Household Mold Hide-and-Go-Seek

By Lucy Chubb

A team of researchers is working to make your home a healthier place. No, they are not concentrating their efforts on asbestos removal or proper nutrition. Their focus is mold.

Scientists from the Cyuahoga County Department of Development are just beginning a three-year study during which they will assess 170 homes of children suffering from allergies and asthma in Cleveland, Ohio. After doing an environmental evaluation to determine allergen levels inside the living spaces, they will help homeowners correct the problems.

The researchers will then keep track of conditions inside the house and of the people living there to see if their efforts have brought about any positive changes.

"Prospective tracking of relative humidity levels in the homes of asthmatic children will be conducted as a research component to gauge the success of housing interventions," said CCDD project manager Terry Allan. "Clinical assessment of the families will also be conducted to determine the health impact on the families before remediation. Additionally, follow-up environmental and clinical assessments will be conducted following remediation to determine the efficacy of the overall intervention."

Mold grows in damp spaces in the home and can have negative effects on both home and health.

"Homes shouldn't be moldy places," said William Rose, a research architect with the University of Illinois Building Research Council, which has been contracted to do moisture monitoring for the overall project.

Molds can cause discoloration of surfaces in the home, said Rose, though they are not usually the cause of any structural damage. "However, if the dampness conditions that permit mold growth are allowed to persist, other fungi which do threaten structures can appear," said Rose.

"The principal reasons to be concerned for mold are the health effects," he said.

The medical establishment believes that molds could very possibly be a cause of human respiratory ailments around the world. One variety known as Stachybotrys is thought to be responsible for Pulmonary Hemosiderosis — bleeding of the lungs — in young children in east Cleveland neighborhoods.

But these cases are rare, and Rose stresses that there is no need for homeowners to panic. "There is always a little mold everywhere — in the air and on many surfaces — though surfaces ideally should not support mold," he said. "A little bit of mold is OK; a lot is bad."

The relationship between mold and lung illness continues to be a topic of scientific debate.

In order to avoid any problems, the researchers advise homeowners to keep their home moisture and mold free. If your house has a musty odor that will not go away, it is time to do a home inspection.

"Go on a crusade to visit all those places in the house (you) rarely visit or inspect — particularly crawl spaces and access panels for plumbing," said Rose. "Try to keep basements and crawl spaces dry. Get professional help or professional advice in cleaning up after a flood."

Finished basements can also be a mold breeding ground. "If there's an interior finish on basement walls, and the basement has a bad odor, remove the finishes." To cover the bare concrete walls, Rose suggests using Velcro to install rigid pieces of insulation to which you can apply some sort of finish. The panels can then be removed for examination and cleaning whenever necessary.

The three-year project got under way recently and is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Illinois Department of Public Health is running a similar but smaller effort in Chicago, also with funding from HUD.