The new Emergency Operations Center in Jackson County has mold. Apparently mold has showed up in the ceiling; and there’s a strong scent of mold in the rest of the building The search is on for the source, but it has not been found yet. Let’s hope they don’t wait till it gets so bad they have to call in the big guns.

If you have mold, you can control it. Find the water, dry it up.

Do you have a vented bathroom fan? That will reduce moisture in your bathroom and make your home less attractive to mold.

Do you have leaks? Repair any drips or leaks. If it’s dry, your home will be less attractive to mold.

The World Health Organization has produced a case study “Interventions and actions against damp and mould, ” The study,
performed by Dorr G. Dearborn, PhD, MD studies Ohio Cuyahoga county. Part of the study focused on moisture intervention and lists something we’ve been saying all along:

• Remove moisture damaged material.
• Remove mold exposure pathways.
• Clean mold from hard surfaces.
• Stop rain water intrusion.
• Exhaust water vapor.
• Repair plumbing leaks.

The study in pdf form can be found here:

Ironically, I wonder at a “HUD grant recipient” using the British spelling of mold in the document title.

After the rain, beware the rise of stachybotrys mold which may be reflected in running noses, sneezing, memory loss, problems with bleeding lungs, bleeding noses and other horrifying symptoms of exposure. Mold can be a very dangerous allergen; and it likes to grow the same places you do, and all it needs is a little moisture to get a foot in the door.

stachybotrys_c
Before remediation, have your local mold inspector run tests on your house so you have a set point for your before and after. If it’s not bad enough for remediation, bleach solutions will kill mold on hard surfaces. Soft goods infiltrated by mold should be thrown away.

Not surprisingly, months after Village Park Rockborough Apartments and Townhomes were flooded, mold is showing up and chasing out some of the residents. Apparently some leaks haven’t been repaired either, and there’s also a pest problem.

Repairs funded by insurance are under way, but they’re tackling buildings one at a time. Someone has to be last, and apparently those are the folks that are moving out, rather than share bacteria and mold with their ac systems.

Understandable.