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Detecting and Eliminating Mold Growth
in your home:
If you have an uncomfortable musty smell
indoors in your home or office environment, you may have mold growth
in places where you either may or may not be able to see it. In
some cases these dangerous molds can be responsible for mycotoxins
released in the air which can cause allergies or worse.
Don't be mistaken. Mold growth can occur just
as easily in Colorado homeseven though the outside climate is generally
dryas it can anywhere else.
At RHMM we choose from a variety of physical monitoring
tests to determine whether there is a source of mold that could
be threatening the health of your family right in your own home.
Measure Mold Spore Spectrum and Concentration
in Your Home
At RHMM we can do a physical test whether
there is a source of an indoor air problem caused by mold. By analysing
the spectrum of data obtained from such a test we can determine
the fingerprint of a specific mold type that causes the problem.
Mold Spore Concentration test
Example of test results for various home conditions:
These are screening tests inside and outside the
house to determine if mold amplification exists in your home by
certain mold types that are known to be unhealthy for the inhabitants.
A certified national laboratory will perform the sample analysis.
The first two sets of three measurements were
taken in the same building before and after the mold remediation
The last set of three tests were taken in a building without excessive
mold growth and are shown for comparison.
In each set of three measurements the O is a test
background done outside.
B means bedroom or basement and C means in crawlspace. FL is a measurement
done near the floor in a suspect area.
The first set of three test results shows that
the mold infested building was identified because the spore levels
inside were much higher than outside.
The second set of three test results shows that the building had
been successfully remediated to the point that the residual molds
are not expected to cause a health concern in the home.
The importance of an outside test is even more apparent by looking
at the following set of three mold tests for a home where we have
drawn lines beteween the identical mold spore types to guide the
eye.
If the lines go upwards mold growth for that type of mold may be
suspected in the indoor environment. Therefore the house where these
tests were done has no suspect mold growth, and the outside air
mold spore concentration is relatively high, influencing some mold
spores to be present inside because of the natural ventilation rate
of the house.
If one (or a few) type(s) of mold is growing excessively
inside the building one will see the(spore-) fingerprint of that
mold type deviating fromt he rest in the spectrum of mold spores.
Finding Hidden Moisture and Mold Growth
in Your Home
At RHMM we can do a physical test that points
at the location of hidden moisture and mold via non-destructive
testing...
The following are two examples.
The Shower Wall
In this example it is suspected that because of
a crack in the grouting of the tiles in the shower area moisture
may have accumulated behind the tiles above the base. See photo:
We scanned the area with the moisture scanner. The area-graph below
shows the Relative Humidity summed along the edge of the bottom
of the shower base and in horizontal lines above it as a function
of the height above the edge of the shower base.
It is clear from this graph that moisture has
already accumulated behind the tiles. If the problem is not solved
this can cause a significant mold problem.
The Shower Ceiling
In scanning the ceiling of the shower area we
discovered a fairly large spot of drywall (approximately 100 square
inches) that had a substantial larger relative humidity than the
surrounding drywall ceiling as is shown in the following three dimensional
graph:
There was no visible indication of a water stain, a wet spot or
bulging of drywall as the following photo of the same area shows.
After further investigation we discovered that
there was a leak from the bath-tub in the bathroom above it.
Once the ceiling was opened a mold investigation via the tape lift
method identified excessive mold growth (hyphae) on the inside cavity
between ceiling and flooring.
This example shows how we can find mold growth
that was still shielded from the naked eye via a non-destructive
method by using the moisture scanner. By solving the problem at
this time we can prevent future adverse health effects for the occupants
that may be the consequence of excessive mold growth.
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