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Mold Remediation Questions & Answers
Q. What is a good product to use to initially clean off mold growth from surfaces or building materials prior to doing subsequent mold remediation steps? [April 14, 2004] A. A good first step to clean off as much surface and building material mold as possible is use a cleaner such as trisodium phosphate (TSP) to clean moldy surfaces or building materials. You can buy TSP at a hardware, paint, or building supply store; it is not costly. Wear rubber gloves to protect your hands and follow the directions on the TSP package for mixing the cleaner with water before you clean. After you clean with TSP, let the surface dry.
Q. Is there any effective product out there that would allow
you to encapsulate mold rather than remove it? [March 20, 2004]
A. Mold may return again as a serious health threat because
many mold problems are not properly remediated in the mold remediation
process because many mold contractors are poorly trained, and they often
take short cuts to save time and increase their profits. Because of
defective remediation procedures, often there are more widespread mold
problems AFTER mold remediation than before. It is very important that
after mold remediation that an independent, unrelated
Certified Mold Inspector do careful physical inspection and
clearance testing to make sure that the mold problems have been
effectively and safely taken care of. Assuming that the mold remediation
job was done properly, safely, and effectively, mold problems can still
re-occur in the future because of such factors as: (1) continued or
future maintenance neglect of the property that leads to roof leaks,
siding leaks, and plumbing leaks; (2) sudden breaks in water supply and
sewer lines; (3) water damage from storms; (4) water entry through
concrete floors, walls, and foundations with no or degraded water
barriers; (5) high humidity [60% or more] some or all of the year in
some or all areas of the house; (6) intrusion into the house by
an above-average number of airborne mold spores from too-close or
too-dense outdoor trees and vegetation, as well as from nearby moldy
houses or buildings; and (7) regularly tracking indoors lots of outdoor
mold spores on the bodies of cats and dogs [letting pets come indoors or
live indoors is mold-wise a bad idea], and on residents' shoes [which
should be totally banned, including visitors, from entry into any
house], clothing, and hair.
Q. Our home's basement hardwood
floor moisture and mold problem was realized when planks starting
popping up. We called the people who installed it, and they said
because the floor was placed on a room that is below ground level and
the excessive snow that we had gotten, the excessive moisture caused
the problem. The inspector who came also had a moisture checking
device that he ran over the floor. He said the moisture level was off
the charts. My concern was that the floor company probably shouldn't
have placed a glued down hardwood floor on a below level floor ( which
is concrete). Does this moisture present a mold problem? Your advice
and help is greatly appreciated. [3/27/04]
A. The moisture problem in
and under the hardwood floor is going to cause massive mold growth.
Remove and discard the hardwood floor in the basement. Don't use wood
[or carpeting or anything else that is cellulose-based] again
there. You will need to do mold remediation of the area beneath the
floor. You will also need to find and fix the water intrusion problem
in your basement. If you are having moisture rise up from the concrete
basement floor because of improperly sealed concrete slab [e.g., no or
degraded moisture barrier beneath the concrete floor], one option is
to put about an inch or two inch new concrete layer CONTAINING
ADEQUATE AMOUNTS OF WATERPROOFING COMPOUND over the present basement
floor. Then install a ceramic-tiled floor over the new concrete floor,
and use waterproofing compound in cement holding the tiles in place
and in the grout between tiles. If you have water intrusion from the
basement walls, you could install an inner, new cement
wall coating one to two inches thick [containing adequate amounts of
waterproofing compounds] to stop water intrusion.
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