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Mold Contaminated School in Pleasanton

Are they serious? They closed down the whole school because mold was found in two classrooms? This, in my humble opinion, was a masterful peice of misinformation and misdirection on the part of the consultant and the contractor. What a dream job for the consultant... he took 60 samples in one day and is probably providing on-site monitoring and project management. Cha-ching! The contractor, on the other hand, gets to clean all the classrooms in the school. Cha-ching!

I smell mold!

A recent client in Marin County smelled mold in a bedroom... but there was no indication of water damage and no visible mold.  Mold has a distinct odor, its almost unmistakable, but what does a mold inspector do when there is a smell but no visible mold? He keeps looking!  In this case, I found a plumbing leak in the crawlspace and wet cellular debris (pieces of old drywall) below the leak. The drywall was wet and had visible mold growth. The heat register in the bedroom was not sealed and there was a 1/2" gap between the sheetmetal boot and the framing.

Can you see mold spores?

I've had a number of recent questions about the size of mold spores and whether or not you can see them. Mold spores average between 3 and 10 microns in diameter... thats very small. An average human hair is about 200 microns in diameter... just to put it in perspective. So, the answer is no, you cannot see mold spores without a microscope. When you see visible mold, you are actually seeing the mycelium (the root-like structures called "hyphae" form the tangled mass called "mycelium").

Mold Job in Alamo

Had a project in Alamo today... very interesting. Hot water heater blew out while they were away, hot water ran into crawlspace/storage area for 4 days. Mold growth on all surfaces... lots of contents stored in the crawlspace... water in the ducts. It could have been worse... the water did not affect the interior of the home.  Good thing the home was on a hillside.

Paint over mold

I did a mold inspection in petaluma today. The tenant was concerned about mold in the home, since she is 8 months pregnant, but I am working for the owner. The owner says that there was mold growth on most of the walls but he painted over it... so its OK... WRONG!... Painting over mold does not get rid of the problem at all, it just temporarily hides it. Mold will grow whenever there is sufficient moisture and a food source... period. When you have mold, that is an indication that you have a moisture problem.

Mold Remediation Costs

Just how much is that mold remediation project going to cost you? That depends entriely on the size and scope of the project, and the contractor you choose for the project. I have blogged about this subject before, but I have had so many questions on my "Contact Us" form that I thought it was worth another blog.  Mold remediation is very similar to asbestos abatement; you build a containment to control the spread of airborne particles, then you remove the affected drywall, and then clean it all up.

Settled Spores

Mold inspection in Santa Rosa today and the question of settled spores came up. The lady asked what that means and if the mold removal company can adequately clean her stuff. "Settled spores" is just what it sounds like... mold spores that were airborne, but have settled out on the surfaces of the structure. The IICRC calls this "Condition 2", which is nothing more than mold spores that have moved from a "Condition 3" area (actual mold growth), and settled out on the surfaces. So, whats the deal? How does that effect the project?

Post Remediation Verification in Suisun City

I just got the results of the post remediation mold inspection I did in Suisun City yesterday... very clean! Not only were the lab results clean, but the entire project was clean. The wood framing was scrubbed and sanded to look like brand new kiln-dried lumber from Home Depot, there was not a speck of dust on any surface in the containment, and all the materials were dried to about 11% moisture content... one of the best projects I've seen in a long time. The contractor was Restoration Clean-up Company, out of Pittsburg, California.

BioTrace for sewage losses

My new BioTrace will be here tomorrow... cool! Whats BioTrace? I'm glad you asked because I am really excited about offering this service.  The BioTrace NG Luminometer is a device that measures adenosine triphosphate (ATP), an energy molecule found in all living animal, plant, bacterial and mold cells.  With this device, I will be able to sample surfaces after a sewage problem has been cleaned up, and get results in about 15 seconds. Thats much better than sending a swab to a lab and waiting for 3-5 days for the bacteria to grow out.  I can now clear a project on-site...

Mold in Corte Madera

I did a mold inspection in Corte Madera last week. I found wet carpet and mold on the drywall along an exterior wall. The home is on a slope and the exterior wall is cut into the hillside. The wall is concrete to a height of about three feet and the exterior grade slopes down to the concrete wall. The distance from the soil to the top of the concrete is about one inch, so it seems reasonable to me that during a good rain, or possibly when the irrigation system comes on, the water may build up and overcome the concrete wall.