Know I’ll get some good advice here —
I am getting ready to buy a house, and the home inspector mentioned the M word (“mold”)
It is not the black slimy stuff that everyone seems to be most worried about — it is white and more like snowflakes.
I am having a company come in and do the remediation, so the next buyer has a nice piece of paper to reassure them that it was handled correctly.
Which brings us to: the inpector also said I need a dehumidifyer, to keep the mold at bay.
What advice do you all have in picking out a humidifyer? What should I look for and what should I avoid?
If you want to throw in any advice on the mold, that’s fine, too.
Replies
Where is this "mold"?
If its on the foundation walls, it might not be. It could be efflouresence (sp?)- the minerals leaching thru the walls. It may look unseemly, but its not hazardous to the health.
What makes me think that is your description of it being white and like snowflakes.
I could be wrong, but you should get a second opinion before the remediation. It could save you a lot of money.
And if it really is efflouresence, a dehumidifier won't really do much for you.
Have you already bought? Insurance companies get really weird when it comes to mold.
If it's white and like snowflakes, and it's on masonry, it's not mold but efflorescence. While it does mean you have a minor water problem, and it often causes the deterioration of the masonry, it's not a health hazard.
There may be some forms of mold that are white and flaky, but they're not real common. You'll occasionally see whitish mushroom growth out of rotting wood, but the problem there is the rot. Other times you may see light colored crystals of dried sap on sound wood.
Edited 1/18/2009 6:24 pm by DanH
First, find out if this inspector is qualified to identify "mold". There are a lot of things that look like white stuff, and a lot of other micro-organisms that can grow on walls.
if you are considering purchase of this house, you need to know exactly what it is and if it is also IN the walls or just on them.
And question or doubts, stay away from it.
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Now, why didn't I post a photo?
It is not on the masonry (cement block basement). It is on the joiststs and underflooring that you can see when you stand in the basement and look up.
The person who identified it was a good inpsector, but not certififeid in mold. And whether it is mold or not, it is writ large all over the inspection he wrote up.
The mold remediation companies of course have not not argued -- they want the $$$ (one quote is for $5000, the other for $1700)
Besides a mold remeditaion company, who would i contact for an expert opinion?
Thanks for your intelligence and sharing on this.
I am getting ready to close on Thrusday.
Well, if the remediators are honest, then it is probably mold.But I was taught in the cclas for HI that it can be a very sticky legal issue if you use the word mold and are not certified. i.e. if I as a HO find my house is now labeled as mold infested,and it auses meto loose value or have problems with my insurance co, but I can ccertify froma qualified source that it is indeed not mold, that HI has a whopping big liability to settleOTOH, if I as a HI use the word mold and the seller gets paniced and is talked into knocking ten grand off the selling price, the buyer might be happy and the seller is not, esp if it turns out not to be mold after all.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Seems like an odd place for mold.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith
Found some interesting stuff.http://www.forensic-applications.com/moulds/sok.html"Caoimhín P. Connell
Forensic Industrial HygienistMicroorganismsMicroorganisms are ubiquitous in our environment and within and upon the human body. There is no place on the planet Earth (or even in space 1) that man can go and avoid microorganisms. It is known that these organisms are present in every house on the planet to some extent, and a vast amount of data across the globe has firmly established the presence of airborne microbials. The contingent of microbes which humans harbour is huge. In the human digestive tract alone, reside some 300 different species of Bacteria. Each gram of intestinal matter of the healthy human adult may contain upwards to 100,000,000,000 individual anaerobic organisms. A single sneeze from a healthy person may release some 100,000 viable organisms into a room. According to OSHA, 2 the Centers for Disease Control, (National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) reported that during its investigations of reports of poor indoor air quality, microbiological contamination was suspected in only 5% of the cases.In "healthy" air, it is very common to encounter moulds (molds) and/or Bacteria such as Aspergillus (including A. fumigatus and A. terreus), Pullularia, Stachybotrys atra, Acremonium, Aspergillus and Penicillium.Moulds and FungiThe Fungi
Depending on the reference, there may be as many as 1.5 million different species of fungi 3 on Earth; approximately 70,000 different species have been fully described.In spite of their apparently small size, the Fungi include some of the largest living organisms on the planet. One such fungus, a single organism belonging to Armillaria, is estimated to cover over 1,500 acres and weighs in at over 4,400 tons. 4Moulds
Moulds are any kind of fungi that at some point in their lives grow extended appendages called "hyphae;" moulds are filamentous fungi. The hyphae form mats called "mycelium" which are usually easily seen with the naked eye. Therefore, all moulds are fungi, but not all fungi are moulds. Since the distinction between moulds and fungi is based on morphological characteristics, even some yeasts (another type of fungus), at some point in their development, may be considered to be a mould at that point and a yeast at other stages.The Fungi are found on humans, in and on houseplants, in wine, beer, cheese, and maple syrup. We encounter fungi directly in our diets such as when we eat fungi like the Morchella esculenta; Agaricus bisporus; and perhaps the most famous of all - the French truffle: Tuber magnatum. Virtually every tree, houseplant, and bush probably is aided into full health by the mycorrhizae moulds which are intractably bound about its roots; and without which many plants could not survive."That is just the start. It is a long article. Read down to what he has to say about toxic mold.This is from a thread in a home inspectors forum. It has some pictures of pictures. And a bunch of comments. You need to read the whole thread.http://tinyurl.com/93vxb2"The first question is: So, if it is mould, then why do you think it necessarily is a problem?Let me give you a good example – I was involved in a case wherein the property owner of the home had a mould “expert” perform air monitoring and they found that the air in the home contained mould. The mould “expert” also found about 2,000 square feet of mould on the floor joists in the crawlspace. The “expert” recommended massive remediation of the crawlspace which eventually was performed at a cost of $36,000. The mould in the crawler was sanded, bleached and the wood sealed. The property owner then attempted to sue the home builder for the cost of the remediation.Final post-remediation air sampling revealed that the air samples contained the same amount of mould spores in the air after the remediation as before. In the end, the property owner lost the suit and ended up not only footing the bill, but also forking out huge legal fees.Why did they loose?Simple, the mould in the crawler was not a "problem." The airborne spores found in the house were at normal concentrations for any similar home the area (several hundreds of spores per cubic meter of air) and the mould in the crawlspace was not a significant contributing factor for the mould spores in the air in the house.Since the crawlspace could not be used for storage, there was no other exposure potential for the mould in the crawler. In the end, the homeowner could not successfully articulate why mould on the floor joists which could not bee seen, did not compromise the integrity of the wood, and did not constitute a significant contributor to mould exposures was a “problem.”In any event, I would certainly not recommend using bleach, since that certainly could cause some problems. Lastly, the installation of the vapour barrier, in the absence of a valid reason for its installation, could actually create new moisture problems where none otherwise existed, but reducing the hygric buffering capacity of the structure (amongst other things) and could increase the potential for mould growth, where none existed.Just my take, as an expert witness in the subject matter, (and an expert on the above mentioned project) with over 15 years experience in mould assessments in properties.Your thoughts are welcome. You may find my web discussions interesting:State of knowledge on indoor moulds:
http://www.forensic-applications.com/moulds/sok.htmlAir monitoring for moulds:
http://www.forensic-applications.com/moulds/mvue.htmlCheers,
Caoimhín P. Connell
Forensic Industrial Hygienist "Here are some pictures of rotting fungi in several different stages.
http://www.buildingpreservation.com/Rots.htmThis is from another home inspection forum. Unfortunately you see the pictures unless you are a member.http://tinyurl.com/9kc2rz Re: White mold in crawl space.
Hi Jim. I am no mold specialist, nor do I play one on TV. So with that being said, unless my Air Quality Specialist, (Industrial Hygienist) identifies it as such, I would refer to this as a "fungus or "mold-like" substance.I have seen a lot of "possibly mold" covered surfaces in my day, this is a different surface effect than normal, no visible spore-like formations, fur, growths, etc. It seems to be worse at the butt end joints? Where water may have seeped in and dried? It has that efflourescence look to it. May be time to call in a specialist to determine if this is indeed a harmful mold. Unless you are a qualified, certified mold inspector that is. If you are, I defer..
William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe
BTW, did the HI use a moisture meter to see what the moisture content of the wood was?Or did he have a hygrometer to tell you what the moisture level in air was?.
William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe
The HI was not certified for mold, I am very sure. Did not use a hydrometer. Just about every question you all have asked, the answer is 'no'. Oh, boy!
But, here's where I am -- it is documented and I will have to say that I was told there was mold when I go to sell it. If there had been more time, I could have asked earlier, and followed the excellent advice here (read all the links, too -- what an education!)
They are using Strike Force anti-microbial to clean the wood, and will paint with a coating. Then I have a document to show the future buyer, to reassure them that it is all taken care of.
I have a Whirlpool 50 gallon dehumidifyer that works to 38 degrees, and we'll see how well that works. I will have to buy a hydrometer, too, I suppose, to be 'scientific' about it.
As always, am filled with respect at the knowledge here at these forums!!