There are numerous consequences if you are practicing poor mold management. If you’re not doing it right, here’s what you might be up against:
- Health problems, such as cough, eye irritation, headache, and allergic reactions
- Reduced productivity resulting from discomfort and absenteeism
- Accelerated deterioration of furnishings and equipment
- Strained relationships among property owners, employers, and facility managers and employees
- Negative publicity
- Legal liability
Mold management begins with prevention. The Advisor posted a very popular checklist for preventing mold growth a while back.
Is There a Mold Problem in Your Facility?
If you want to determine if you have a mold problem on your hands, here are some questions to ask:
- Are building materials or furnishings visibly moisture-damaged?
- Have building materials been wet for more than 48 hours?
- Are there existing moisture problems in the building?
- Are employees reporting musty or moldy odors?
- Are employees reporting health problems that they think are related to mold in the indoor environment?
- Has the building been recently remodeled?
- Has the building use recently changed?
- Has routine maintenance been delayed or the maintenance plan altered?
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Initial Investigation Checklist
When mold has contaminated a facility, the first thing that should be done is to investigate and evaluate the extent of the moisture and mold problem.
[]Assess size of moldy area (square footage).
[] Be sure to consider the possibility of hidden mold (mold will often grow behind wallboard, under carpets and subfloors).
[] Clean up small mold problems and fix moisture problems before they become large problems.
[] Investigate areas associated with employee complaints.
[] Identify the sources or causes of the water or moisture problem.
[] Take note of the type of water-damaged materials (e.g., wallboard, carpet).
[] Check inside air ducts and air-handling units for growths.
[] Select a remediation manager for medium or large mold problems.
[] Designate a contact person for questions and comments about medium- or large-scale remediation, as needed.
[] Select remediation personnel who have the experience and training needed to implement the remediation plan and who use personal protective equipment (PPE) and containment as appropriate.
[] Discard all moldy, porous items that cannot be cleaned.
Tips for Staying Safe
- Don’t touch mold with your bare hands, get it in your eyes, or breathe in mold spores.
- Take care not to cause mold or mold spores to be dispersed throughout the air where they can be inhaled by building occupants.
- Don’t run the HVAC system if you know or suspect that it is contaminated with mold.
- Beware when checking behind vinyl wallpaper. Removal can cause a major release of spores.
When You Should Test for Mold
Testing will usually be done when there is large indoor contamination. Testing is done to determine indoor concentrations before clean up and to confirm that the indoor mold growth has been properly removed and decontaminated.
When testing is done, it is usually to compare the concentration levels and types of mold spores found inside the home with those found outside the home.
If counts are higher inside than outside, you probably have a potential health problem.
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If the species composition of the air is different from what it is outside, you probably have a potential health problem.
If it is determined that the mold problem is beyond your ability to handle with facility personnel and/or regular janitorial services, it will be necessary to hire mold remediation consultants.
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