Finally, some serious relief from the glut of disinformation, wrong information, and just plain hype about mold----however well intentioned it might have been. As brokers, As inspectors, As mortgage brokers, As appraisers, As stagers As real estate attorneys---- ----we all have to, almost daily, deal with the hysteria that has “grown” around mold. (In fact it is a kind of fungus all its own.) This information should counter some of the hype, and I suspect the only ones that will be disappointed are those geared up to make money off of the hysteria. You can read the well documented story here at: Health Effects of Moulds (Molds): State of Knowledge Charles Buell Seattle Home Inspectors, ASHI Home Inspector, Structural Pest Inspector, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA
In 2004 the Institute of Medicine's mold study group concluded that there was "insufficient" evidence to find a causal association between the presence of mold and ANY of the claimed adverse health effects. Now---hot off the presses----comes the July 2009 position paper of the World Heath Organization on indoor molds and indoor air quality. What comes out of this position paper is that the association between "damp" living spaces and "some" slight increase in adverse health effects, has less to do with mold and more to do with a wide variety of factors associated with "damp places." The entire backdrop of the damp environment has to take into account a host of other factors that are just as likely to be a part of any damp environment. Here is a partial list of co-conspirators of, "THE DAMP"----dust mites, bacteria, termites, protozoans, endotoxins, volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, pesticides, viral survival, and poor ventilation.
With this latest information it becomes not an issue of "mold remediation" but instead an issue of "correcting the damp."
Don't you just hate it when things just turn out to be logical and common sense after all?
As agents, 
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Fungus and mold spores and dust mites, oh my! Hot damp! Move to the desert! :) Kate
Oh great!! Now the attorneys will get to make money (again) taking out references to mold in our listing and sales contracts.
Kate, they are there too:)
Jim---maybe they will make even more money adding that list of other things. Can never be too careful with viscious dust mites around:)
Yah I know but I just have to get a plug in for the desert every once in awhile I do love it so. Kate
The brouhaha over mold has irritated the pants off me from the beginning. Mold and mildew have been around since time immemorial - leave it to the nudnuks in this country to make it into a "danger". Meanwhile we live in a chemical soup and few pay attention. Boggles my mind.
Liz
Mold ain't the problem, just its symptom.
Kate, I love the dessert too----to visit.
Liz, I totally agree with you
Jay, that seems to be what the WHO is saying too.
WHO is on first?
Are you a wimp when it comes to heat? You just turn on a ceiling fan in every room for three months, keep the AC as low as possible and use solar screens. Then before sunrise or after sunset, you take a walk. It's like living in paradise. The key to cars is parking them in the garage or covered parking so they are not hot when you get back in to go somewhere. :)
Jay, No WHO is having seconds.
Kate, is this thread "drift" or "jump"?
Gee, Ann ARbor folks are obsessed too.
I will reblog in a few day.
No, WHAT is on third.
No, WHAT is on fourth.
Drift, no I guess it would be jump.... no definitely drift.
Missy, thanks
Jay, but WHEN?
Kate, floating at any rate.
Mold got me a great deal on my home, I love mold. Once we got rid of the mold we moved in and haven't had a problem since.
Stop floatiing and whatever you do get the mortgage rate lock agreement in writing. :)
I always thought they were making a mountain out of a mold hill!
Suesan---interesting idea.
Kate----sounds good:)
Barbara, we have been climbing up that mold hill long enough:)
Mr Charles,
Frankly all that article is way over my head.
Nutsy
I"m going to email this to myself so I can save it as a reference tool - great info Charlie!
Hi Liz, great to see your smiling face over here:) I am hoping a lot of people will get to see this info.
I know that there has been a hysteria over mold, especially here in Southern California, Charles. But, it's kinda like the studies that say sugar doesn't actually make kids hyper. If you have a child that goes ape-shnockey on you after inhaling pixie dust, you'll completely disagree with that study. And, I did live in a condo that was rife with mold in the walls. It was so bad that, when my father came to help fix a leak we had in the walls, I had to take my mother out of the place and go somewhere else because she was having such an adverse response to the mold. We don't live there anymore. This, however, was an extreme case. You can find mold in many, many homes that won't harm you. You just need to use a little elbow grease and you'll be fine.
Heather, what the WHO report is trying to get across is that in any damp enviorment there are going to be 21 other components of that background that willd cause a adverse effects on a small percentage of the population, and to focus only on mold is misleading and has no "scientific" basis. Your "elbow grease" reference is certainly what you do once you have "fixed the damp."
I hope you change your filters on your mask often Charles!
Paul, yup----no shortage of opportunities as an inspector to breath all kinds of stuff
My emphasis has always been to anyone inquiring about mold is it's the dampness not the mold that's the problem.
The "problem" with mold is an opportunity was seen to make money and so what you get are myths and half truths.
Hot Damp! The mother ship has landed. Finally we are gonna get some questions answered. (Hint: Mother Stumbles Upon Son - Another ActiveRain Miracle)
James mine as well----but I still have buyers that think the problem is the mold not the damp:)
Kate---remember---NO pictures of the father!
Not today at least.
Mention mold and people run for the hills. It's gotten so much negative attention that people automatically assume if there is mold there is danger.
"Mold is Gold" is a common term. It's an avenue for opportunists, who ride on the coat tails of fear, to make a lot of money. I don't perform testing but around here it typically costs between $150.00 and $300.00 depending on test type.
Dangerous or not I always mention it in my report when found on an inspection. Trying to convince a client of the mold hype is difficult at best.
Kate, thanks---we all thank you:)
Vince, the link to the the WHO postion paper should help counter the tide.
Hi Charlie - the fact that people are living well beyond 100 is all the evidence I need to toss some of the new environs aside. I mean, if you just look at the aging process (I've been spending a lot of time lately with my aging parents and it's not pretty) ...do I really want to find new ways of growing any older. Mold has been alive for centuries and people are still growing older and older.
Carol, it poses some interesting questions doens't it?
I absolutely love this discussion!
Hopefully , as a 'dreaded mold tester', I'll be welcomed in to give my 2 cents!
First of all, I bring with me over 100 years intellectual capital to this conversation between all the doctors, scientists, CIH, microbiologists etc on my team. So I will let you know what they tell me.
Charles is correct. All houses have mold...it's like having air. It also contains everything else Charles stated...it's a stew of sorts, and a test is only a snapshot in time of what the actual condition is.
What happens is when a dwelling becomes wet/damp/humid...it's like the garden got watered and will begin to colonize in 24-48 hours if not dried properly and sufficiently.
We may perform several samples , not just microbial screens, to determine what the ambient conditions are and test quantitatively as well as qualitatively to show how much of what is found and how it compares to the outside numbers.
Following a test is the only way a remediation company will know specifially where to clean once the source is identified and repaired. Just because a dwelling and walls 'look clean' doesn't mean it is. How is the homeowner supposed to know that the remediation was sucessful with out testing it afterwards? Can anyone SEE air???
What Elizabeth said is also true. Mold has been around since the big bang!
King Tut's tomb was infested with Aspergillius Penicillium and there is alot of information pointing to this as the 'Curse'.
The Irish potato famine, caused by mold
The Salem witch hunts...the girls are now thought to be exposed to mold that caused their ' witchy' neurological problems... there are hundreds more stories like this.
Where I disagree is when I hear that it's just a bunch of people trying to get rich off of hysteria.
While I can say that this industry is not standardized, you do get alot of unscrupulous contractors running around licking their chops over mold, there are some environmental firms that are actually trying to help people and save their health due to a sick environment.
It's just like any other profession, Realtors, Home Inspectors, Pest Control...I can think of a few horrible examples in these fields as well including a temite inspector that brought his own termite 'droppings' to each of his bids as well as home inspectors that also own roofing companies. But to discount the value of the entire industry due to a few bad eggs would be short sited at best.
I have seen first hand literally hundreds of my clients tell me we saved their lives. Teachers, students, children, cancer patients, 911 first responders...the list is endless. I feel honored and privileged to have been able to have a role in helping these people.
Heather, I'm originally from Southern California, in fact, born and raised there! I know what you are speaking about when you say hysteria! I was a doubting thomas as well, but once you or a loved one goes through it, don't you feel differently?
Fungus is amung us!
Lesley, very well put and thanks for adding your thoughts to the discussion.
Interesting site. Great information.
David Snell
www.snellexperts.com
I
My suggestion to those who want to buy a house.
1/ have a home inspection done
2/ have a termite inspection done
3/ have a certified mold inspection done and have the inspector write up protocol on what needs to be done. My I say this is the best money you will ever spend. Realize that after you buy the house that the home is yours. I also want to point out that even if the mold inspector finds problems, the problems can still be corrected most of the time.
Thank you,
David Snell
Our mold consultations over the phone are offered at no charge for Active Rain members by the way.
www.snellexperts.com
www.executiverestoration.com