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Stories about Arizona homes infected with mold are appearing everywhere, in print and
on television. Is there a real problem, or has the media blown
everything out of proportion? How does this "mold mania" affect the real
estate licensee?
Will Humble, an epidemiologist
and Office Chief of the Arizona Department of Health Services'
Environmental Epidemiology Section believes the problem is not as bad as
you might be led to believe.
His advice to real estate licensees: "Do not hire
someone to take samples in a home. They will find mold every time. The
presence of mold revealed by sampling does not mean there is a mold
problem in the house."
He suggests having a competent home inspector check
the attic for water damage from a leaking roof, checking for musty odor
in the house, and looking for obvious signs of water damage — discolored
walls or wet areas under sinks.
If a bedroom has a musty odor, ask whether the carpet
has ever been flooded with water. If the water was not extracted
immediately and completely, mold could have begun growing under the
carpet. Drying the carpet does not remove dead mold spores, and
re-wetting can cause mold growth to return. If there is heavy mold, the
carpet may have to be replaced.
Mold in My Home: What Do I Do? is an information sheet published by the Department of
Health Services' Office of Environmental Health. You can download a copy
from their web site at
www.hs.state.az.us/phs/oeh/index.htm.
Look for the mold link in the last line of the last paragraph on the
page.
Some excerpts from the Information Sheet:
Should I be concerned about mold in my home?
Yes, if the contamination is extensive. When
airborne mold spores are present in large numbers, they can cause
allergic reactions, asthma episodes, infections and other respiratory
problems for people. Exposure to high spore levels can cause the
development of an allergy to the mold. Mold can also cause structural
damage to your home.
How can I tell if I have mold in my house?
If you can see mold, or if there is an earthy or
musty odor, you can assume you have a mold problem. Look for previous
water damage. Visible mold growth is found underneath materials where
water has damaged surfaces, or behind walls. Look for discoloration
and leaching from plaster.
Having a home sampled for mold and receiving a report
that mold is in the home may stigmatize a home that actually has no
problem. Mold inspection is an unregulated field, and lots of people are
making money on mold. Humble cited a recent newspaper ad placed by a
company recruiting mold inspectors. "Mold is Gold," the headline read.
To complicate matters, the Department of Health
Services says "there are few available standards for judging what is an
acceptable quantity of mold. In all locations, there are some outdoor
levels of molds. If sampling is carried out, an outdoor air sample needs
to be taken at the same time as the sample indoors to provide a baseline
measurement. Since the susceptibility of individuals varies so greatly,
sampling is at best a general guide."
Much has been made about the "deadly" Stachybotrys
mold. It is dangerous, Humble said, but only in massive doses. "We don't
talk about particular molds. The bigger problem overall is a person's
sensitivity to mold."
The presence of mold in public schools has generated
many headlines, and such stories have made some homeowners concerned
about the possibility of mold in their homes. An example is Starline
Elementary School in Lake Havasu City. The school has been closed
because of extensive mold contamination. The cause of the problem was
just what Humble said to look out for: a leaking roof. More than four
years ago a contractor hired to replace the school's roof went out of
business before the job was completed. The roof was not finished and
during the next rainy season water flooded several classrooms. "The roof
was never repaired properly and the mold grew from there," said the
school's principal.
So what's the bottom line for the real estate
licensee? If you see mold, smell mold's musty odor, spot the signs
mentioned in the Department of Health Services' information sheet, or
learn that one or more carpeted rooms may have been flooded, there may
be a problem.
If your client asks whether the home should be sampled
for mold, give them a copy of the information sheet and let them decide.
While any home will test positive for mold, a serious
mold infection cannot be ignored. Some individuals are at a higher risk
for adverse health effects, the Department of Health Services says.
These include:
- Infants and children
- The elderly
- Immune-compromised patients (people with HIV
infection, cancer chemotherapy, liver disease, etc.)
- Pregnant women
- Individuals with existing respiratory conditions
such as allergies, multiple chemical sensitivity and asthma.
Remediation of a serious mold infection can be very
expensive — five-figures expensive. Walls may have to be opened and even
rebuilt. Structural damage may have to be repaired. Air conditioning and
heating ducts may have to be replaced.
While the presence of mold in some structures may pose
a significant health problem to susceptible individuals, the mere
presence of mold is not necessarily something to be concerned about. If
your client has concerns about mold, direct them to the Department of
Health Services' information available on the Internet. Copies may also
be obtained from the Office of Environmental Health, 3815 N. Black
Canyon Highway, Phoenix, AZ 85018. You can telephone the office at
602/230-5830.
Also visit the
Consumer Information section
on the Department of Real Estate's web site.
There you'll find additional information from the Center for Disease
Control and the State of California Environmental Health Investigations
Branch.
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