Get Rid of Molds and Mildew!

What can you do about basement water problems?

The Invasion of Molds and Mildew

"About 38 percent of homes have mold and fungus growth due to elevated moisture." (The American Society of Home Inspectors) This problem is often worse in modern, tighter homes with little ventilation. Molds are fungi, simple microscopic plants. Mildew is a thin, black, or sometimes white, growth produced by mold. There are thousands species of molds. Outdoors, they live in the soil and help in the breakdown of organic matter. Molds grow indoors on virtually any substance when moisture is present.

Molds can be usually detected by a musty odor. They produce mold spores (seeds), which waft in the air throughout the house, forming new colonies wherever they land. They grow on paper products, cardboard, ceiling tiles, wood products, paints, wallpaper, insulation materials, drywall, carpet, and fabric. Molds flourish in damp areas like crawl spaces, basements, bathrooms (especially shower stalls), air conditioners, humidifiers, clothing closets, refrigerator drip trays, house plants, garbage pails, mattresses, upholstered furniture, and often in new houses because of high moisture in the building materials.

Health Problems from Exposure to Molds

Exposure to molds occurs when people inhale mold spores. Mold spores are so small that they evade the protective mechanisms of the nose and upper respiratory tract. Although thousands of molds exist, only a few dozen are significant allergens. They aggravate or cause allergies and asthma, particularly, in children. The incidence of allergies and asthma has doubled in the last decade, which has been linked to the increase in air-borne molds in modern energy-efficient homes. One of five Americans suffers from allergies.

The other common effects of exposure to molds include nasal stuffiness, eye irritation, wheezing, flu like symptoms, chronic sinus infections, rashes, nosebleeds, fever, shortness of breath, headaches, dizziness, inability to concentrate, fatigue, and respiratory infections. Some pathogenic molds effect the central nervous system or suppress the immune system.

The growth of molds in your house should prevented to minimize the exposure to yourself and your family. You cannot eliminate all mold spores in the air, but, at the very least, you must reduce the exposure to allergens below the threshold at which your family experiences reactions.

Black Mold

Some molds produce extremely potent toxins called mycotoxins. Large amounts of mycotoxins in air can cause serious illnesses like toxicosis (invasive infection). Some are carcinogenic and cause, for example, kidney cancer.

Toxic "black molds" in homes and schools have caused public alarm. Some schools and many private homes had to be evacuated. Homeowners have lost their homes, because insurance companies normally do not cover this misfortune. There is actually a number of mold types that are black in color or produce black pigments. Such mold growths are common in houses, particularly in bathrooms and basements.

The black molds known to produce mycotoxins include Stachybotrys and Memnoniella. Stachybotrys is a greenish-black mold that grows on materials with a high cellulose content, such as drywall, sheet rock , dropped ceiling tiles, and wood that become chronically moist, due to excessive humidity, water leaks, or flooding. Stachybotrys can cause nervous system symptoms such as personality changes, sleep disorders, and memory loss. It has been linked to fatal bleeding in the lungs of infants, but this is very rare.

Stachybotrys has been found in 2% to 3% of homes. If black mold is growing on materials containing cellulose it is prudent not to disturb them until they are shown not to contain toxic mold. Samples can be taken with transparent sticky tape and analyzed by microscopic exam in a laboratory providing microbiological analytical services.

Dust Mites

Dust mites have been identified as the single most important trigger for asthma attacks. Mites thrive on dead human skin cells in bedding, carpeting and upholstery. These microscopic animals multiply by the thousands in warm and humid conditions, when humidity exceeds 45 percent and temperature is above 65° F.

The average bed can easily have over 10,000 dust mites living in it. Dust mites leave behind droppings and disintegrating body parts that we inhale. Dust mites produce about 20 pellets per day, each measuring about 10 to 24 microns in size (the diameter of human hair is 80-100 microns). One-tenth of the weight of an old pillow can be attributed to dust mites and their droppings.

It is the protein in the fecal products and disintegrating body parts of dust mites that is one of the most powerful biological allergens. It is the most important allergen associated with asthma. Over 10 percent of the population are allergic to dust mite extracts.

Mites have eight tiny legs with sticky pads, which enable them to burrow deep into carpet fibers and furniture, easily resisting the pull of even the most powerful vacuum cleaners. They do not drink water but absorb moisture from the air. Dust mites cannot live at humidity below 45%. Do not bother cleaning your air ducts. Your main weapon against dust mites reducing humidity in your house.

Cleaning up Molds

There is no simple way to sample the air in your home to find out what types of mold are present. And even if you had your home tested, it is uncertain at what levels molds would cause health problems. Hazardous levels are unknown and exposure guidelines have not been established Therefore, it is more important to get rid of the mold rather than find out more about it.

The key is to eliminate the underlying moisture problem.

Exercise caution in removing molds, because they release mold spores when disturbed. Discard moldy items. Use chlorine bleach solution (1 part bleach and 4 parts water) to kill and wipe off the mold. Add detergent to cut through dirt and grease. If you suspect "black mold," call your state department of health or consult professionals (Industrial Hygiene consultants in Yellow Pages or the American Industrial Hygiene Association at www.aiha.org).

Eliminate Musty Odors

The musty mildew odor is the product of molds munching on organic matter. This emits water, carbon dioxide and VOCs (volatile organic compounds) like alcohols and aldehydes. When inhaled, these chemicals irritate respiratory passages. The musty odors, as well as mold spores, are spread by ventilation through the house.

Get rid of the musty smell by killing and cleaning the molds. Scrub the cement floor and walls in your basement, and tiled walls and floors in bathrooms with a dilute solution of chlorine bleach. Use 1/2 to 1 cup of liquid household bleach to a gallon of water. Then, rinse with clear water and wipe as dry as possible. Keep windows open until the surfaces are thoroughly dry.

In basements, sprinkle chlorinated lime (called chloride of lime or bleaching powder) all over the floor and let it stay until all mustiness disappears. Then sweep it up.

Preventing Molds, Mildew, and Dust Mites

The only effective way to control biological air contaminants like molds, fungi, dust mites, and bacteria is to control the cause. Eliminate the sources of moisture and reduce humidity in your home! Repair any water leaks in the roof, walls or basement. Prevent condensation on walls and windows by maintaining a low relative humidity in your home, ideally 30-40 percent. Humidity levels are measured by hygrometers, which are available at hardware stores.

Central air conditioning reduces humidity levels throughout the house. Cool air holds less moisture than warm air. But keep in mind that condensing the dampness that gets into the house increases your air-conditioning bills. Minimize the sources of dampness.

Cooking, laundering, and bathing may add 3 gallons of water a day to the house. Install exhaust fans in bathrooms and in the kitchen. Make sure that your clothes dryer is exhausted to the outside.

Basements or concrete slabs are the largest source of moisture

Pores in concrete do not only let in moisture, but they actively draw it inside by capillary action. The average basement lets in 18 gallons of moisture each day, several times more than bathrooms and kitchen combined. Deep-seal the concrete against water migration and dampness with Endur-O-Seal Deep Penetrating Concrete Sealer.

Dehumidifiers are used in many basements. But they consume lots of energy on condensing water, which is released into the air as heat. This, in turn, adds to the air-conditioning load. More importantly, dehumidifiers draw in through the concrete more moisture with dissolved chemicals, which accelerates efflorescence and deterioration of the concrete. Minimize or entirely avoid dehumidifiers by eliminating the source of dampness and deep-sealing the concrete.

If you have a sump pit, cover it up and seal it air-tight with silicone caulk. Caulk any openings and cracks in the concrete with self-leveling caulk or flexible epoxy. Insulate air-conditioning ducts to prevent condensation. Reduce the amount of water around your foundations with proper gutters, downspout extensions, and by grading the soil. If you have a crawl space, cover the soil with heavy polyethylene sheets and ventilate the space to the outside. Clean humidifiers, dehumidifiers, and air conditioning condensing units regularly with chlorine bleach.

Mold Re-mediation with Endur-O-Seal

Endur-O-Seal is very effective in getting rid of molds and mildew, dust mites, and other biological contaminants in homes. By deep-sealing the concrete in your basement or foundation slab with Endur-O-Seal, you will eliminate the largest source of moisture in your home. Reducing humidity is the key to stopping molds and mildew, and to preventing their recurrence.

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