Mold is a dangerous contaminant. It not only affects your health and that of your loved ones, but it can significantly lower the value of your property. Therefore, if you notice any signs of mold, you should immediately get rid of it. But, there are some preventative measures that homeowners can take to prevent this contaminant from growing in their houses. These include keeping their homes ...
The more appropriate terms are: Is it Viable? or Non-Viable? Viable/non-viable are better descriptive terms since these molds act like plants in terms of growth. A mold spore is like a seed—if the right combination of food, heat, and moisture are present, the spore can grow and multiply—just like a seed that can be dormant for long periods and then begin to grow. What’s ...
As part of determining whether an indoor environment is contaminated with excessive amounts of mold and requires remediation, Indoor Environmental Technologies (IET) routinely performs air and surface mold sampling or testing. While there are many types of sampling methods, IET uses two of them the most: Air sampling using a “spore trap” sampler. Considerable information can be ...
Recently, HF Pure Water successfully installed a Chlorine Removal System at a small coffee farm on the big island of Hawaii. Like many coffee farms in the area and around the world, the coffee bean crop had been devastated by the Coffee Borer Beetle. An all-out effort was needed to rid the farm’s crops of this beetle as many small farms has had their entire crop destroyed, resulting in ...
Once a determination is made that a moldy surface can be cleaned instead of removed or demolished, what cleaning agents are effective in removing or killing the mold? Many factors influence the selection of a cleaning agent. 1). The type of surface to be cleaned: Is it porous? Hard such as cement or sheetrock? Soft, such as cloth, fabric or wallpaper? Absorbent and thick such as rugs, carpet, ...
Cleaning Mold-Containing Surfaces Once a determination is made that a moldy surface can be cleaned instead of removed or demolished, what cleaning agents are effective in removing or killing the mold? Many factors influence the selection of a cleaning agent, such as: 1) The type of surface to be cleaned. Is it hard such as cement or sheetrock? Soft, such as cloth, fabric or wallpaper? ...
I Feel Fine When Not At Work! Can A Building Make You Sick? Of course, it’s the office what else could it be. A typical complaint environmental professionals hear is “When I’m away from the office I feel fine, my office makes me sick”. When I get to work I’m OK for a little while and within a couple of hours I feel miserable, my throat feels scratchy, my eyes are ...
Molds are among the earliest known life-forms; they are found in all parts of the world, including Antarctica (“Scientists Tackle Antarctica Mold,” Peter Rejcek, editor, Antarctica Sun, February 4, 2007). They do not have mouths or digestive tracts. Instead, they release digestive enzymes that break down paper, fruits, leaves, shoe leather, bacon or anything else they have landed on ...
Mold –It’s All About Water! How is mold controlled on a construction project? By controlling water intrusion – that’s the answer! Mold has been around for a long time, and has always been a challenge on construction projects. However, with new construction materials being even more mold susceptible, and record-breaking lawsuits for exposure to mold growing, it is now more important than ever to ...
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) has a massive impact on the health of the occupants. Poorly ventilated spaces can lead to Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). Dust and indoor air particles can trigger respiratory problems, asthma and other health issues. The amount of time people spend indoors has increased over the years. Particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic with restrictions on outdoors movement and ...
Viable particles consists of bacteria, virus, fungal spores, molds, and yeast. These are generally obtained from people, outside air, water, equipment, tools, excipients, and active ingredients. The objectives of environmentally controlled cleanrooms are to provide a contamination-free space to test or manufacturer contamination free products. Nonetheless, contamination has a way of ...
Budget considerations often limit the number of air, surface or bulk samples that can be taken in an IAQ investigation. Once the laboratory has returned the test data, then someone has to decide how to interpret it. It’s not enough to simply compare indoor data to the data collected in the outdoor or control sample. Indoor air samples are subject to two kinds of error: False Positives and ...
Indoor air contaminants come in a variety of forms and originate from multiple sources. Interactions between building materials and furnishings, activities and equipment inside the building, internal temperature and relative humidity, filtration and ventilation system operations, climate and building occupants all contribute to the indoor air quality (IAQ) in commercial, industrial, residential ...
Ubiquitous is my big word for the week. Webster"s definition is “existing or being everywhere at the same time: constantly encountered.” This describes the situation with molds. They don"t magically appear or re-incarnate when conditions are right. They don"t seep through solid walls as is often assumed. They are always there, floating in the air or carried in moving water, ...
“Dust in the wind” may be a great poetic analogy for a melancholy 80’s rock song, but in reality we generally don’t like dust. Large particles are filtered in the upper respiratory system, but the smaller the particle, the farther into the airways they penetrate. Dust particles are measured in micrometers (μm or um), also know as microns. Particles that are 10 ...
Clean up with air quality in mind Flooding can strike anywhere around waterways, especially in the spring, when lakes and rivers swell up with melt-water. This year, major floods have already hit areas in North and South America and other parts of the world, including Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, California, Chile, Peru, Indonesia and Russia, just to name a few. When water levels rise, ...
Mold and where it originates Mold has been a major factor in Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) concerns in buildings for the last several decades. Contrary to common belief, molds do not magically appear in buildings. They can’t penetrate through intact walls or other intact surfaces. They are in the air, or carried into a building on clothes, open doors, and windows, or any opening—very ...
“We go the extra mile to be as sustainable and ecologically focused as possible. To choose an environmentally friendly sanitizing solution is a natural choice for us.” – Patrizia Chiari, General Manager Relais Borgo Santo Pietro. Located not too far from the historical route from Canterbury to Rome, and the Holy Land beyond, you can find Borgo Santo Pietro. The pilgrim spirit ...
As things begin to heat up this summer, more and more HVAC facility managers and technicians will experience equipment and maintenance headaches. Take for example air conditioning systems. Even a well-maintained HVAC system consumes a lot of electricity, especially during the summer months. In fact, air conditioning and other climate control technologies account for almost 25% of the power ...
Mold growth within commercial buildings is a common concern for building occupants, as it has been linked to a number of health effects and can be found lurking within the walls and within ventilation systems, oftentimes going undetected for long periods of time. Here are the top seven causes of mold in commercial properties and what you need to know to prevent them. Improper Operation and ...