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GAZETTE Newspapers
By: Arthur S. Lazerow
June
Rains Bring July Mold
Question: Jennifer G. from Monrovia email: “My
home’s basement had water in it after the big rain in June. The
foundation has a slight crack that allowed water to seep onto
the floor. Actually, this was the first time since we moved in
seven years ago that water was in the basement. The carpet got
soaked, along with numerous cardboard storage boxes. My husband
vacuumed up the water from the floor and carpet and moved the
boxes to let everything dry. Last week I began to smell a musty
odor. Do we have a mold problem and what should we do?”
Answer: From your description of events, you most likely
have mold growing somewhere in the areas that were wet. The
storms in June were rains that have keep me busy. I have
inspected homes of at least fifteen Gazette readers or
prior clients the last several weeks who experienced basement
water infiltration for the first time after those record
breaking storms.
Mold begins to grow within 72 hours after a water-related
incident in a home, unless the moisture is removed
expeditiously. That is how quickly mold can begin to take
hold. Unless the area is effectively dried immediately after
the problem occurs, those sneaky little mold spores find a place
to grow and flourish on their food supply (wood, drywall, dust
on block walls, paper backing of carpet, cardboard boxes, etc.).
Unless you removed the carpeting in your basement and emptied
all of those boxes and discarded the wet cardboard, you left
moist mold food in your basement. This is not a criticism. Any
well-intentioned homeowner can easily overlook one area, which
then quickly becomes mold infested.
They are pesky little brats, those molds. Think of them as
Mother Nature’s refuse removal staff. Before humans and animals
existed, there undoubtedly were trees and plants. When these
died and fell to the forest floor, mold took hold and over
years, returned nutrients back to the soil. How clever of
Mother Nature to recycle, except she did not anticipate that us
humans would cut down her trees for homes. In fact, a home is
one large mass of mold food.
The presence of elevated levels of airborne mold spores produced
by mold colonies in your home should be considered a serious
health concern. From the musty odor that you describe, it is
most likely that you have a mold problem. A musty odor in most
cases is caused by the digestive process of mold. As enzymes
from the mold’s roots, called hyphae, break down cellulose, this
produces gasses that we smell as mustiness.
The first step is to dry all of the area. Do not overlook
sealing the crack in your foundation and raising any low grading
conditions around the foundation. Check under your carpet for
residual wet areas. If any are found, fold the carpet back and
allow it to dry thoroughly. Check every possession in the
basement. Boxes and anything else made of wood, cardboard or
paper may be holding moisture. Boxes stored against foundation
or partition walls will hold moisture in that space, which is
conducive to mold growth.
Check the humidity level in the basement. Mold will grow if the
humidity is in excess of 50%. The interior of a home should be
in the 35% range. If your home has an air conditioning system
and ducts in the basement with a basement return, open it to
permit the system to dehumidify your basement. Run a
de-humidifier in your basement continuously to complement the
normal dehumidification provided by the air conditioning system.
Chemically treat any areas of visible mold. Home Depot sells a
product that has proven successful in treating mold. It is
named “Mildew and Mold Stain Remover,” manufactured by Zep.
Follow the directions and it will remove the mold and the mold
colony stains.
If you follow the above advice, you should detect a significant
lessening in the mustiness you discussed in your email. If not,
you may need to contact a mold professional to identify and
correct both the moisture problems that are driving the mold
growth and the mold itself.
Have a question relating to a housing or environmental issue?
To contact Mr. Lazerow, click on “Contact Us” at
Albaninspect.com. Mention “Gazette Newspapers” in your
question. Every question will be answered and some will be
included in this column.
Arthur Lazerow, president of Alban Home Inspection Service,
Inc., is a nationally certified ASHI home inspector, having
performed more than 6000 inspections during the past 11 years,
is a Maryland Association of Realtors accredited public speaker
and has been a Gazette Newspapers special correspondent for the
past two years.
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