Monday, May 7, 2007
Act! Don't Wait for Mold to Grow + New York City High Rise Mold Testing Investigation
Plumbing leaks promote mold growth wherever the water reaches and where fast drying is difficult - such as behind base molding and drywall, under parquet floor tiles, and in plumbing soffits (built-out columns housing water pipes between floors).
I was called in a few months after one water incident because the tenant smelled mold. Sure enough, hidden mold was found in all of the places listed above.
A few months after that, I was called in to check another leak situation, where the leak had already been repaired and professional drying done. Again I found mold growth at the edge of base molding, inside a wall cavity (accessed at a test hole near the floor), and between cracks in parquet flooring. An extensive mold remediation job followed.
A similar scenario happened a third time.
After that, I sat down with the building manager and maintenence supervisor and reviewed some principles of mold growth. If cellulosic material (paper backing of dry wall, wood molding, and wood parquet floor tiles) gets wet, it needs to be thoroughly dry within 24-48 hours after the water incident. Professional drying can't adequately dry behind molding, under floor tiles, or inside wall cavities (some drying techniques claim to be able to do this, but so far I haven't seen success).
The cost effective approach is to assume that mold will grow, skip the drying phase, and immediately remove wet building materials before mold grows. This eliminates two, and possibly three, specialist fees: professional drying service, mold remediation, and perhaps the mold inspection as well.
I was called in a few months after one water incident because the tenant smelled mold. Sure enough, hidden mold was found in all of the places listed above.
A few months after that, I was called in to check another leak situation, where the leak had already been repaired and professional drying done. Again I found mold growth at the edge of base molding, inside a wall cavity (accessed at a test hole near the floor), and between cracks in parquet flooring. An extensive mold remediation job followed.
A similar scenario happened a third time.
After that, I sat down with the building manager and maintenence supervisor and reviewed some principles of mold growth. If cellulosic material (paper backing of dry wall, wood molding, and wood parquet floor tiles) gets wet, it needs to be thoroughly dry within 24-48 hours after the water incident. Professional drying can't adequately dry behind molding, under floor tiles, or inside wall cavities (some drying techniques claim to be able to do this, but so far I haven't seen success).
The cost effective approach is to assume that mold will grow, skip the drying phase, and immediately remove wet building materials before mold grows. This eliminates two, and possibly three, specialist fees: professional drying service, mold remediation, and perhaps the mold inspection as well.
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