Let’s
Talk Mildew !!
Mildew and Mold terms are used
interchangeably
This writing is a Review of my education of the Mildew/Mold issue,
clarification comments are appreciated.
Did you know that Florida Insurance Companies are considering
dropping coverage for Mildew damage in all of
What does mold need to form and grow?
Water,
warmth, medium for roots (dirt, paper, wood, dirt in voids, etc.)
Where does the water come from?
Temperature
differences between inside and outside.
Water leaks
from windows and from roofs.
How can you stop all water leaks?
You can’t stop all water leaks in all homes. You can try, but construction is prone to
human error and some problems will occur.
So the next question is How can homes be built the best to
minimize Mold?
Determine
“Design Criteria”
You design the home with materials and methods to by ‘best
effort’:
(1) reduce the possibility of water intrusion
and
(2) when water does get in, the design will
allow the water to leave at a rate faster
than mold can form.
To build
a home that is moisture/mold resistant the structure needs to :
·
have
the capability to not weaken, or be
damaged, when it gets wet; then be able to allow the water to be removed by
nature’s dehumidifiers (heat of the sun and air flow/wind) or by manmade
dehumidifiers (Air Conditioner Air Handlers and Stand alone Dehumidifiers) at a
rate faster than mold can grow.
·
have
a Moisture Barrier within the wall system, or on one side only, to stop the moisture from going from one side
of the wall to the other side of the wall.
This makes it so the path of least resistance of the moisture is
straight to the outside edge of the wall where it is being pulled by the
dehumidifiers.
Even in
Conclusion:
1)
Use
Materials that can take a little moisture in and get rid of it without the material
being damaged.
2)
Use
a material that repels large amounts of water from leaks so the leaks can be
noticed and repaired prior to the forming of mold.
3)
Use
a moisture barrier near the middle of the wall.
What is the best material to use to
build a home?
It was once thought, that the more dense the material the
better, but field experience and testing has shown that materials more dense
than concrete can form mold in a very short period of time, even when directly
exposed to sun and air.
The materials to best accomplish the
goal of resisting mold is dense concrete
The bonding of the materials that make up concrete, and
the PH produced, may resist the initial growth of mold.
The water that makes its way in easily make its way back
out prior to the forming of mold.
For porous concrete - the water goes in and continues to
travel further from the outside edges and then takes longer to remove, allowing
mold to form.
Let’s compare these two methods:
All Wall System vs. Concrete Block
All Wall
method of building walls
Wall materials listed from the
inside out:
Cement Board
(which resists mold-water and does not deteriorate. It can be soaked in water and when it dries
it is stronger.)
Dense Concrete
4” Foam (as low as 1” thickness it is Impervious) Moisture
Barrier
Dense Concrete
Cement Board
Cementious material (1/8” thick)
Conclusion:
The All
Wall System of building walls
COMPLETELY satisfies
the
design criteria required to resist mold.
(hint as to why: There is not any wood, or paper products to
hold water.)
To help
you understand the
Concrete
Block method of building walls
We are going to list the wall
materials listed from the interior of the room to the exterior of the wall:
Gypsum Wall Board (absorbs water and is weakened by water
and wicks water)
¾” of wood, that absorbs water (furring strips that are
nailed to the blocks)
Insulation material, usually sprayed cellulose(paper) that
moisture is hard to get out of, once it is wet.
Porous concrete (concrete block)
Air Void
Porous Concrete (concrete block)
Stucco (cementious material 1” thick, applied in 3 coats)
Conclusion:
·
The
Concrete used is porous and will allow water travel and storage deep into the
wall.
·
There
is no Vapor Barrier.
·
The
air void will form moisture when the temperature difference between the
interior conditioned air has approximately 40 degrees difference in temperature
from the outside air. (Humidity, etc. affects this temperature difference.)
·
The
concrete block method utilizes Gypsum Wall Board
and wood that holds moisture
which feeds mold.
(Similar to a wood framed home.)
The
Concrete Block method FAILS in 5 areas
of
building a home to prevent mold problems
Mold
from a more technical perspective:
Moisture concern in the Winter.
How to stop the environment that makes Mold form.
We are looking at two problems:
1.) On the one hand
we have traditional walls with semi-open cavities. Improper placement of vapor
barriers can and will trap moisture in these cavities causing a variety of
problems. The design problem in this
case is to create a wall cavity that breathes and doesn't trap moisture within
the wall.
2.) On the other
hand, an almost impervious wall structure may not pass appreciable amounts of
water vapor.
The design problem in this case is the internal volume of
the house itself. With an ACH of 0.05
and an impervious wall, the design problem is how to eliminate moisture build
up in the house. We have to remind ourselves that our air conditioning firms
are usually called H"V"AC companies.
"V" for Ventilation. A
member of the FBC, at a FBC meeting, brought up this very important point and
phrase. This problem can be solve with Ventilation since it appears to be a
winter time issue. Long term, we need to
look for a national AC firm that admits that the concept of a specifically
designed outdoor air (OA) unit for
commercial concerns should probably be downsized for residential homes
in the very near future. The additional cost,
complexity and energy penalty of separate de-humidifier should push some
national concern to solve this in a more
integrated fashion. Another way
to attack this problem is to look at the effects of an additional 0.30 ACH of
continuous mechanical ventilation. This value is the existing 0.05 ACH plus
enough to reach the code requirement of 0.35 ACH. Of course all the attendant
problems and issues of fresh air would have to be solved. This is why Eco-Smart Homes have ventilation as
a necessary component of their air conditioning systems.
One issue is clear:
When you minimize the skin loads and infiltration, the
issue of ventilation moves to the front row.
CFI (All Wall System) and ICF (Styrofoam Blocks filled
with concrete) houses do this by their very nature so they will fortunately and
unfortunately be solving this coming problem ahead of the rest of the
construction industry.
The other, obvious source of water is the concrete in the
walls:
·
The
All Wall System can express water both to the outside and inside as it cures,
eliminating the possibility of mold.
·
ICF
(styrofoam blocks filled with concrete on site) forms will cause this water to
be held more closely around the concrete, slowing down the cure of the concrete
(a good thing for concrete strength) and slowing down the expressing of the
water possibly allowing time for mold to form, though this is not a known issue
to be concerned with. The concern with
ICF’s is when they have drywall boards on the interior of the wall, which holds
water for mold to grow.
MOLD
Mold is fast becoming
one of the most important health, legal and business issues on the
Virtually any mold, when present in high
quantities, can cause respiratory problems, such as sinus infections or asthma.
Mold can cause severe allergic reactions in sensitive individuals and dangerous
infections in persons with compromised immune systems. Some types of mold, like
the “black mold” Stachybotrys produce deadly airborne toxins that can cause
serious breathing difficulties, memory and hearing loss, dizziness, flu like
symptoms, and bleeding in the lungs.
In the past few years hundreds of lawsuits
have been filed in
Only a complete professional inspection can
determine if mold is a problem. Then an
accurate and objective report can be made.
MOLD IS A FAST-GROWING HEALTH, LEGAL AND BUSINESS CONCERN IN
Rampant mold growth has shut down new
courthouse buildings in
Indoor air quality (IAQ), especially mold
growth, is fast-becoming one of the most important health, legal and business
issues on the
While mold has gotten most of the recent
headlines, it is far from the only IAQ issue faced by property owners and managers.
Today’s tightly sealed buildings mean that occupants breath continually
re-circulated air with high concentrations of dangerous chemicals, pet dander,
dust mites, bacteria or viruses.
Substances in the air such as dust, pollen, or mold become "triggers"
to the sensitized immune systems of people with allergies or to the inflamed
airways of those who suffer from asthma.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) estimates that levels of pollutants are much higher indoors than outdoors,
although most people spend 90 percent of their time inside offices, schools,
warehouses and homes. The quality of
indoor air is a particular concern for schools, and daycare centers because
young children cannot tolerate exposure to pollutants like adults. The costs of
poor air quality include medical care, lost productivity due to absenteeism,
lower efficiency on the job and material and equipment damages.
Health Problems
Mold can grow on any organic substance,
provided moisture is present. That means
an opening in a roof or window, a plumbing leak or a flood can create ideal
conditions for this naturally occurring fungus. Building materials such as
drywall, plywood, plasterboard, wallpaper, and carpet provide the foods needed
for molds to quickly grow and reproduce, releasing more and more of their
reproductive spores into the air.
Although mold has always been present in homes and buildings, it has not
received the nationwide interest that it is receiving today. Homeowners,
tenants, and workers across the country are filing lawsuits in increasing
numbers, claiming that indoor mold has harmed their health. Eighty percent of
all IAQ issues are mold related.
Many health cases center around
stachybotrys, known as “black mold,” which produces airborne toxins, called
mycotoxins that can cause serious breathing difficulties, memory and hearing
loss, dizziness, flu like symptoms, and bleeding in the lungs. But stachybotrys is far from the only mold
problem. Virtually any mold, when present in high quantities, can cause
respiratory problems, such as sinus infections or asthma. Mold can cause severe
allergic reactions in sensitive individuals and dangerous infections in persons
with compromised immune systems. Prolonged exposure to mold can cause children
and adults to develop a variety of respiratory symptoms.
A 1999 Mayo Clinic study pegged nearly
all the chronic sinus infections
afflicting 37 million Americans to
molds.
Recent studies have linked molds to the tripling
of the asthma rate over the past 20 years. “While we do not know all the
causes of asthma, we do know that environmental factors such as air pollution,
mold and second-hand smoke make asthma worse,” says EPA Administrator Christie
Whitman.
Additional researched information.
Water Intrusion & Mold
An Overview
Mold and fungus claims against residential builders are increasing at
alarming rates. Plaintiff attorneys are referring to mold and fungus as “Black
Gold” and have targeted residential builders as their primary target!
Mold (or fungi) is an extremely complex topic for
residential builders. It is an issue that must be taken seriously, and
addressed appropriately by the builder community, especially since coverage for
mold related issues are excluded from most general liability policies.
It is becoming more and more common for builders to be
notified by their homebuyers that they are experiencing symptoms, which, in
their opinion, may be associated with exposure to mold and/or fungus or that
they have a moisture problem. Builders should immediately meet with the
homeowner to determine if visible mold is present in the home, or if there is
currently, or has been in the past, any form of water intrusion into the home.
The builder should determine if there have been any plumbing leaks, window
leaks, roof leaks, or water intrusion into the basement or slab. The builder
should look for any signs of water damage or stains around windows, under sinks
and vanities and at any other area that may be susceptible to water
intrusion. The most common reported symptoms of mold exposure are
fatigue, nausea, headaches, cough, congestion, eye irritations, aggravation of
asthma, and flu-like symptoms. The likelihood of an individual developing
symptoms after exposure to mold depends on what type of mold he or she is
exposed to, the genetic predisposition of the individual, the person’s age, and
general state of health.
It is important to note that measurements of exposure have
not been standardized, and it is impossible to determine safe or unsafe levels
of exposure for people in general. It is this ambiguity that is so frightening
to builders, and also creates an atmosphere that is amenable to claims and
litigation. While it may be difficult to prove that an illness is the result of
exposure to mold, it can be even more difficult to prove an illness is not the
result of mold exposure, especially if the presence of mold has been discovered
in the claimant’s residence. It is perhaps the fact that so many illnesses are
similar to those that may be caused by exposure to mold, as well as the
difficulty in assessing if molds that are present are actually toxic to the
homeowner that makes this issue so frustrating and dangerous!
Many of the general liability policies for residential
builders now exclude coverage for property damage and bodily injury claims
related to mold and fungus. These exclusions result in the builder’s assets and
profits being exposed for the indemnity costs and the significant legal costs
associated with mold and fungus claims.
Today’s homes are full of materials that are ideal for mold
growth including but not limited to insulation materials, drywall, lumber,
flooring, ceiling and floor tiles, carpet and carpet padding.
“Mold can grow on virtually any substance as long as moisture
is present. Therefore, the only way to control your exposure to mold and fungus
claims is to control moisture intrusion!”
This last information is an article within: http://www.2-10.com/newhomebuilders/pdf/Constructive_Solutions