Black mold was found in the firestation shower, and ever since, the station has been closed.

Other people follow a paper trail. Byebye mold follows the mold trail. So we’re not surprised to hear that the mold in the shower was the tip of the iceberg, and led to a leak. The leak led to the source of the leak, and a mother lode of mold spread by the heating system.

The fire station is taking bids, and hopes to be back in the firehouse by the summer.

When it comes to drying out after a flood, it’s time to call the professionals. Or else, 3 weeks after the flood, your house is starting to smell, and you’re going to be growing a crop of mold in your damp carpet.

Get that mold inspector out there to do readings on your house and find out where you need to point the clean-up crew.

As wonderful as it is, Hawaii is humid–and mold loves Hawaii as much as we do.

Take for example the Hawaii Hilton, with a history of mold. (Closed for mold in the past, and possibly in the future.

Before the so called infestation there had to be water intrusion!

Where water has been, mold will follow, like that water from the fourth-floor pool in the tower that intruded into the spa treatment rooms. Since there were complaints of mold, standing water and degraded air quality, the Health Department’s visit to the Mandara Spa is going to cost up to $70,000. That’s just pennies compared to the hotel’s 2002 settlement of $1.8 million.

Island Sunset
by Vincent Khoury Tylor

PRWeb has a press release for a new product touted for remediation. It is a “new technique” that kills and removes spores which are said to “biodegrade, essentially turning it into harmless particulates. While other commercial antimicrobials available kill the mold spore, it is still present inside the home or office unless it is hepa vacuumed from the surface, which can be a considerable extra expense.”

One of the problems with mold is that the spore itself, dead or alive, is an allergen. And spores are tough little packages nature designed for mold to survive between periods of moisture. After visible mold is removed, there remains a variable quantity of ambient mold spores. There is a measurable amount in outdoor air all of the time which varies according to region and season.

I look at this with a positive frame of mind–but seeing is believing.

Mold loves water. Picture the airspace of your house with millions of tiny dry parachutists floating aimlessly about, each one hoping to randomly land on a wet patch.

Picture these tiny dry parachutists not flying alone, but each with a dehydrated city on its back. No, they don’t actually HAVE a dry city, but the instant this little floating astronaut is exposed to water then he comes out of suspended animation and zings to life, growing at a furious rate.

Let’s call these tiny dry airborne astronauts what they really are: mold spores. And because they are microscopic, they don’t need much water. To a microscopic spore, humidity is a lot of water. All it takes is some airborne water vapor (otherwise known as humidity) to hydrate a spore, a little yummy cellulose and it begins its life cycle.

Humidity is water intrusion on a vapor level, and it can be all it takes for the mold in your house to amplify into a big problem. It is why mildew loves your bathroom. It is why mold can take root behind the walls where humidity may be trapped, even though you may not find a direct leak.

Keep your bathrooms ventilated with free-flowing dry air. Or else you’ll have to call your friendly neighborhood mold detector and stage an intervention.

Every time I log on to the internet, I see another school that is closed due to mold. It seems to be practically an epidemic that old (or badly constructed new) public buildings get shut down due to mold.

Public buildings belong to us all. And when they are infested with mold, they threaten us all. This is such an ironic thing, since the law, which also belongs to us all, refuses to pin down key points in regard to mold.

Water leaks/intrusion, failure to keep water out of the building is what results in mold amplification. If your building is 100 years old and there is no moisture issue, you are not going to have mold growth. Mold spores, yes, but not visible mold. And the mold spores will probably be within the outdoors level.

If you’re the landlord, you’re accountable. If you’re the contractor who didn’t fix that roof, you’re accountable. But if you’re a victim of mold-related illness, the law is still wishy-washy on finding a connection between mold and illness, even when there are doctors who agree the illness is mold related.

IF you’re looking to grow a fine crop of mold this season…

1. When there’s a leak, ignore it. Let it drip down through your walls and ceiling. Let the moisture seep into exposed cellulose products.

2. Don’t bleach trace mold or mildew growing on hard surfaces.

3. In fact, don’t just ignore the water dripping, don’t fix the spot that is leaking. Maybe it will just go away.

4. Don’t keep your roof and gutters in repair.

5. Don’t keep your plumbing repaired.

6. Don’t clean up after minor plumbing mishaps like that overflow when your three year old turned on the tub and let it run, or when your six year old let Malibu Barbie go deep sea scuba-diving in the toilet.

7. Ignore trapped indoor humidity, especially when it regularly causes mildew.

8. Ignore that moldy smell.

9. Never change the air filter. Who cares if air gets blocked by debris, and your ac must overwork to push air thru the collected dust?

10. If outdoor flooding intrudes inside, ignore the fouled soft goods, even though they’re a hotbed of lethal growths.

If you do all of these things, you’re going to grow a fine crop of mold. Not that you’ll be able to stick around and enjoy it….

March and April flooding will bring May and June mold. It doesn’t make a pretty nursery rhyme, but it is still something to look out for.

Summer mold in your house may look like a summer cold: stuffy nose, irritated eyes, skin irritation, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Mold can establish a foothold in as little as 48 hours. If you find mold in your house after a flood, cleanup and dry-up, and discard all porous and soft goods that exhibit signs of mold. This includes carpeting, books, clothing, bedding and upholstered furniture.

If you have experienced a flood, the entire property should be completely dried, including air d

Some states (like Idaho whose proclamation is listed below) have declared this Toxic Injury Awareness and Education Month:

The campus residence known as Morgens Hall has been tested positive as having black mold and asbestos. Though the university is supposed to take care of the mold, clean it all up, and notify residents and alumni that they’ve been exposed, so far, nothing has been done.

In fact, many of the buildings on campus have Sick Building Syndrome, which causes “headaches, throat irritation, nausea, acute allergy symptoms and fatigue.”