The big improvements always get all the glory—the classic kitchen remodel, the bathroom addition, the transformation of a once creepy basement into a media room. But what about all those little projects around the house?
Sure, they may not be as gratifying as ripping out 1980s cabinets, but tackling necessary home maintenance chores now will save you big headaches down the road. So before you undertake another huge home improvement, check out these projects that you might have neglected—but really should take on.
1. Clean your exhaust fans
«Two maintenance areas that home buyers often overlook have to do with fans—bathroom exhaust fans and attic or ventilation fans,» says Kathleen Kuhn, the CEO and president of HouseMaster.com, a home inspection franchise.
Related Articles
Bathroom exhaust fans play an important role in reducing odor as well as moisture, which helps prevent mold and mildew. And attic or ventilation fans are designed to expel hot air from the top of a home and draw cooler air in. This helps save energy and reduces the potential for costly heat-related damage to the roof or roof framing.
Both fans should be cleaned and wiped down every three months to ensure they are functioning properly.
2. Fix broken window seals
«One of the most harmful delayed maintenance issues I see in the field is broken window seals,» says real estate agent Jodi Moody of Smoky Mountain Realty in Lenoir City, TN. A homeowner might notice a piece of caulk peeling up around a window’s edge and think it’s no big deal. Most often, it simply goes unnoticed.
«Unfortunately, once a window seal is broken, problems are created that homeowners can’t see until major damage occurs,» says Moody.
Those problems include moisture, condensation, mildew, mold, and wood rot, which build up in the window framing and eventually move into the wall. Entire window frames and even sections of flooring can eventually rot, due to the moisture seeping in through missing or damaged window caulk.
«Homeowners should inspect their windows twice a year, and repair any cracked or torn caulk, rubber seals, or damaged wood as soon as possible,» says Moody.
3. Repair small foundation cracks
Foundation cracks can naturally develop over time. And though tiny cracks may not be a problem at first, it’s a good idea to patch them before they increase in size. Large cracks could result in your having to replace the foundation completely, which could cost you big bucks.
«You can repair a small crack with a concrete sealer that you can find at any home improvement store,» says Sacha Ferrandi, founder and principal of Texas Hard Money and Source Capital Funding.
4. Lube your garage door springs
Preserve the longevity of your garage door with some simple maintenance, so you won’t have to replace it sooner than needed.
«Lubricating the springs will help a garage door last a lot longer,» says Ferrandi.
Be sure to apply a lubricant annually to the rollers, hinges, and tracks. Since garage doors have a heavy workload, use a heavy-duty lubricant such as silicon spray or motor oil.
5. Drain and clean the water heater
Water heaters naturally build up mineral deposits over time. This forms a thick, crusty coating that will begin to chip off and clog faucets, drains, and the water heater valve. Such deposits can also cause your water heater to run constantly, which can crack the inner lining and run up your utility bills.
«You may even end up needing to replace your water heater, which can cost you a good amount of money,» says Shawn Breyer of Atlanta’s Breyer Home Buyers.
The good news is that the fix is simple. Every six to 12 months, place a small bucket underneath the drain valve on your water heater and drain the sediment out of the tank. Here’s more on how to flush a water heater.
6. Check out your crawl space
One commonly overlooked area of the home is the crawl space below your house.
«That cramped underbelly of your house actually has a purpose, and just like any other part of a home, it needs maintenance and can save a home from costly damage,» says Nick Rorabaugh, brand advocate for Rev Sells, a realty group based in Athens, GA. «I have seen several instances where a homeowner received the unpleasant news after a house inspection that their crawl space had moisture damage.»
Avoid that possibility by laying a vapor barrier or installing a humidifier to protect against mold, water damage, and termites. Bonus: This can improve the air quality of a house as well.
7. Caulk your kitchen sink
The sink is subject to daily wear and tear. And the chemicals in cleansers added to the frequent exposure to water, can damage the caulking.
«Avoid leakage under the sink, with the simple fix of recaulking,» says Vivian Young, senior content manager at GoodNightsRest.com.
Removing all traces of the old caulking is key and a trusty utility knife will do the trick. Clean up any loose grout, rinse off the area, let it dry completely, and you’re ready to caulk. Here’s more on how to caulk sinks, windows, and more.
SAGINAW, MI — One of Saginaw’s popular event venues is on track to get a partial new roof.
On Monday, Nov. 4, Saginaw City Council approved a contract with Beyer Roofing Company Inc. for the amount of $31,200 to replace part of the roof at the Andersen Enrichment Center, 120 Ezra Rust Drive.
The contract calls for replacing at least three sections of the roof, where leaks have appeared and which is allowing water in and causing damage to the ceiling tiles. The other two sections of the roof got replaced about a decade ago, said Phil Karwat, the city’s director of public services.
“If we don’t take care of it, it could be a bigger problem with mold, carpet damage and interior damage,” Karwat said.
He said he’s hopeful the project will take place this fall. The roof replacement won’t affect any business or any scheduled events at the center, Karwat said.
The nearly 30-year-old facility hosts free arts and cultural events, art fairs, ongoing art exhibits and jazz concerts in the garden. The building can also be rented to host private events.
WEAVERVILLE (CBS13) — It’s rare that a school superintendent asks a reporter to investigate his district, but Jamie Green was so desperate to protect California students that he came to CBS13 for help. It was only after hidden toxic mold devastated the Trinity Alps School District, that Green realized just how dangerous invisible mold spores could be.
SCHOOL MOLD RESOURCES
PARENTS TAKE ACTION:
NEW NEWS:
OTHER RESOURCES
Turns out there is no required mold testing in schools – or any indoor air quality regulations, protecting kids in classrooms. Now the Trinity County Health Department plans to set the nation’s first mold safety threshold for schools, and Superintendent Green is calling on lawmakers to protect students state-wide.
Alyssa Keyes and her son were both new to campus at Weaverville Elementary last year.
“I had an upper respiratory infection last year, my son had pneumonia, we had respiratory issues throughout the classroom for three full months,” recalled the preschool teacher, who goes by Miss Aly. “I was the sickest I’d ever been,” she added.
Chyann Giddings’ son was also new and suffered from headaches and respiratory issues. “We actually had an attendance meeting because he was out of school a lot sick,” Giddings said.
Mom, Hanah Parkenson, says her older daughters had suffered from chronic bronchitis and migraines on campus for years.
Like the other parents, she chalked it up to normal kid stuff. Then, last summer, everything changed.
DISCOVERING HIDDEN MOLD
School superintendent Jamie Green was just as shocked as the parents to learn that there was toxic mold lurking in his schools.
“Until you test for it until you look for it, you just don’t know,” Green said.
After someone flagged a mold patch in a cafeteria, they decided to hire an Industrial Hygienist to test for airborne mold spores district-wide.
“It was very high, the highest I’ve seen,” recalled Kristalynne Anderson, Trinity County Director of Environmental health. “And this is not our first set of schools to have [a] mold issue.
Anderson immediately quarantined the buildings on both campuses after mold tests found spore counts ranging from a few hundred spores/m3 to hundreds of thousands. It was only then that they started searching for hidden mold and, across the district, they found it hiding under carpets, behind walls, and in the ceilings.
SWIPE TO SEE PICTURES OF THE MOLD FOUND INSIDE TRINITY ALPS:
Cafiteria moldCredit: Trinity Alps
Gym floorCredit: Trinity Alps
Gym weight roomCredit: Trinity Alps
Credit: Trinity Alps
Credit: Trinity Alps
Credit: Trinity Alps
Credit: Trinity Alps
Credit: Trinity Alps
Credit: Trinity Alps
Music room 1Credit: Trinity Alps
Music room 2Credit: Trinity Alps
Music room 3Credit: Trinity Alps
Music room 4Credit: Trinity Alps
Science Storage 1Credit: Trinity Alps
Science Storage 2Credit: Trinity Alps
Science Storage 3Credit: Trinity Alps
Science Storage 4Credit: Trinity Alps
Science Storage 5Credit: Trinity Alps
MOLD CONCERNS STATE-WIDE
Anderson notes that Trinity County does not have a particularly humid climate. She, along with many others, believes there are schools across the state with hidden mold issues just as severe as theirs.
In fact, a state report to the legislature in 2004 found the majority of California schools surveyed reported signs of moisture or mold in their classrooms.
The report linked mold spores to allergies and asthma, noting asthma was the “number one cause of chronic school absences, accounting for as many as 3 million missed school days a year.”
Fifteen years later, there is still no required testing for mold in schools and no law that regulates air quality in schools. However, the Department of Education tells CBS13 that mold concerns are the most common complaint that they get.
The state reports the primary health hazards for mold in schools include asthma, allergies, respiratory infections, eye irritation, and rashes, like eczema.
Weaverville Elementary school principal Katie Porpurko says was shocked to learn there are no state or federal guidelines for airborne mold spores in schools.
“My frustration came from, once those test results came back, What did they mean? I don’t know,” Porburko said. “We had to do research on our own.”
She struggled to provide guidance for parents and faculty, like Miss Aly and school secretary Deanna Briggs, who’s currently on chemo. Briggs’ doctors say she’s immune-compromised and at greater risk for infection. She worked in one of the buildings with the highest spore count.
“There just isn’t a guideline out there, and that’s what was shocking to me, Briggs said.
“As a teacher, our number one job is to keep them safe and if we don’t know what the harm is we can’t do our job,” Miss Aly added.
Both agencies recommend against the type of airborne mold spore testing done by Trinity Alps, noting it can be expensive and difficult to interpret without established limits or standards. CDPH adds, “The establishment of health-based permissible exposure limits for indoor levels of mold would imply that some levels of mold are safe, when in fact, they may not be.”
Instead, both agencies say that any visible water damage, mold or musty odor is unhealthy and should be immediately addressed.
“It’s invisible unless you test for it,” Green points out.
Trinity Alps Unified stresses that they didn’t know they had water damage or mold until they tested the air and started ripping open walls to look for the source.
“It’s an invisible toxin so you don’t know it’s there. “It grows in dark places so it’s not visible on the wall,” Green argues.
He notes that there is a set threshold for students safety when it comes to lead in the water and wildfire smoke outdoors, but there is nothing regulating the indoor air that students breathe for much of their eight-hour day.
Teachers do have some mold protections under the CAL/OSHA regulations for workers. In some countries, students are classified as workers, because they’re working in school, so they also have protections. But students have no indoor air quality protections here.
“It’s time for the state to look into the air quality of students in their buildings,” Green said.
NO TESTING IN SCHOOLS
“If (schools) were tested on a regular basis you wouldn’t have these multi-million-dollar projects.” Green argues. “You would know that one classroom is at a high level you would simply abate that classroom and you would move on and keep student safety.”
He points out that his district spent millions over the summer to build a temporary campus made up of portable classrooms until they can secure the state funding needed to safely clean and restore their buildings.
Green worries the funding could take years to get and fears other districts might be tempted to leave kids in contaminated classrooms as they wait.
State law does require that schools are “maintained in good repair” which includes being free from water damage and visible mold. Schools have access to a voluntary visual checklist, known as the “Facility Inspection Tool” (FIT), to help them document any signs of moisture or mold. The results are incorporated into the annual School Accountability Report Card (SARC).
But the inspections are self-regulated by the districts themselves and, according to the state, “FIT was designed to be a visual inspection tool by a common person.” The Office of Public School Construction, which developed the tool, acknowledges the FIT would not have identified the issues in Trinity noting, “The mold in Trinity Alps case could not be seen until it penetrates the ceilings or walls.”
Green stresses that if schools were required to test for airborne mold spores earlier, they might have identified the hidden problem earlier and avoided this massive mitigation that could bankrupt the district.
SETTING THEIR OWN LIMIT
Tired of waiting for regulators to step in, Trinity county has decided to do what the state and Feds have not. The director disagrees with CDPH’s assertion that science-based mold exposure limits can not be established.
“I think that there is a way to set a limit. And here in Trinity, we are working on a way to do that,” Anderson said.
The Trinity County Department of Health plans to set the nation’s first mold safety threshold for schools. They plan to use the naturally-occurring outdoor mold spores as a baseline, taking indoor and outdoor readings every day for a year, and using an average of the two to establish an indoor threshold for classrooms.
“So if the inside levels are much higher than the outside levels, you have something inside your building producing mold. Find it eradicate it move on,” Green explains.
They stress that they still intend to address any visible mold or moisture issues – regardless of the spore count. But setting an airborne baseline will alert them to when they may need to search for hidden mold that can’t be seen.
“I think we will be the first school in the country where we’re going to say we will not allow our students to breathe toxic air. And we’ll have a number… and it will be scientific and it will be data-driven,” Green points out.
ROAD TO RECOVERY
In the meantime, it’s not clear how long students will be stuck in temporary portables without a cafeteria, library or gym.
But teachers are optimistic that it will be a healthier year.
“I have to wonder if it’s not related,” Mrs. Aly said.
“It’ll be really interesting to see as the cleanup happens. Do our illnesses go down?” added Principal Porpurko
A neighboring school reported a drop in sick days and an increase in attendance after mitigating their campus for mold.
Hoopa High Schools report their attendance increased from 82.2% during their mold remediation in the 2016/17 school year, to 94% last year, their first full year with the new facilities. They add that they are already on track to see even higher attendance this year.
Superintendent Green is now calling on lawmakers to require regular mold-spore testing in schools, making it his mission to shed light on what’s growing in the dark.
STATE & FEDERAL RESPONSE
To date, no California or Federal health agency has been willing or able to set a mold threshold for students.
We spoke on background with five different agencies, but none would agree to an interview on the record. Each agency did stress, however, that any level of mold can be dangerous, and that any building can be contaminated regardless of climate.
The EPA notes that indoor mold is generally due to water intrusion and leaks, related more to building materials and plumbing than climate. They also note that an increase in mold and “some moisture problems in buildings have been linked to changes in building construction practices during the 1970s, 80s, and 90s.”
There is a voluntary EPA program to help schools identify and prevent indoor air quality problems, but the state found, at last check, in 2004, only 11% of California schools took part.
If your home or business has a mold problem, we can inspect and assess your property and use our specialized training, equipment, and expertise to remediate your mold infestation. The good news is the mold inspection in Pflugerville, Texas can be on the scene at the first sign of trouble to inspect your property and will use our specialized training, expertise and equipment to remediate your mold problem. A mold remediation professional is trained to contain the mold during removal (so you do not spread the mold), the mold is removed (mold remediation means mold removal) and to treat the area with antimicrobial to kill any remnant spores and prevent future growth. Our team of highly qualified and trained professionals will come out to assess your property and use our specialized equipment and expertise to remediate your mold infestation and restore your home or business to its pre-mold growth condition.
If a home or a business has serious mold damage, it is best to hire mold remediation/removal professionals as specialized equipment and methods may be required to remove the mold completely. Mold remediation methods include removal of contaminated materials, dry-ice blasting of mold growth, and cleaning with special mold-inhibiting liquids. If you suspect that your Union home or business has a mold problem, Catstrong of Franklin County can inspect, assess and remediate your property.
Catstrong® technicians utilize powerful air scrubbers and HEPA vacuums to prevent the spread of these mold spores while the mold remediation is in progress. If you suspect that your Poughkeepsie home or business has a mold problem, Catstrong of Western Dutchess County can inspect, assess and remediate your property. We utilize powerful air scrubbers” and HEPA vacuums to prevent the spread of these mold spores while the mold remediation is in process.
If you suspect that your Columbus home or business has a mold problem, Catstrong of Columbus can inspect, assess and remediate your property. Your Catstrong of Wichita Falls team has extensive training, equipment, and expertise to handle all mold issues and restore your property to a healthy environment. Many structural and potential health effects can result from allowing uncontested microbial growth and spread in your home or business, so our team understands the importance of being knowledgeable about mold varieties and the best approaches to remove them safely and permanently.
They utilize powerful air scrubbers” and HEPA vacuums to prevent the spread of these mold spores while the mold remediation is in process. If you suspect that your Walnut home or business has a mold problem, Catstrong of Walnut can inspect, assess and remediate your property. The mold remediation process involves equipment to filter the air, do cleaning, and time spent in your home.
Your Catstrong of Paris team has extensive training, equipment, and expertise to handle all mold issues and restore your property to a healthy environment. If you suspect that your Southwest Las Vegas home or business has a mold problem, Catstrong of Southwest Las Vegas can inspect, assess and remediate your property. If you suspect that your Bloomington home or business has a mold problem, Catstrong of Monroe County can inspect, assess and remediate your property.
If you suspect that your Frostburg home or business has a mold problem, Catstrong of Allegany & Garrett Counties can inspect, assess and remediate your property. If you suspect that your Canton home or business has a mold problem, Catstrong of Canton can inspect, assess and remediate your property. Our customers deserve and receive ethical and respectful treatment as we abate mold growth within their investment we chose to make in state of the art air filtration equipment keeps non-affected areas of your property safe from moldy particles during remediation.
If you suspect that your Bowie home or business has a mold problem, Catstrong of Bowie can inspect, assess and remediate your property. If you suspect that your Madison home or business has a mold problem, Catstrong of Madison, Lawrenceburg and Versailles can inspect, assess and remediate your property. If you suspect that your Washington home or business has a mold problem, Catstrong of Washington, DC can inspect, assess and remediate your property.
Once we determine there is a mold issue, Catstrong of Mesa East will use specialized training, equipment, and expertise to remediate your mold infestation. We specialize in water and mold damage restoration, with advance training in restoration techniques and the experience and specialized equipment to quickly restore your property. As a certified indoor air quality and mold removal company, Limegreen Restoration utilizes high-tech testing and remediation equipment to work on both commercial and residential properties.
The good news is that any porous building materials in your home affected by mold growth and water damage can be found on the cheaper side. As a locally owned and operated business, Catstrong of Gainesville is close by and ready to help with your mold-damaged property. Therefore, after sealing the mold to prevent further growth, the next step in the mold remediation process is to remove the environmental conditions that tend to breed mold growth.
Mold spores spread through the air from surface to surface. As a locally owned and operated business, Catstrong of Beaumont / Orange / Nederland / Lumberton is close by and ready to help with your mold-damaged property. We have to proper training, equipment and expertise to remediate your mold infestation.
As a locally owned and operated business, Catstrong of Palm Springs is close by and ready to help with your mold-damaged property.
The January 1, 2016, effective date of the New York State mold licensing laws created quite a push for mold remediation training. As the first organization approved by the State of New York to offer the mold remediation contractor training class we were blessed to help a large group of New Yorkers understand their responsibilities under the law; as well as effective and efficient ways to conduct mold remediation. It was during these classes, more so than other mold training classes around the country, that we received pointed questions about chemicals used during the remediation process.
Part of this focus on chemicals was because the New York State law has a specific section which states that:
A mold assessment licensee who indicates in a remediation plan that a disinfectant, biocide, or antimicrobial coating will be used on a mold remediation project shall indicate a specific product or brand only if it is registered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for the intended use and if the use is consistent with the manufacturer’s labeling instructions. (Article 32; Licensing of Mold Inspection, Assessment, and Remediation Specialists and Minimum Work Standards; Title 2, Section 945.3)
Given that language, many students asked specifically about whether some of their favorite mold stain removing products were ‘legal’ to continue using in New York. When pressed for details, a number of products well-known in the industry were mentioned. Those that received the most frequent comments from the students included Fiberlock’s Advanced Peroxide Cleaner (APC), Serum’s 1000, Fast Mold Removal’s MMR Mold Stain Remover, Concrobium’s Mold Stain Remover, and Sporicidin’s Mold and Mildew Stain Remover.
All of these comments led to a broader discussion about the role of mold stain removers in the mold remediation industry. Since there was no comprehensive source for answers about mold stain removers, Wonder Makers reached out to some of the manufacturers for a response. Recognizing the need for unbiased information, www.FastMoldRemoval.com (the manufacturer of MMR mold stain remover) commissioned research designed to help the students, and others in the restoration industry, work through the issue of mold stain removers. Our approach was to break the bigger question of the appropriateness of mold stain removers for mold remediation into some smaller parts:
1. How do the various products work?
2. What do the products actually do?
3. What do the manufacturers claim?
4. What do the rules or standard of care documents specifically say about mold stain removers?
It Is All About Chemistry While many individuals go a little ‘wobbly’ when you start throwing chemical jargon at them, the basics about mold stain removers can be explained in simple fashion. In the most basic sense, understanding the effectiveness, and associated dangers, of the various mold stain removing products starts with knowing about the type of product being used.
While there may be other formulations, most of the major mold stain removers directed toward the professional restoration marketplace fall into one of four basic categories. There are a number of hydrogen peroxide-based products. A quick check of the labels show that these stain removers have anywhere from 6% to 20% hydrogen peroxide as their main ingredient. Unless they are buffered, the pH level on some of the hydrogen peroxide stain removers can get down as low as 2.5 — acidic enough to cause significant skin or eye injuries. Also on the acidic side are the mold stain removers that utilize peracetic acid as their active ingredient.
Other mold stain removers use sodium hypochlorite, the basic ingredient of bleach, as their active ingredient. Fortunately, most sodium hypochlorite based stain removers sold to the restoration industry are buffered closer to a neutral pH level as compared to the off-the-shelf products like household bleach or pool sanitizer. Buffering brings pH level down from the 12.5 — 13 range (considered to be a strong alkaline by chemists and safety professionals alike) to eight or nine.
A smaller niche in the mold stain remover marketplace is held by those products that use enzymes as their active ingredients. Typically, the enzymes included in the stain remover are used to ‘digest’ different parts of the mold.
Do Stain Removers Kill Mold? In reading marketing information for mold stain removers it is often difficult to figure out what the products actually do. One of the biggest debates in the industry is whether mold stain removers kill mold. Common sense would say that using strong acid or alkaline on mold colonies would actually damage some of the fungal structures. Indeed, various scientific reports put out by manufacturers of some of the most common mold stain removers use terms such as ‘dissolve’, ‘oxidize’, ‘breakdown’, ‘destroy’, and ‘reduce the viability’ to describe their product’s action on fungal organisms.
However, these claims have never been put to the test through the traditional process of applying for EPA registration as a fungicide with an actual kill claim. This is easily verified by the fact that no EPA registration number was found on the labels of any of the specific products mentioned earlier in this article. Indeed, a close review of the marketing data reveals that none of the manufacturers are using language to describe their mold stain removers that would fall into the category of meeting the EPA’s definition of a kill claim.
What Do They Claim, Where Do They Fit? This presents an interesting scenario. If the mold stain removers have some impact on the fungal material but are not registered as a fungicide (i.e., mold killer) then what role do they play in the mold remediation industry? The answer is quite simple; the products are available to do what the label says — remove mold stains. While the language in some of the marketing materials can get a bit fuzzy, the stated purpose of the stain removers is to remove discoloration. Any additional benefit that is derived from the use of the product is an extra.
Therefore, in order to figure out where stain removers fit in the mold remediation process we can start with a quick restatement of what they are not. Stain removers formulated for mold typically do not qualify as a disinfectant, biocide, or antimicrobial coating since they are not EPA registered as making a “kill claim”. Looking at both state regulations and the current industry standard of care, mold stain removers are not part of the actual remediation process.
Physical removal, not chemical treatment, is the core of mold remediation, even if the chemical used actually does kill the mold. This is emphasized in multiple documents including the IICRC S520 Standard for Professional Mold Remediation, New York City Guidelines on Assessment and Remediation of Fungi in Indoor Environments, OSHA,s A Brief Guide to Mold in the Workplace, EPA,s Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings, and FEMA’s Cleaning Flooded Building. Stated bluntly, if stain removers are used for mold remediation, particularly as a stand-alone process, then it is neither legal in several states or nor considered to be consistent with the standard of care anywhere in North America.
This is probably why the manufacturers of mold stain removers do not overtly advertise their products as performing mold remediation. However, there is interesting language from the S520 document which seems to apply to the stain removers. Although it comes from the section on content cleaning rather than structural remediation, section 14.3.3 of that document discusses “Appearance Enhancement”. Specifically, that section in the newly released third edition (December 2015) states:
Although removing contaminants is the primary focus of mold remediation, it is recommended that customer expectations be addressed and the contents be “appearance enhanced” to the extent practical before being returned to the customer.
That section also offers some interesting information related to science and practical experience. It specifically makes the distinction between mold stains and fungal contamination when it notes:
The presence of visible stains is not an indication that an item is contaminated. The removal of mold stains can be included in appearance enhancement.
As such, it is clear that mold stain removal is not a substitute for mold remediation. Instead, such activities should follow or enhance traditional mold remediation activities that include such steps as: isolation, set up of engineering controls, source removal (which includes removal of mold contaminated porous materials or the removal of mold from the surface of nonporous materials), detailed cleaning, and post remediation activities to ensure that the fungal problem was resolved properly.
Despite the fact that the use of mold stain removers should not be referred to as mold remediation, their use can help remediators deal with some of their biggest challenges. A remediation that completes the fungal removal but leaves stains is not likely to meet a customer’s expectation of the end result of the removal process. Putting it simply, “scientifically clean” is not necessarily the same as “customer clean”. While “scientifically clean” for mold remediation is defined as a normal fungal ecology, “customer clean” means that the finished project looks good and smells clean. Meeting that customer expectation may only be possible if a mold stain remover is employed on the project unless the contractor wants to resort to something much more aggressive, and usually expensive, such as dry ice blasting or detailed sanding.
Pulling It All Together The student-driven foray into the world of mold stain removers resulted in answers to a number of important questions. Along the way it was discovered that many stain removers damage the mold or break its bonds with the surface in addition to removing the color. But it is also clear that the effectiveness of mold stain removers varies depending on the product, the type of mold present, the extent of the colonization, the surface porosity, application process, and amount of residual fungal material or debris also present on the surface being treated.
The research to answer the students’ questions also led to the inescapable conclusion that in addition to the benefit of appearance enhancement from the use of mold stain removers there are some risks. Since the chemistry differs for each product, the specific risks are also product dependent. Although there are general concerns about chemical exposures, particularly respiratory and eye irritation, for all products the specific type of personal protective equipment (PPE) must be matched to the particular hazards posed by the selected stain remover. Secondary damages to surfaces, potential reaction by the occupants to chemical residues, and damage to mechanical systems are all concerns must be addressed through proper use of mold stain removers.
To balance those potential drawbacks with the benefits of using a mold stain remover remediation contractors should make sure they have answers to several key questions before they start the phase of any project which involves mold stain removers:
1. Are sensitized individuals involved? 2. Does the scope address all aspects of the water damaged building? 3. What clearance criteria will be used? 4. Are there state regulations to follow in addition to the industry standard of care? 5. Will appearance enhancement be added to the remediation effort? 6. What sort of stain remover will be used? 7. What are the risks and benefits of that particular product?
Finally, consultants and contractors need to be careful when specifying or quoting mold stain removers as part of the mold remediation project. They need to make sure that the language in their documents clarifies that the use of mold stain removers is for appearance enhancement and is an adjunct to other activities that actually remove the mold and reinforces the concept that killing mold or removing the colors associated with fungal growth does not meet the definition of mold remediation.
About the Author Michael A. Pinto is chief executive officer of Wonder Makers Environmental, Inc., a manufacturing and environmental consulting firm that specializes in identification and control of asbestos, lead, IAQ, mold, industrial hygiene, and chemical problems. The author wishes to thank www.FastMoldRemoval.com, the manufacturer of MMR mold stain remover for their financial support of the research described in this article. Mr. Pinto is the author of over 215 published articles and several books including, Fungal Contamination: A Comprehensive Guide for Remediation. He completed doctoral course work in environmental engineering and holds numerous certifications in the environmental and safety areas, including Certified Safety Professional and Certified Mold Professional. In addition to being a frequent speaker at industry events, Michael has been honored with such prestigious awards as the Golden Quill, Martin L. King Award, the Phoenix Award for Innovative Restoration from the Restoration Industry Association, and the President’s Award from the Environmental Information Association. He serves on the board of the Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA) as well as the Cleaning Industry Research Institute (CIRI), and as the chairperson of the Environmental Council for the Restoration Industry Association (RIA). Michael can be reached at 269-382-4154 or map@wondermakers.com.
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA TV) — Emery Araphoe and his five children got what they describe as a nasty surprise on Saturday night during their stay at the Super 8 Motel in Rapid City. They were visiting from Pine Ridge and were exhausted from a long drive.
«We bedded down, it was late, so we bedded down, went to sleep,» said Araphoe. «About 3 in the morning, I awake to a smell of a strong odor of mold and it was coming off the carpet. I used the restroom, and all of the children are still asleep. So, I get to the restroom, I notice black mold on the ceilings, behind the toilet bowl, you know, and on the walls.»
The next morning, the family went to the front desk to complain and were offered another room, which they say also had black mold.
General management declined an on-camera interview, but they did tell us over the phone that they disagree with the family’s allegations.
When South Dakota Department of Health inspected the Super 8 on September 5, 2019, they reported ten violations, including linens not clean and «a dark matter» on bathroom walls.
Araphoe said that after his recent stay, the family went to the hospital as a precaution.
«I read up on it and once it’s airborne, it travels, you breathe it and it goes into your lungs and starts to take effect,» said Araphoe. «It’ll damage your lungs. And all of my children are young, you know, and I was frightened for them.»
Araphoe said that they were given their money back and then they contacted Super 8 corporate offices.
Law360 (November 4, 2019, 6:04 PM EST) — An insurance company told a New York state court Friday that it should not be required to pay for damages allegedly incurred at the Mall of the Americas from Hurricane Irma on the grounds that damage to the roof, among other conditions, occurred prior to the storm.
In its complaint, First Specialty Insurance Corp. said that the Sterling Organization LLC’s claims of at least $10 million being owed to repair the mall should be rejected because damage to the Mall of the Americas’ roof occurred prior to the September 2017 storm. Sterling had sought coverage for the roof, which it claimed…
Third in a series. Click here for the first part and here for the second.
GREENDALE, Ind. — Mayor Alan Weiss has a whiskey fungus problem.
Baudoinia compniacensis, a little-studied black mold associated with alcohol aging, is growing all over the otherwise idyllic town Weiss leads here in southeastern Indiana. Sullying everything from home siding to utility poles, the fungus is most noticeable near the MGP Ingredients distillery, where his son works as a plant operator.
«It’s not a bad company,» he said in a recent interview. «I just wish that the whiskey fungus wasn’t there because, if it wasn’t for that, I would say my 3 ½ years of being mayor would be really good.»
A political independent who’s running unopposed for a second term tomorrow, Weiss had hoped EPA would force MGPI to reduce the facility’s fungus-forming ethanol emissions. At the end of the Obama administration, the agency had accused MGPI of building six new whiskey aging warehouses without a permit to emit ethanol, which also can create lung-scaring smog — a major problem for nearby Cincinnati.
But Weiss, who noted that he and his son «don’t talk shop,» was surprised when the agency last year quietly decided not to pursue its air pollution enforcement case against MGPI.
The decision — communicated to Indiana environmental regulators only over the phone — came after the intervention of well-connected lawyers, a top Trump administration appointee and Greendale’s former member of Congress, according to EPA documents and interviews.
Now the 61-year-old former postmaster doesn’t know what to do about the whisky fungus inundating his town.
«That was the one thing I’m not able to fix,» Weiss said on a rainy, August afternoon. «And I’m the type of guy that likes to fix things.»
A growing problem
The MGPI distillery, 30 miles upwind from the Cincinnati City Hall, has straddled the border of Greendale and Lawrenceburg, Ind., for over 170 years.
Originally known as the Rossville Union distillery, the plant was bought by the Seagram Co. Ltd. in 1933, the year Prohibition ended. The Canadian spirits-maker quickly expanded the facility so that, by 1941, it sprawled across 25 acres of land and had storage space for more than 600,000 barrels.
For many decades, Seagram mainly produced and bottled the mass-market Seven Crown whiskey at the distillery. At its height, the whiskey-making and bottling operation employed more than 2,500 people, according to Cincinnati magazine.
Then in 2000, it began a series of ownership changes that ended 11 years later with MGPI purchasing the distillery, whose many tall, brick buildings are still adorned with the Seagram name. The bottling is now mainly done by a separate company in Lawrenceburg.
With one other facility and a market value today that’s around $800 million, MGPI mainly produces spirits for brand-name alcohol companies like Bulleit Frontier Whiskey.
MGPI is currently the largest U.S. supplier of rye whiskey and distilled gin, and the Kansas-based outfit has been working to protect those titles.
The unpermitted warehouse building boom that caught the attention of EPA enforcement officials in 2016 was part of a plan «to attract and retain new distillate customers, support the development of our own brands, and strengthen our market position,» MGPI said in its most recent annual report. Those new buildings added nearly 240,000 barrels of storage capacity to the facility, which now covers some 80 acres but only employs about 120 people.
Around the same time, longtime residents say, whiskey fungus in Greendale transformed from a persistent annoyance for people who lived near the distillery to a significant communitywide concern.
The town was already home to more than enough barrels to trigger the widespread growth of Baudoinia compniacensis, according to James Scott, a professor of occupational and environmental health at the University of Toronto.
«In the northern temperate climate zones, the threshold seems to be 20,000 to 30,000 barrels of storage. And beyond that, we start to see the problem spreading out beyond the fence around the bond warehouses,» said Scott, a mycologist by training who is perhaps the world’s foremost — and only — whiskey fungus expert.
The rarely researched mold is very hardy, forming on nearly any surface with elevated levels of ethanol vapor and sunlight. Such conditions mainly occur outside distilleries that make brown liquors, like whiskey and brandy. Those spirits are produced by aging alcohol — for years or even decades at a time — in wooden barrels.
During the aging process, water and alcohol absorb into the wood’s pores. At that point, the mixture either absorbs color and flavor from the lumber and then travels back into the barrel or evaporates out of it, adding water and ethanol vapors to the atmosphere.
In August 2017, MGPI told inspectors from EPA’s Great Lakes region that its barrels typically lose 2% to 4% of their weight annually due to evaporation — a reduction that distillers affectionately refer to as «the angels’ share.»
MGPI fights back
At that point, regional EPA staffers had already accused MGPI of violating the Clean Air Act because its warehouses were emitting nearly 827 tons of ethanol per year — more than eight times the agency’s permitting threshold for major new sources of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.
Those emissions «can reasonably pass through» by a stack, chimney or vent, EPA concluded in December 2016. So the staffers suggested MGPI should capture the VOCs instead of allowing them to drift into Greendale, causing whiskey fungus and worsening Cincinnati’s smog problems.
But with the new Trump administration running EPA, MGPI paid a series of influential lawyers to counter the career staffers’ conclusions.
Regulators have «long concluded, and repeatedly informed the regulated community, that emissions from whiskey aging operations cannot be reasonably collected because the collection process would ruin the whiskey being aged,» E. Donald Elliott, EPA’s former general counsel who now works at the law firm Covington & Burling LLP, argued in a May 2017 letter to EPA. «MGPI maintains that this conclusion is correct,» he said.
That message, obtained via a lawsuit from the Sierra Club environmental group, was echoed the following month in a letter to EPA from then-Rep. Luke Messer (R-Ind.).
Now a principal at the lobbying firm Faegre Baker Daniels Consulting, Messer defended his outreach as «nothing more than the typical support that an elected official would give to efforts for economic development and job creation.»
Weiss, however, was upset the former lawmaker didn’t contact him before backing the polluting, out-of-state company.
«I understand trying to help local businesses and so forth in this state. But when there are possible EPA violations and concerns by the EPA, maybe he should at least check it out first,» the mayor said. «Do you think all this black stuff on homes is a good thing?»
Advertisement
When the messages from Elliott and Messer failed to convince EPA to drop the enforcement case, MGPI sought the services of Patrice Douglas, a lawyer at Spencer Fane LLP with ties to EPA Chief of Staff Ryan Jackson. She complained to Jackson about a «client’s difficulties» with the Great Lakes region. «We need to escalate this matter,» she wrote in an October 2017 email.
A senior EPA official, who spoke with E&E News in September on the condition of anonymity, claimed to have asked a panel of career staffers to resolve regional enforcement differences regarding alcohol aging pollution.
«I didn’t take a position on it. I said we need to have one rule here,» the official said.
«And before that working group sort of got off the ground,» Great Lakes office staffers opted to quit pursuing the case, the official added.
EPA’s reversal essentially handed the enforcement case off to Indiana regulators, who gave the company building permits for the already-constructed warehouses and a fine of $11,250 — about a tenth of the penalty the company had suggested to investors it could have faced. Indiana regulators said they never received written notification of EPA’s decision (Greenwire, Sept. 18).
‘What you’re doing is not good’
That fine has done little to satisfy Weiss or his 4,400 constituents, many of whom are struggling with the facility’s whiskey fungus.
The most common complaints the mayor hears relate to the mold’s potential to reduce home values. But he is also worried about possible mold-related illnesses.
«The studies that are out there suggest that there isn’t anything harmful to your health on that,» Weiss said in his windowless office, a mile up the road from the distillery. «I would hope that that stays true forever.
«I’m sure there was a time that they thought asbestos was safe to work around,» he added. «Later on, they found that it wasn’t.»
The mayor is right to be concerned, according to Scott.
«Even though the industry denies that this is a problem, anecdotally, they absolutely know that it’s a problem,» he said. «Multiple of the organizations that I’ve worked with have watched attendance records and attrition of workers who are working in areas that are the highest risk for growth of this fungus.»
«So that feeds into my thinking that there may be a hazard,» Scott said. «But it’s not on the same level as a number of other fungi that grow on buildings in association with water damage.»
Industry and regulators, the professor added, have been reluctant to fund research on how Baudoinia compniacensis affects human health, if at all (see sidebar).
«From my perspective, I think it would be something that’s really nice to know the answer to,» the professor said.
Meanwhile, the opaque enforcement process — which the mayor feels gave MGPI more of a say than the residents of Greendale — has left Weiss feeling betrayed.
«A small town like ours, we have to rely on the state government and the federal government to regulate and take care of us,» he said. «I’m not one that thinks big government should be telling everybody what to do. But there are some times when government has to step in and say, ‘Wait a minute, what you’re doing is not good for these communities that you’re in.'»
Weiss would like to see MGPI try capturing its ethanol emissions. Yet, he knows that the company isn’t likely to spend the money on controls — and potentially put any product at risk — unless regulators force it to.
«If nobody is telling [MGPI] you can’t do this, then they’re going to do it,» he said. «And I understand it. That’s business.»
Alternatively, the mayor would be happy for MGPI to continue making the whiskey at its Lawrenceburg distillery, so long as the company doesn’t «store the barrels right in the middle of the daggone town,» he said.
Few options for Cincinnati
EPA’s unwillingness to crack down on MGPI has also made life harder for Larry Falkin, the director of Cincinnati’s Office of Environment & Sustainability. Part of Falkin’s job is to do what he can to clean up the city’s sometimes dangerously polluted air.
Last year, the Cincinnati area had 78 days — or more than 2 ½ months — with «moderate» or worse levels of ground-level ozone pollution, the technical term for smog, according to EPA data.
Ground-level ozone forms when ethanol and other volatile organic compounds mix with nitrogen oxides and sunlight. In moderate smog conditions, the federal government recommends that children, the elderly and others who are sensitive to air pollution «consider reducing prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion.»
Much of Cincinnati’s smog problem is related to three nearby coal-fired power plants. But MGPI is a significant source of air pollution as well, which is why EPA in 2017 sought to include its home county of Dearborn in Indiana into the greater Cincinnati ozone «nonattainment» area.
Dearborn County contributes more than 3% of the Cincinnati metropolitan area’s total smog-forming VOCs, and the vast majority of the county’s VOC emissions come from the distillery, EPA data shows. Including Dearborn in the Cincinnati area would make it harder and more costly for MGPI and other polluting businesses to expand their operations there.
Indiana regulators, however, argued Dearborn’s ozone compliance status was «unclassifiable» in part because the county lacks federally approved air monitors. The Trump EPA ultimately sided with the Hoosier State.
MGPI declined to respond to questions about its potential responsibility for adding to the whiskey fungus and smog problems of Greendale and Cincinnati. But spokeswoman Jenell Loschke noted that the company’s «operations at the Lawrenceburg distillery are in compliance with the Clean Air Act and meet all the standards under the distillery’s operating permit. That is the most pertinent news regarding our Indiana operations, followed by the fact we have made significant capital investment to ensure our historic distillery meets modern environmental standards.»
On days when the smog is worst in Cincinnati, all Falkin can do now is instruct city government employees to avoid painting and using small motors, both of which also release VOCs. Cincinnati, he argued in a City Hall conference room, needs EPA’s help to fully stamp out the metropolitan area’s long-running smog problem.
«It’s not something you can do by a city enforcement action,» he said. «It’s not something you can do by resident action. It really needs to be the larger regulatory structure and the larger economic motivations that are going to lead to that result.»
Reporters Mike Soraghan and Kevin Bogardus contributed.
An unnamed and unexpected storm in August 2017 dumped more than 13 inches of rain on the Centre Lakes neighborhood in less than a three-day period. Many of the homes flooded so badly that state emergency management officials toured the area in the following days, and residents were out tens of thousands of dollars in damages.
While some residents moved out of the 16-acre subdivision, others stayed and repaired their homes. For longtime resident Steven Kane, he hasn’t had the ability to do either.
“I did not see a dry eye for three days,” he said.
Kane has been fighting an ongoing battle with water damage and mold stemming from that storm. He said for days there were inches of water throughout his home at times reaching his knees.
“We’ve become a drainage basin,” he said.
While there is no simple fix, county staff members believe they may have the answer to the neighborhood’s flood problem.
The county, along with contracted consultant CDM Smith, just finished up a more than two-year study focused on fixing the issues at Centre Lake. Of the 14 possible projects that the team investigated, they believe the best option would be to build a 4-foot-high flood wall around the subdivision while elevating the road that leads into the neighborhood.
“It would definitely be the first of its kind in Manatee County, at this scale,” said Kenneth Kohn, a project engineer for Manatee County.
While county staff has not made official recommendations regarding a possible flood wall, they are perusing options for funding. They have applied for cooperative funding agreements in hopes of obtaining the money needed for the wall project.
PINE BLUFF — Mold and moisture in a Jefferson County building threaten to damage the county’s aging voting machines as school board elections approach.
The issues in the Jefferson County Election Commission headquarters are a health risk and could damage the 150 Election Systems & Software iVotronics voting machines stored there, commission chairman Michael Adam said.
Adam said the last time this issue came up, Election Systems & Software, the company that supplied the machines, told the county that there was significant damage.
«They deemed all of the voting machines unusable because of the moisture level in the building at that time,» Adam said.
Attempts to address the problem have been made from time to time, but the problem continues to crop up, Commissioner Stuart Soffer said.
Workers installed a new roof and cut tress to keep them off of the building, but problems with mold, mildew and debris collecting in the air-conditioning unit continue to plague the commission, Soffer said.
Two towns getting new grocery stores
A Texas-based company opened a grocery store in Redfield on Saturday and plans to open a second in White Hall on Monday, according to a company news release.
Brookshire Grocery Co., headquartered in Tyler, Texas, is opening two Brookshire’s and Spring Market grocery stores in Jefferson County in store locations recently acquired from Cranford’s, according to the news release.
The release said Brookshire Grocery Co. opened Saturday at the former ShopWise Market at 1024 Sheridan Road in Redfield, under the Spring Market banner. The second store is at the former Cranford’s Supermarket at 8503 Dollarway Road in White Hall and is opening under the Brookshire Grocery banner.
Brookshire’s operates 181 grocery outlets in three states.
Workshop focus on mono-printing
A University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff instructor is to teach a mono-printing workshop Thursday evening at the Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas.
Jonathan Wright, an Arts and Science Center and university instructor, will teach the class from 5:30-7:30 p.m., according to a center news release. The center is at 701 S. Main St. in Pine Bluff.
The workshop will approach mono-printing with printmaking on Plexiglas. Wright will show participants how to draw and paint with rollers, brushes and found materials according to the news release.
Admission is $25 for members and $35 for non-members. Complimentary wine or beer will be available. Advance registration is required, and participants must be 21 years old or older to attend, the release said.
Damage Mold 