Blog - Page 4 of 11 - Elliot Environment

Vt. Woman Loses Health, Home to Post-Irene Mold

It was bad enough when Tropical Storm Irene sent the Dog River spilling over its banks, filling Chandar Hall’s basement, destroying the stairs and back door, toppling her oil tank and destroying thousands of dollars’ worth of stored books and clothing. But since the storm more than 10 months ago, Hall, 39, says she has suffered such severe health problems from mold left behind by the flood that she had to stop working and move out. As of Monday, when...

Don’t Delay Tackling Mold Problems

Mold is a fact of life. It is all around us daily in the form of spores. But when conditions are right, when a home gets too humid for too long, mold can start to grow. When it does, removal is the only answer. “There are mold spores everywhere,” says Jim Echols, senior analyst at Springfield Indoor Air Quality, who has helped homeowners identify mold problems for 15 years. “… Most of the time, those mold spores don’t grow inside...

Bleach Myth Buster

Chlorine Bleach (sodium hypochlorite 6%) does not kill mold. Why? Mold's hyphae (root structures) actually grow into wood and drywall like roots. The hyphae are not killed by bleach because bleach's ion structure prevents chlorine from penetrating into porous materials such as dry wall and wood. It stays on the outside surface, whereas mold has protected enzyme roots growing inside the porous construction materials. When you spray porous surface molds with bleach, the water part of the solution soaks into...

Mold on Windows

Mold on windows is usually caused by cold outdoor air on the other side of the window cooling on the glass causing condensation. Although mold cannot feed on the glass itself, if the window is dirty then mold can feed off of the debris on the window glass and frame material. Condensation can also lead to mold growing around window frames because of moisture condensating on the glass and then running onto the frame. The other place to watch out...

Mold and Michigan Real Estate

The struggling economy and weak housing market has led to an explosion in both foreclosed homes and the mold population. Banks and other lien holders have hired management companies to clean and lock their investments up tight. But, in doing so, they have inadvertently caused unimaginable damage. Most people assume that if the house water supply is shut off then the mold problem is circumvented. Nothing could be further than the truth. Dampness and moisture are a concern but the bigger culprit...

Why does Mold Grow on Walls?

The most common causes of mold growing on walls are high humidity, condensation and water leaks (which are often hidden inside the wall). Condensation forms when water vapor in the air meets cold surfaces and cools to become liquid. Condensation is especially common on walls which form the perimeter of a house. These walls are often colder because of cool outdoor air on the other side. Things like drying wet clothes inside or steam from hot water increases the humidity...

Toxic Mold Removal

In a toxic black mold colony the spores are kept within a slimy, gelatinous mass. Toxic black mold spores are a brownish color although they can't be seen with the naked eye of course. Under the microscope toxic black mold spores that are still attached to the mold colony look similar to a dandelion with clusters of spores growing at the end of a "stem" called hyphae. The wet coating of a toxic black mold colony usually prevents its spores...

Do it Yourself Mold Removal

When it comes to removing and remediating mold it's always best to hire a professional mold inspector and sometimes a best to hire a remediation service. If the mold in your home is not toxic and the area of mold growth is small (less than 10 square feet, or the equivalent of roughly a 3 by 3 foot patch) then you can most likely perform the mold removal yourself. If you are uncertain of the extent of the damage a...

Black Mold: Stachybotrys

Black Mold = Stachybotrys Stachybotrys is a genus of molds, or asexually-reproducing, filamentous fungi. Closely related to the genus Memnoniella, most Stachybotrys species inhabit materials rich in cellulose based building materials. The genus has a widespread distribution, and contains about 50 species. The most infamous species, S. chartarum (also known as S. atra) and S. chlorohalonata are known as "black mold" or "toxic black mold" in the U.S. and are frequently associated with poor indoor air quality that arises after fungal...

Michigan Mold: The Good and the Bad

Good Mold Mold gets a bad rap of late, but good mold does exist. Penicillium is the typical “blue” mold found on food. Bread that sat too long in the pantry typically develops penicillium. In fact, as the name implies, the very tasty blue cheese is derived from this particular strain of mold. In this day and age, cheese makers now add a commercially reproduced and freeze-dried culture, but originally, penicillium was procured from dark, damp caves and adding to...