Assessing and Remediation of Moisture and Mold in Residential Housing

1. Assessing and Remediation of Moisture and Mold in Residential Housing The Building Performance Center

2. What is mold? • Biological Pollutant • A living organism • Can grow on almost anywhere and on any surface • Needs food, temperature and moisture to grow The Building Performance Center

3. Mold or Fungi • Multi-cellular and unicellular • Multi-cellular formed of microscopic filaments called HYPHAE • A colony looks velvety, granular or leathery • May appear black, red, green, yellow or brown • Most common aspergillus, pennicilium, and stachybotrys. The Building Performance Center

4. Mold and Fungi • Outdoors mushrooms, puffballs, truffles • During lifecycles spores are formed • Spores small, light, travel by air • Need food from external sources • Water is critical to digestive process • Volatile compounds can be released called mycotoxins The Building Performance Center

5. Mold and Fungi • Grows on organic materials • Wood • Paper • Foods The Building Performance Center

6. Health Effects of Mold • Allergenic • Pathogenic • Toxigenic The Building Performance Center

7. Allergenic Molds • Allergic reactions to mold are common • Inhaling or touching may cause allergic reactions to sensitive individuals • Mold can be dead or alive • Repeated exposure may cause sensitivity • Symptoms include Hay fever reaction, sneezing, runny nose, red eyes, skin rash The Building Performance Center

8. Pathogenic Molds • Cause infections • Only small group of molds associated with infections • Most dangerous for immune compromised individuals • Some infections include Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis, Histoplasmosis The Building Performance Center

9. Toxiogenic Molds • Cause disease • Exposure thru inhalation, ingestion and skin contact • Mycotoxins • Some molds have been proven to cause liver damage, central nervous system damage The Building Performance Center

10. Building Science Basics • Moisture Flow Concepts • Air Flow Concepts • Indoor Air Quality Concepts The Building Performance Center

11. Liquid Flow • Driven by gravity or air pressure • Examples: roof Leaks and plumbing leaks • The most serious threat for a home The Building Performance Center

12. Capillary Flow • Liquid water creates a suction of its own as it moves through tiny spaces within and between building materials • Examples: Capillary action can also move liquid water into a home through damp soil and a porous concrete slab or stem concrete wall The Building Performance Center

13. Air Movement • Air movement carries water vapor into and out of the building and it’s cavities • Example: Hot air rises through the cracks and crevices in the top of the building shell taking water vapor with it. The Building Performance Center

14. Vapor Diffusion • Water vapor will move through solid objects depending on their permeance and vapor pressure • Is the the slowest form of moisture movement The Building Performance Center

15. Moisture Rules • Moisture moves from warmtocold • Moisture flows frommore toless • Moisture hitchhikes with air: high pressure to low pressure • Gravity pulls water down • Water wicks up l The Building Performance Center

16. Air Flow Basics The Building Performance Center

17. Air Flow 1 Cfm out = 1 Cfm in The Building Performance Center

18. Air Flow High pressure flows to low pressure The Building Performance Center

19. Air Flow A hole + a driving force =Airflow The Building Performance Center

20. Natural Wind Stack Effect Mechanical Bath Fans Kitchen Fans Dryers Forced air heating Driving Forces The Building Performance Center

21. IAQ Basics The Building Performance Center

22. Most vulnerable to the effects of indoor air pollution • Elderly • Children • Disabled • Immune deficient or chronically ill • Pregnant woman/unborn child The Building Performance Center

23. Children the most vulnerable • Their bodies are still developing. • Their immune systems are still developing and may be less protective • They take in more food, water and air per pound of body weight than adults • They are smaller and therefore closer to pollutants on or near the ground. • They put their hands in their mouth more than adults • Early environmental insults may have a lifelong consequences The Building Performance Center

24. Indoor Air Pollutants • Moisture Tobacco smoke • Pressed wood furniture Carpets • Moth repellents Insects • Dry cleaned goods Household chemicals • Dust mites Pesticides • Personal care products Lead based paint • Car exhaust Woodstove • Paint supplies Pets • Paneling Cleaners • Radon Products of combustion The Building Performance Center

25. Seven Steps to a Healthy Home • Dry and Clean Water, clutter and dust permit or encourage the growth of mold, insects rodents and mites. Keeping a home dry and clean controls mold and pests. • Well ventilated Ventilation provides a mechanism to remove contaminants. • Combustion Product Free Combustion products like carbon monoxide should not be present in a healthy home The Building Performance Center

26. Seven Steps Cont. • Toxic Chemicals Free Toxic cleaning compounds, pesticides, oil based paints and solvents can lead to poor indoor air quality. • Pest Free Pests lead to allergic reactions and pests lead to pesticides. Food and water lead to pests. • Comfortable Uncomfortable homes can make people take action that makes a home unhealthy. If people can’t afford to heat their home they won’t ventilate their home. The Building Performance Center

27. The Building Performance Center

28. Review • Mold spores are everywhere • Mold needs a temperature range from 40’F to 100’F to grow • Mold needs food to grow • Mold needs moisture to grow • Mold can cause moderate to severe reactions • Mold is a symptom of a moisture problem The Building Performance Center

29. Assessing for Mold and Moisture Problems • Procedures for assessments • Guidelines for assessments • Tools for assessments The Building Performance Center

30. Procedure for Assessing Mold and Moisture • Client interview • Pollution Source Survey • Physical survey of the building The Building Performance Center

31. Client Interview • Very valuable in assessing a IAQ problem • May have a complaint that should be recognized • Often know a lot about their home • A chance for further IAQ education The Building Performance Center

32. Pollution Source Survey • Documents existing conditions • Can indicate possible problems • Identifies risks • May help in designing solutions The Building Performance Center

33. Pollution source survey Pollution source survey The Building Performance Center

34. Physical Survey • Survey possible moistures sources from outside and document • Examples The Building Performance Center

35. Physical Survey • Survey possible sources from inside and document • Examples The Building Performance Center

36. Assessment Tools and Measurements • Eyes, ears, nose • Measure relative humidity • Measure building materials moisture content • Measure surface temperatures The Building Performance Center

37. Measuring Relative Humidity • Thermo-Hygrometer homeowner model • Digital • $19 The Building Performance Center

38. Measuring Relative Humidity • Sling Psychrometer • For measuring RH takes 2 minutes • $35 The Building Performance Center

39. Detecting Moisture • Pin tester • The process requires making holes in the material to tested • Works on wood,sheetrock ,plaster, concrete • $350 The Building Performance Center

40. Detecting Moisture • Non destructive tester • Slides across material to be tested without damaging it • $200 to $400 The Building Performance Center

41. Measuring Temperature • Infrared Pointer • Measures common surface temperatures • $350 The Building Performance Center

42. Guidelines for Evaluating Mold Contamination • New York City Guidelines • CMHC Homeowners Guide The Building Performance Center

43. Small Areas • NYC defines as 10 sq ft or less designated LEVEL 1 • CMHC defines a “small area” no larger than one sq meter and no more than three of those areas The Building Performance Center

44. Small Areas • NYC remediation conducted by trained maintenance staff • Training includes clean up methods, personal protection and potential health hazards The Building Performance Center

45. Small Areas • CMHC say homeowners can clean up with detergent and gloves and dust mask and guidance from Homeowners’ Guide The Building Performance Center

46. Mid-Sized Areas • NYC defines as 10-30 sq ft. designated as LEVEL 2 • CMHCC considers mid sized to be more than three patches, each smaller than a sq meter or there is one or more isolated patches larger than a square meter but smaller that three sq meters The Building Performance Center

47. Mid-Sized Areas • NYC remediation conducted by trained maintenance staff • Training includes clean up methods, personal protection and potential health hazards The Building Performance Center

48. Mid-Sized Areas • CMHC recommends assessment by a professional but if proper procedures are followed can be cleaned up by the homeowner The Building Performance Center

49. Large Areas • NYC defines as 30-100 sq ft • CMHC considers an single patch greater than sheet of plywood “extensive The Building Performance Center

50. Solving Problems • Mold is the outcome of another problem • MOISTURE • Solve the moisture problem and you solve the Mold problem The Building Performance Center