Mold News Blog International
Phillip Fry, Blogmaster and Editor

Microbial Indoor Pollution, posted March 22, 2011. “Microbial pollution is a key element of indoor air pollution. It is caused by hundreds of species of bacteria and fungi, in particular filamentous fungi (mould), growing indoors when sufficient moisture is available,” noted the World Health Organization in its report “WHO Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality: Dampness and Mould,” published July 16, 2009. Indoor mold growth is often caused by these water problems: basement flooding and water intrusion, clothes dryer and exhaust fans venting into walls or attic, construction defects, crawl space humidity or standing water, firewood storage indoors, flooding, high indoor humidity, humidifiers and vaporizers, lot grading downward to home, high indoor humidity, inadequate ventilation, indoor plants, overflow from tubs, showers, sinks, & toilets, shrubs and trees too close, roof leaks, sewage drain pipe leaks, siding water leaks, water supply pipe leaks, and wet clothes drying indoors.

What is the Most Dangerous Indoor Mold Species?, posted March 20, 2011. The most dangerous indoor mold species is Stachybotrys (nickname “Stachy”), which is the famous toxic black mold that can quickly and permanently destroy brain tissue,
with health consequences very much like suffering from advanced Alzheimer’s Disease, such as no memory and the mold victim’s inability to think and reason (or even drive a car!!!).

Stachybotrys spores are rarely airborne unless the Stachy mold growth has dried and it has been disturbed or jarred and thus thrown into the air.  Stachy grows best in a continually wet environment such as caused by an on-going plumbing leak inside a
wall, ceiling, or floor building materials.

It was the Stachybotrys-caused permanent and serious health damage to the Melinda Ballard family and the extensive mold infestation of the then newly-constructed, million dollar Ballard mansion in Dripping Springs, Texas, USA, as documented by
CBS network news anchor Dan Rather in his two mold news features on his top-rated TV magazine show “48 Hours in 1999
and 2000, that woke up both the USA and the world to the dangers of living in mold infestation.

In 1999, in response to both the "48 Hours" show and to Fry's personal mold health problems experienced as the consequence
of living in a Mesa, Arizona, home that had hidden mold infestation,  BlogMaster Phillip Fry created his top-ranked mold website
Mold Inspector.

Landlord Mold Problem, posted March 17, 2011. Is Your Landlord Unconcerned and Uncaring about Your Apartment 
or Rental House or Condominium Mold?

If you notice mold growth in your rental apartment or house, or if any occupants are experiencing health problems that may be mold-caused from either visible mold or mold infestation hidden inside floors, walls, ceilings, heating/cooling equipment and ducts, attic, basement, crawl space, etc., you need to immediately send a legal notice by certified or registered mail to your landlord about your mold concern and demand that the landlord immediately take care of the problem safely, effectively, and immediately. If you don't put your landlord on notice legally about the mold problem, you cannot expect that the landlord will take action to fix the mold problem. As an alternative to certified or registered mail, you can hand deliver your mold problem notice to the landlord or his agent provided that you have the notice recipient sign and date a photocopy of the notice as having been received by the landlord.

A landlord has a legal obligation to provide an environmentally-safe living rental unit in consideration of the rent you are paying the landlord.

Landlords or rental agents (who own or manage mold-infested rental properties) may have potential and substantial legal liability to tenants for such items as mold damage to tenants' health, medical bills for medical mold testing and treatment, loss of earnings because of mold problems, mold damage to tenants' clothing and personal effects, moving expenses, higher rent if tenants need to move to a mold-safe place, and for the costs of mold inspection, testing, and remediation of the rental units. You should seek out the advice of an attorney who specializes in landlord-tenant law or in environmental law. You also may consider using the Tenant Notices to Landlord about Mold that are are available for purchase at Mold Mart.

Pay For or Do Your Own Mold Inspection, posted March 13, 2011.  If you need to know the mold truth about a home or other building you own, or are buying or renting, or are working in, you need to either pay for or do your own mold inspection and mold testing.  If you rely upon mold inspections done or paid for by a real estate seller, landlord, or employer, you are not going to really know the true and actual extent of any mold infestations that may be hidden inside walls, ceilings, floors, heating/cooling systems, attics, basements, and crawl spaces.

Mold inspectors work on behalf of whoever is paying their mold inspection and testing fee. How and where a home or building is mold inspected and mold tested can make a house or workplace appear to be mold-safe when the building is really a mold hell.  For example, using one or a few five minute air tests may significantly understate how serious the mold infestation actually is, compared to much more reliable and comprehensive surface sampling, with the sampling being of many surfaces throughout the building, including the bottom duct surface just inside the air supply registers.

How mold lab results are interpreted is also very crucial for knowing the mold truth. On March 12, 2011, a California real estate agent offered to pay me to make a misleading written evaluation of three mold lab test results in an unusual way that would make the reported high indoor mold spore counts of the health-dangerous Cladosporium and Penicillium mold species seem ok to the home buyer who was due to close on his home purchase on March 14, 2011.  Of course, I refused that unethical request.

Hidden Mold Growth, posted March 3, 2011. The number one mold remediation and mold removal problem is to find mold hidden and growing deep into building materials, such as drywall and wood, walls, ceilings, floors, attic, basement, crawl space, heating ventilating and air conditioning (hvac) equipment and ducts, carpeting, and furnishings and fixtures.

Whether done professionally or do-it-yourself, most mold remediation efforts fail to make a home or building mold-safe because not all mold infestation has been discovered and removed.

►Phillip Fry is a Certified Environmental Hygienist, Certified Mold Inspector, and Certified Mold Remediator. He is the author of five mold advice ebooks: Mold Health Guide, Mold Legal Guide, Mold Monsters, Do It Best Yourself Mold Inspection, Testing, Remediation, and Prevention, and Mold Home Remedy Recipes. You can email Phillip at envirodangers@yahoo.com.

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Also read: Top 10 Mold Mistakes    12 Mold Facts for First Time Home Buyers    10 Mold Facts
                     10 Mold Steps To Take When Buying or Selling  Home    How Mold Grows

    More and more people are becoming aware of the serious health hazards of mold infestation. Many mold victims are now seeking information about the health effects of mold and how to remove mold. Some building owners and occupants act quickly to get rid of mold growth problems in time to avoid brain damage, pulmonary diseases, and other serious mold health consequences. Others are less fortunate, learning about toxic mold only when it has seriously harmed their health, destroyed their home and interrupted their normal way of living; not to mention give them both huge financial and legal problems.

When mold problems are discovered, homeowners, landlords and property managers often fall prey to inadequate, unprofessional mold remediation services because mold contractors are often untrained and inexperienced mold remediators.

Instead of making the situation better, the so-called "mold remediators" leave homes, buildings and real estate in worse condtion than before they began mold remediation and removal. This leaves home owners, landlords and property managers frustrated and in deep trouble because their expectations and requirements are not met. They pay for expensive mold removal but are often left with even bigger mold problems.

On the other hand, there are knowledgeable, capable, and experienced Certified Mold Inspectors and Certified Mold Remediators who are well trained and experts in mold inspection and mold removal. Home owners, landlords and property managers can hire them to do thorough mold testing and mold remediation of their home, office, apartment, condo, building or real estate property. For cost-effective mold remediation, more homeowners and property managers are doing their own mold removal.

Do It Yourself Mold Remediation

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Knowing the correct techniques to remove mold also helps you to supervise in mold remediation if you decide to hire a Certified Mold Remediator to do professional mold remediation and mold removal for you. Find a professional certified mold contractor and remediator in your nation, state, city or locality to do professional mold removal for you at Certified Mold Inspector. You can also learn how to do your own mold remediation and mold removal from by reading the in depth ebook Do-It-Best-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing, and Remediation.
    

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Enroll and be trained and certified as a Certified Mold Remediator, Certified Mold Inspector, and/or Certified Environmental Hygienist with the Professional Certification Institute (P.C.I.). Study mold at home with P.C.I.'s Distance Learning Program.

For more mold news, mold advice, and mold tips, please visit these mold information pages---

[Mold Removal Guide] [Top 10 Mold Mistakes] [First-Time-Home-Buyers-Mold] [10-Mold-Steps-Home-Buyer] [10-Mold-Facts] [How-Mold-Grows] [Toxic-Mold-News] [Mold Training & Certification] [Canada Home Mould Study] [Mold Remediation Advice] [Mold Scams] [Mold-Expert-Consultant] [Typhoon-Hurricane-Tornado] [Flood-Mold-Remediation] [Hurricane-Katrina-Mold] [Firewood-Mold] [Roof-Shingle-Mold] [Mini-Storage-Mold] [Crawl-Space-Mold-Removal] [Pergo-floor-mold] [Air-Filter-Mold] [Mold-Monsters-Book] [Hotel-Motel-Mold] [Humidifier-Mold] [Carpeting-Mold] [Link-Directory]
 

Dangerous Aspergillus mold growing on wood floor joists
in a home crawl space.

Mould growth inside an air conditioning duct and register
in a St. Maarten resort in the Caribbean.

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     3. Get FREE mold advice, mold help, and/or answers to your mold questions, by emailing mold expert Phillip Fry at envirodangers@yahoo.com. You can also email pictures of your mold problems in jpeg file format as email attachments.