What is Mold?
Molds are fungi. Molds grow throughout the natural and built environment. Tiny particles of mold are present in indoor and outdoor air. In nature, molds help break down dead materials and can be found growing on soil, foods, plant matter, and other items. Molds produce microscopic cells called "spores" which are very tiny and spread easily through the air. Live spores act like seeds, forming new mold growths (colonies) when they find the right conditions.

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What does mold need to grow?
Mold only needs a few simple things to grow and multiply:

• Moisture (Water, Condensation, Excessive Humidity)
• Food source-Nutrients (Typically Organic cellulose based materials)
• Mold spores (Deposited on surfaces by other mold colonies)

Of these, controlling excess moisture is the key to preventing and stopping indoor mold growth.

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Should I be concerned about mold in my home?
Mold should not be permitted to grow and multiply indoors. When this happens, health problems can occur and building materials, goods and furnishings may be damaged.

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Can mold make me and my family sick?
Mold can affect the health of people who are exposed to it. People are mainly exposed to mold by breathing spores or other tiny fragments. People can also be exposed through skin contact with mold contaminants (for example, by touching moldy surfaces) and by swallowing it.

The type and severity of health effects that mold may produce are usually difficult to predict. The risks can vary greatly from one location to another, over time, and from person to person.

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Are some molds more hazardous than others?
Some types of mold can produce chemical compounds (called mycotoxins) although they do not always do so. Molds that are able to produce toxins are common. In some circumstances, the toxins produced by indoor mold may cause health problems. However, all indoor mold growth is potentially harmful and should be removed promptly, no matter what types of mold is present or whether it can produce toxins.

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What types of mold exposure can affect me?
There are three (3) easy ways for mold spore to enter your body:

1. Inhalation: Mold spore can be airborne, and get indoors through doors, windows or cracks and crevices, or be carried in from the outdoors on shoes and clothing.
2. Skin: Touching moldy surfaces such as furniture and coming in contact with plants that may have molds can result in local skin irritation (redness or mild swelling), or possibly ulceration (rare).
3. Ingestion: Several toxic fungal species on spoiled food stuff (nuts, grain, rice, agricultural products) can cause serious intestinal food poisoning, liver cancer (aflatoxin from Aspergillus mold) or even death.

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What symptoms might I see?
The most common health problems caused by indoor mold are allergy symptoms. Although other and more serious problems can occur, people exposed to mold commonly report problems such as:

• nasal and sinus congestion
• cough
• wheeze/breathing difficulties
• sore throat
• skin and eye irritation
• upper respiratory infections (including sinus)

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What are some of the common health symptoms associated with mold and bacterial exposure in buildings?
Health effects associated with mold (fungi) include: infection, allergy, and toxic and irritant effects. Common complaints from occupants in problem buildings include: headache, sinusitis, upper respiratory infections, skin rashes, asthma, general malaise, and central nervous system effects. Some molds are pathogenic and actually grow in and on people.

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How much mold can make me sick?
It depends. For some people, a relatively small number of mold spores can cause health problems. For other people, it may take may more. The basic rule is, if you can see or smell it, take steps to eliminate the excess moisture, and to cleanup and remove the mold.

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Is it necessary to clean up mold contamination, not just to kill the mold?
It is necessary to clean up mold contamination, not just to kill the mold. Dead mold is still allergenic, and some dead molds are potentially toxic.

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Is chlorine bleach recommended to kill molds?
The use of a biocide, such as chlorine bleach, is not recommended as a routine practice during mold remediation, although there may be instances where professional judgment may indicate its use (for example, when immune-compromised individuals are present).

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Will applying a biocide fix my mold problem?
The application of biocides may kill mold spores but it does not necessarily eliminate their mycotoxin metabolites. The only sure way to do this and the goal of any remediation program should be removal of all microbial growth. This generally can be accomplished by physical removal of materials supporting active growth and thorough cleaning of non-porous materials.

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Do I want to sterilize the area?
In most cases, it is not possible or desirable to sterilize an area; a background level of mold spores will remain in the air (roughly equivalent to or lower than the level in outside air). These spores will not grow if the moisture problem in the building has been resolved and is part of what is called a “Normal fungal ecology”. Any mold growing within a building is not part of a “Normal fungal ecology”.

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What is Soda Blasting?
In the past, the only way you could remove paint or some other unsightly material from a contaminated surface, was to either chip it off, sand blast it, use harsh chemicals, or sand it until your arm fell off, or your equipment failed. In most cases, after these time consuming, or hazardous methods, are discarded, the final solution was just to paint over it and hope no one noticed. There is now a process, known as Soda Blasting, where a surface is cleaned or paint is removed or coatings of any kind are stripped from a substrate both efficiently and safely. It is very similar to traditional sand blasting yet has the significant advantage of cleaning the surface without causing any harm to the substrate or the environment.

Before Soda Blasting

After Soda Blasting !

Applications
From the removal of graffiti from brick and concrete to the cleaning of boat bottoms, from the removal of carbon, char, mold and odors from buildings damaged by fire to refurbishing stainless steel kitchen equipment, from removing oil and grease from engines to removing offensive odors in stairwells, from cleaning washrooms in manufacturing facilities to removing paint from brick and steel, from removing rust and paint from cars to line removal off highways, the Soda Blaster approach has proved to be successful time and time again. The system has been used for:

Example Applications

What about attic ventilation?
An attic ventilation system should remove both heat and humidity. While heat is the obvious link to high utility bills, humidity/moisture buildup can degrade the insulation and reduce the performance of the system equivalent to a 40 degree hotter attic. Many experts believe removal of excess moisture to be a even more important function of attic ventilation than lowering temperatures. Moisture causes mold, mildew, wet insulation, even a buckled roof deck. Proper ventilation in both summer and winter keeps moisture off the insulation, keeping it fluffy, dry, and effective. No matter how tightly sealed a home is, moisture from showers, etc will enter the attic through ceiling fan openings, can lights, cracks created by natural shifting of the house, plumbing and electric openings and poor caulk jobs (caulk is a temporary, cosmetic seal anyway). The typical family generates 2-4 gallons of moisture daily through cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. This moisture must be flushed out with the soffit/ridge vent system. Attic ventilation should never be blocked or covered up in any way at any time of year because of this moisture removing benefit.

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What will happen if my attic eve vents are blocked?
Eve venting is critical to your homes well being. Lack of eve venting can cause ice dams, roof deterioration, insulation degradation, roof deck rot, and mold growth.

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What should be done if musty, earthy, mushroom, and moldy like odors are perceived?
Contact Probe Environmental Inc. to conduct a survey to check for recent moisture intrusion and building materials that have been wet. It is possible there is mold growth, possibly hidden in the structure. Perform a visual inspection and sampling survey for the presence of microbiological contamination or growth.

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