Where is the absolute worst place for mold to grow? No, it’s not between your toes, it is in hospitals. Hospitals must be sanitary for a reason. While a small amount of mold may not be a problem for most of us, mold can be deadly for patients with weakened or suppressed immune systems if not quickly removed by a mold removal company. So it is understandable that the Cape Coral Hospital in Florida is taking hasty action to discolored walls in patient rooms. Workers from Environ Consulting “did not indicate if the problem was mold” but did recommend tearing out the drywall and wallpaper near the windows where the discolorations were found. That’s exactly what the hospital is planning to do here shortly, after just relocating the patients.
The rooms are apparently in an older section of the hospital and covered with a kind of wallpaper that can trap moisture and condensation. This wallpaper was a construction standard in the 1990s but has proved to be a sponge for water and thus cause mold. It is likely that some water intruded through the windows in these rooms and was absorbed into the wallpaper. After the drywall is replaced, the hospital plans to paint instead of use wallpaper as it does in newer sections of the hospital. It seems the hospital will simply remove the moldy material rather than hire a commercial mold remediator.
Two years ago, a hospital in the same county system had to be closed and demolished because of just one burst water pipe.
There was a previous mold alarm at the Cape Coral Hospital recently when inspectors found 56 violations in the cafeteria, including mold on the ice cream machine. But this is more of a health violation than an indoor air quality issue.
Patients can have their immune systems compromised in several ways. Both the elderly and children have weaker immune systems and are also frequent visitors of hospitals. Illnesses can destroy an immune system. Also, those who have organ transplants have their immune systems forcibly weakened so their bodies will accept the new organ.
The immune compromised are often an unrealized group when it comes to household or office mold problems. If you suspect a mold problem in your living or working environment it might be time to call in a mold specialist.