrusion due to poor construction or leaking pipes. Furthermore, EPA scientist and other reputable scientific investigators have amassed a body of published scientific research that conveys a major paradigm shift in the way mold samples are both collected and analyzed.

Currently 99% of all mold samples are collected from the air. Inspectors pump air, often for as little as 5 minutes, onto a sticky device called a spore-trap (not unlike flypaper). They send the spore trap to a lab for analysis, and the lab spits back a report, based on the shape and size of the spores they see. It is important to keep in mind, that a mold cannot be identified as belonging to a particular species using a spore trap analysis, regardless of how much training or how many degrees a spore trap analyst has. Unfortunately, many of the group 1 and group 2 mold spores are small and round and all get lumped into a common small-round spore trap grouping called Asp/Pen. Hence, neither an ERMI score nor any substantial conclusion can be drawn from spore trap analysis.

The EPA solved this problem by using good science to make major breakthroughs in both mold sampling and analysis. First, the EPA identified the best technology, to date, to identify mold. That technology is called quantitative PCR or qPCR for short. Quantitative PCR is used in many fields of science, such as genetics and cancer research. The qPCR technology directly probes the DNA of mold with 99.9% accuracy to detect which species of mold are present and how many spores of each species are contaminating the indoor environment.

Secondly, the EPA used qPCR to probe the DNA of molds from the various reservoirs in homes. Surprisingly, they found air to be a poor correlate for detecting group 1 mold contamination (the water intrusion/asthma molds). So they looked elsewhere, and found that every indoor environment harbors a stable mold reservoir; that reservoir was dust.

Moreover, the dust held an historical account of indoor mold. Hence, indoor dust has a historical moldy tale to tell, which is read from mold DNA. Sometimes that tale is the sorrowful account of leaky roofs, windows or pipes (the DNA identifies many group 1 mold species), other times it is a story of a happy dry home (common group 2 mold species).

All buildings have dust and by analyzing the DNA in that dust for mold, all skeletons come out of the closet. And those skeletons, whether good or bad, are reflected in the EPA's ERMI index. The ERMI index is just a score based on the amounts of group 1 (water intrusion) versus group 2 molds (common).

The ERMI score from DNA analysis of dust lets a building or home owner know whether their home has group 2 molds and is similar to the rest of the healthy homes identified in the EPA studies, or if it is infested by group 1 mold species, where water intrusion and respiratory problems are common.

By: Edward A. Sobek, Ph.D.

Illinois Mold Remediation Registration Act.
.
Public Act 095-0456 SB1257 Enrolled LRB095 06869 CMK 26988 b AN ACT concerning public safety.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly: Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Mold Remediation Registration Act.
Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that: (1) Excessive indoor dampness in buildings is a widespread problem that warrants action at the local, State, and national levels.
(2) Because of the public's concern about the possible public health effects of exposure to mold in buildings, as well as the effects on workers performing remediation work, and the costs of remediation for the property owner, there is a need to identify parties performing mold remediation in the State.
(3) Because there is a need to reduce moisture that fosters mold formation in buildings, the State should review current State building codes to ensure that they do not foster mold.
(4) Parties providing mold remediation services in residential, public, and commercial buildings in Illinois should be required to register with the State and provide proof of financial responsibility.
(5) Laboratories performing tests to confirm mold contamination in buildings should be certified by the American Industrial Hygiene Association using nationally recognized accreditation standards set under the Environmental Microbiology Laboratory Accreditation Program.
Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act: "Department" means the Department of Public Health.
"Mold remediation" means the removal, cleaning, sanitizing, demolition, or other treatment, including preventive activities, of mold or mold-containment matter in buildings.
"Preventative activities" include those intended to prevent future mold contamination of a remediated area, including applying biocides or anti-microbial compounds.
Section 15. Reporting requirement. The Department must report to the Environment and Energy Committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate, on an annual basis, concerning the implementation of any federal regulations that establish: (1) scientific evidence concerning any health effects associated with fungi, bacteria, and their byproducts in indoor environments including any indoor air quality standard; and (2) standards for the training, certification, and licensing of parties providing mold remediation services in residential, public, and commercial buildings.
Section 20. Rules. The Department may adopt rules, under the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, to implement a program establishing procedures for parties that provide mold remediation services to register with the State and provide evidence of financial responsibility.
Section 25. Exemptions. The provisions of this Act shall not apply to (i) home builders and remodelers performing work on any residential structure, consisting of 4 or fewer residential units, under the period and terms of the written warranty of that residential structure or (ii) persons licensed in accordance with the Structural Pest Control Act.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2008.