Mould / Mold – Is It an Issue
As a professional home inspector I find most people are un-educated on mould and whether or not it is affecting their home. There is a lot of hype on mould right now and people are walking around their potential purchase property sniffing for musty odours and looking for tell tale traces of mould. I would like to address some of the more common items found during a home inspection, which although might be a form of mould, should not scare away prospective buyers.
These items of in no specific order, just ranked as they come to mind:
Cold Rooms – These rooms are usually located under porches and are always below grade. The ceiling of cold rooms often contains the wood used to form the concrete porch above and is of no issue. Value of wood was not significant enough to justify labour to remove. Any, back on topic, these rooms are meant to be cold, hence the term cold room, and they should contain at least on screened vent to the exterior for ventilation. Plugging up these vents will lead to your cold room eminating a must odour which may spread to the rest of your basement.
Attic Exhaust Fans – Wish I had a dollar for every bathroom exhaust fan that vented directly into attic or was just put close to roof vent. When you are venting warm moist air, being close to a roof vent doesn’t cut the mustard. When warm air comes into contact with the cold air of your attic it meets its dew point and turns to moisture, which then stays in your attic. this occurance also applies to attic exhaust ducts made of wire and plastic, ( your know the cheap dryer duct that is not rated for use with most dryers) well it performs just as well in your attic. Once again not being insulated allows the warm moist air from your home to turn to moisture as soon as it hits cold air. I have heard stories of these ducts collecting so much water and ice that they become blocked.
Some exhaust ducts discharge down from your vented soffit. When your louvers of the exhaust cover are pointed towards the building which directs the warm moist air against wall where it usually will rise and re-enter your attic, especially if there is any wind. It is always better to vent out a gable end or use a roof vent. I have seen many cases where the sheathing directly above the vent discharge has the beginnings of mould growth.
Where your attic exhuast duct discharges the warm moist air into your attic is usually a great place for mould to start growing. Usually this just a localized area and can be easily corrected by the home owner. Just ensure proper venting of your ducts and clean area with javex or specialty cleaner.
Windows – When dust and dirt are allowed to accumulate on windows there is often a black mould like growth that forms on the windows. This occurance is especially more noticeable since the advent of interior screens which means the homeowner has to remove screen to clean window. Actually a lot of people who have central air now remove their screens on windows they are not using and store them in garage or basement. This potential mould growth is simply removed during cleaning and is of no consquence at all.
Basements – This area of your home, unless fully insulated and heated, will always be a source of dampness. If you have a damp basement and you do not use a dehumidifier you will always notice the dampness and even mildew odour. A basement is naturally cooler than the rest of your house and can have many sources of moisture, such as; open sump, washer and dryer, condensate lines from furnace and a/c, laundry tubs and lack of heat and insulation. On older homes that only have partial insulation I usually detect a heat difference of 10 degrees where the insulation ends and bare concrete starts. Concrete will allow moisture to wick through into your home, so the more moisture in the soil the more moisture in your home.
Sump pumps keep the water from collecting against your foundation and are designed to remove the water and discharge it away from your home. Make sure your discharge is leaving and there are no low areas that trap the water and just allow it to re-circulate back to your sump hole. I was in a house a couple months ago that had a crack in the foundation professionally repaired by injection. There was a crack that was larger located at the front of the house which had not been repaired as there was no water issue. On my exterior inspection I had noted that the sump dischage was directed to a patio stone that was in a low area and actually tilted back towards foundation, effectively directing water right back down to the crack. This was still happening even after the crack was repaired. I would assume the foundation “specialist” had seen the cause but did not want to mention it and lose the repair job. Some times a little investigation can resolve small issues without the need for expensive repairs.
If you have a mould problem I would recommend you use a company that also performs mould remediation for your initial testing. I personally do not do mould inspections, although I am qualified and have level one mould course, because I believe it is a conflict of interest to suggest a mould test or sample, and then charge extra for that service. If you do have a mould problem you would then have to bring in a mould remediation company anyway so you might as well start out there. The company I refer has gone to some clients homes and looked at their problem and told them how to clean it and did not charge them for this service. That is the benefit of dealing with a professional company.
Remember, if you have had a water leak in your walls, your roof or finished basement, chances are you have mould. Bring in a professional company as soon as possible to limit the spread of damage and mould.
Roger Frost
