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I have black mould in 2 bedrooms in my house. Neither room is humid or damp..... is this something a professional should look at? |
Yes.
There are always mold spores in the air. The quantity varies depending on the time of year and location. But that does not mean you have to have mold.
The reason someone should look at it is that mold only grows where there is excess moisture or humidity. If you can not see where the water is, a professional will be able to find it. You could have a leaky pipe behind the walls, or a leak in your roof, or condensation from your air conditioning unit or humidity from your bathroom or laundry area.
If you are lucky, the leak has already been repaired, and all you will need to do is the clean-up. But you really won't know your best course of action without a professional assessment that determines the water source that originally fed the mold. Otherwise, even if you clean up, the moisture and the mold will be back. |
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We recently discovered alot of mold in our a/c unit by the a/c repair man. I had a heart transplant 3/24/03 and am and have been on immuno-supprsents since than. My husband has severe fibromyalgia and allergies. what to do? |
You should consider having an assessment done of the mold levels in your house. If mold levels are higher inside than the outdoor "control" you should look into remediation. You should also find a temporary residence with healthy air quality, because remediation is liable to stir up mold spores, and you don't need that kind of exposure while you are so vulnerable.
Even if mold levels are NOT higher inside, you should have your ac cleaned professionally, including coil, plenum and ducts. This means a real cleaning, not just spraying with bleach (which would not correct the problem.)
After your ac has been cleaned, you might consider investing in a UV sterilizer and an improved or upgraded filtration system.
If you are renting, or have excellent insurance coverage, your repairs and improvement costs might be off-set; I say MIGHT, because that depends on your individual situation. While mold is an acknowledged issue, legal accountability can be a difficult proposition--but it is worth looking into, especially since you are actually in a vulnerable category.
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I had a water leaked for 2 1/2 months.There was mold on wood work,dry wall.They sprayed KILZ on the drywall and replace the trim.They tell me that will kill the mold.Is this true?This water leak was from my air conditioner should ducts be checked? |
| It is hard to make a perfect analysis without actually seeing the property. I would think that the first thing to do is to repair any and all leaks, completely dry and clean any areas where water accumulated or was trapped; REMOVE damaged construction materials and then do the final repairs. If drywall is moldy, I would generally say the damaged area needs to be replaced--mostly because mold does not grow only on the surface of materials, but grows INTO the drywall structure itself. Kilz is simply a primer with really good coverage, but its best use would be to cover clean, new drywall as a preventative rather than a cover-up. I would agree also, that yes, your ducts should be checked--and anywhere else the water could have permeated. |
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I had my basement finished in my old home this past winter. Suddenly there is a mold smell in the furnace room that appears dry. The duct work and furnace are 3 1/2 yrs old. The duct work was cleaned in April. Could it be in the furnace? |
| Mold growth can take root anywhere that water or humidity occur. If you can not see the mold, it could be virtually anywhere that water could be trapped to form an environment favorable to mold--which includes the furnace, areas behind and between walls, ductwork, vents, crawl space, etc. An experienced mold assessor would be able to pinpoint exactly where the mold is to facilitate remediation. |
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Can you have black or any mold that causes illness and not visually see it? |
Yes, of course. There are parts of your house you can not see, such as
inside walls, under carpeting, crawlspaces, attics. Anywhere that water
can leak into, or anywhere that humidity can be trapped is a fertile place
for mold to grow--whether or not you can see it. |
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Hello there!
I need microscopic view of different molds. Thanx.
Sincerely,
Radhey Shyam
Research Associate
Best biotek research Labs |
If you want to see microscopic photographs of molds, we have a variety of mold views posted here:
http://byebyemold.com/morepix.php
You can look at the overview page; or you can click on one and use the "next" button to look at the expanded photos. |
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My daughter remts in the basement of an old 3 story house. Her room has flooded to the point of very wet carpet four times this year. The landlord had a carpet company come in and they gave me a letter that stated there was no mold. How do I detect mold? |
Mold presents visual and olfactory clues, and will be most likely be present if there is (or has been) a water leak or highly humid conditions. If mold is not immediately detectable, then a mold assessor can take samplings which are sent to labs, thermal readings and VOC readings. Labs analyze the specific type of mold, which could be significant if determining specific allergic reactions.
A carpet company may well be expert in handling carpets, but mold detection is a completely different process. How did they test? It may be that the situation called for more than carpet cleaning; complete remediation might be needed. It may well be that there had been standing water at one time, in which case any soft goods such as carpet or padding would have developed a permanent distinctive mildew or mold scent.
That a live colony is not immediately visible to the naked eye does not certify that a mold colony and mold spores are not present. A professional assessment by a company such as Bye Bye Mold, Inc will do a complete and scientific search, as well as provide certified results, including "chain of custody" forms which may be essential for insurance or legal follow-up. |
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Rain soaked our office carpet badly. Management says there is no mold and are having the carpet cleaned. The smell for the last 48 hours has been HORRID. Should we be worried? |
It sounds as if you need a good dose of prevention. If there is no long term damage and the entire area (the part you see and including the areas you don't see) is perfectly dry and disinfected, there is a possibility that infestation could be prevented.
An assessment would compare outdoor mold levels with your indoor mold levels, and indicate if you need remediation. Our Thermal detector can detect conditions favorable to mold growth inside the walls or in other hidden areas where established thriving mold colonies might otherwise be missed. If a true and complete clean up is not completed within a short window of time after flooding, you will be facing severe mold issues in the future.
Unfortunately the smell is a definite indication that the problem has not been solved. |
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We have alot of black spots that seem to grow bigger through out the year on our walls and certain parts of the ceiling in or bathroom. If I spray beach on them it seems to make them go away for a while and then it comes back. Would this be mold? |
There are thousands of species. It sounds as if this is a species of mold, possibly a subspecies of Aspergillus. Testing can identify if it is mold or fungus, and possibly even the particular variant. You can take a look here at a few sample pictures:
http://byebyemold.com/morepix.php
If your mold is a reoccurring problem, then you have one thing for certain going on. The conditions are still optimum for mold or fungus to thrive, either high humidity or a water leak. Even if you completely remove all mold, if you leave behind conditions that it likes, at some future point spores will find that area and a colony can establish. Even if an area is perfectly cleaned, there is always a percentage of mold spores in the atmosphere which can take root in a hospitable area.
Control the water and humidity, and you go a long way toward preventing re-infestation. Assessment can determine the extent of the problem and help determine the best solution. |
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If there is water damages,excessive moisture,and building materials wet for more than forty-eight hours at a time in a building for the past ten months,is this a good indication that there will be mold growth? If so, please indicate what needs to be done. |
The first thing to do is eliminate the moisture source. If you don't fix the initial problem, the mold will always come back. So find the leak and do whatever repairs are necessary. Make sure the area is completely dry and will not be subjected to any future mold.
If there is mold, then the mold itself must be removed and any damaged areas repaired/replaced/cleaned (depending on the extent of the circumstances). This is called remediation. |
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