Mold Remediation Questions

       Q. I certainly appreciate you willingness to help out with occasional questions.  I recommend Shock Wave and your web site to other remediators I have a question about remediation.  I seem to be asked to remediate mold from crawlspaces and attics.  The beams all have mold.  Every piece of wood in the attic and crawlspaces has a mold dust covering on it.  Often the areas are very difficult to get to. What do most remediators do in very  'hard to get to'  crawlspaces and attics? Is it necessary to sand or brush every single piece of wood in the attic and crawlspaces or can we just do 2 rounds of heavy fogging or spraying???  (Keep in mind, some of these areas are nearly impossible to get to!   Some crawlspaces are only 18" high and some attics are very low and nearly impossible to reach into.) Do most remediators heavily fog the molded crawlspace or attic and then tell the owner to keep the area dry and well ventilated?   Can we just fog heavily? [Mold Inspector question emailed to Phil on Dec. 22, 2004]
       A. Thank you for your compliment and your referrals. You need to collect enough money from your client to remove as much mold as you can in attics and crawl spaces with such tools as power planer, power grinder with wire brush attachment, and power sander.  Whatever mold growth that cannot be removed because of inaccessibility should receive extra-heavy spraying [preferable] or fogging [second choice] of several applications of EPA-registered fungicide ShockWave [at our online mold products catalog]. Let each spraying/fogging dry naturally for at least one to two hours before fan drying to remove excess moisture. Then, upon drying, spray or fog one or two wet coatings of the EPA-registered fungicidal coating AfterShock. Because you will be doing clearance testing afterwards, you can prove to both yourself and your client how much you have done to remove mold contamination from the attic and/or crawl space by comparing mold test results both and after your mold remediation efforts.

      Q. What is your opinion of treating mold with extreme heat?  One of the mold restoration companies we have had give us a bid have told us they specialize in using heat and it is the most thorough way to kill mold....Thank you for your help. [June 22, 2004]
      A. Extreme or high heat can only kill mold that it can reach. The biggest problems are fire safety concerns and the fact that the worst mold problems are mold infestations hidden INSIDE walls, ceilings, floors, heating/cooling ducts and equipment, crawl spaces, and attics, where high heat cannot be effectively and safely utilized ot kill mold. Extreme or high heat is NOT recognized as an acceptable mold remediation procedure by  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the Certified Mold Inspectors & Contractors Institute [http://www.certifiedmoldinspectors.com ]. What you need to do is to follow the steps required for safe and effective mold remediation that are explained at http://www.moldinspector.com/mold_removal.htm  You need to hire a Certified Mold Remediator.

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