The Emperor’s New Clothes

by Jeffrey C. May January 1, 2011

I was hired to do air-quality testing in a home in which a child with cystic fibrosis was living. The child often coughed in his bedroom and had just tested positive for allergy to Aspergillus mold.

The home was immaculate, including the boy’s bedroom. My testing revealed, however, the presence of Aspergillus mold growth in his box spring and bed pillow, and the presence of Aspergillus spores in his beanbag chair and bedroom carpet. The boy also spent a lot of time in the unfinished basement, which contained a workshop. He liked to work with wood and had built a skateboard ramp there. Piles of biodegradable wood, as well as cardboard boxes, were sitting on the concrete floor and leaning up against the foundation walls. Exposed fiberglass insulation sat between the joists. Unfinished basements must be adequately dehumidified in the humid season (relative humidity kept under 50 percent) to prevent mold growth on biodegradable dust, including house dust and sawdust captured in exposed fiberglass insulation and stuck to the concrete walls and floor. The home had a central vacuum system, and there were heavy deposits of biodegradable dust on the foundation wall in the vicinity of the canister. I found Aspergillus mold growth in the dust on the foundation wall and in some of the ceiling insulation. Aspergillus growth is highly friable, and the spores are allergenic. I suspect that after spending time in the basement, the boy carried the spores on his clothing and even in his hair. And his mother may have operated a humidifier in his bedroom to ease his breathing while he slept, which elevated the relative humidity in the room and paved the way for mold growth to occur.

Newlyweds had bought another house I looked at. Shortly after they moved in, the wife had to move out because she got headaches and her heart raced when she spent more than a few hours inside. The family did an excellent job cleaning every surface in the house, but the wife still couldn’t go into the place without wearing a respirator. The house was almost 200 years old, and, over the years, there had been some leakage around the chimneys. Last March’s storms resulted in a deluge into the attic and wall cavities adjacent to the chimney. I took an air sample in a wall cavity open to the chimney chase and found large numbers of Aspergillus mold spores — most in chains and clusters, indicating active growth. Wind conditions at the exterior can affect air-pressure relationships within a house, and, sometimes, mold spores can be blown out through electric outlets and construction gaps open to the chase. In addition, in this particular room, there was a plaster-ceiling hole in the closet adjacent to the chimney.

I usually encourage prospective buyers to have a home inspection before a mold inspection because during the home inspection, issues may arise that cause them to change their minds about buying the house. When buyers have allergies or asthma in the family, however, I agree to do air-quality testing in advance of or at the same time as the home inspection. I looked at a high-end condominium in Back Bay, and the home inspector was at the site at the same time. Again, the property was immaculate, but conditions inside the screwed-shut blower cabinet of the heat pump were another story. Due to inadequate filtration, high humidity and a leaking furnace humidifier, the exposed fiberglass liners in the blower cabinet and return plenum were covered with mold.

So what does all this have to do with home inspections?

If your client or anyone in your client’s family has allergies or asthma, and you find any of the following conditions at a property you are inspecting, you probably should suggest further evaluation by a mold inspector or an indoor air-quality professional:

  • An unfinished, non-dehumidified basement in which someone has sawed wood.
  • A finished or unfinished basement that has not been dehumidified during the humid season, especially if there’s a musty smell present.
  • An unfinished basement that contains exposed fiberglass insulation, even if the insulation appears to be pristine. (In an unfinished basement in which the relative humidity has not been adequately controlled, about 60 to 70 percent of exposed fiberglass insulation is mold-infested. In crawl spaces, it’s closer to 100 percent!)
  • A house in which there has been leakage around an interior chimney.
  • A property with a dirty air handler or access panels that are screwed shut. (Remember, ASHI SOP 9.1 states that the inspector “shall open readily operable access panels.”)

The emperor thought he was wearing new clothes when he was, in fact, wearing nothing at all. It’s OK for the emperor to be naked, but protect yourself from taking the blame down the line for “invisible” problems like these.

Reprinted with permission. © 2010 Jeffrey C. May.AQ IQ Bulletin 38: June/July 2010. If you would like to receive the bulletin, contact Jeff May at info@mayindoorair.com.

   


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