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Issue 2, Volume 2

February 25, 2004

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Lions and Tigers and Mold, Oh My!
by Rogge Miller, Oklahoma Operations Manager
Certified Microbial Consultant and Registered Contractor Mold Manager

As we listen to the national media and their claims of “black toxic mold” and its dangers, some of you may be to the point that you view mold in much the same way that we view the word “cancer” in our lives today. But let’s take a brief look at the real deal behind mold.  For instance, I am breathing mold at this very moment as I write this article.  I would love to give you a tour of my little mold farm, but you would not be impressed.  I am at the office sitting at my desk, typing on the computer.  You are breathing mold as you are sitting at your desk reading this article on your computer. The only place that you could go where there is no mold would be a sterile room at a hospital or some ultra secret lab where for some reason particulates in the air are the enemy.

How many different species are there?  Your guess is as good as the experts. Somewhere around 72,000 fungi have been named and categorized, give or take several thousand.  But there are estimates that we have from 1 million to 10 million fungal species. At the rate that we are now categorizing them, we should have them all done by the year 4277 AD. One would think that these little buggers have just now become a problem. But if you will get the dusty old Bible off the shelf and look for the book of Leviticus, chapter 14 verse 33, you will find a description, probably written around 1450-1400 BC, of how to clean a “moldy” house.  It is really there. Half of the chapter deals with this and are they prolific. One particular species called Ganoderma applanatum can discharge 30,000,000,000 spores per day, each and every day from May to September.  If you want some fun math, take that number and multiply it by 153, the total number of days for that five-month period.

So, if you see mold are you going to die?  In actuality you are probably more likely to get something from the person sitting next to you in the office. I do not want to minimize the danger of mold though.  Let’s state it this way:  People should not live in an environment with excessive biological contamination. But, “at present, environmentally related infectious disease is not recognized as a major problem in the majority of occupations.” ¹ If you are a healthy adult, you may have an allergic reaction and that is the end of it. Or, nothing may happen at all.  But if you are very young, very old, already sick, or your immune system has somehow been compromised, you could be at risk.  Some of the molds like Aspergillus fumigatus are opportunistic; that is, if you are sick, they can help you get sicker.  Not someone you want to invite to your next dinner party. An example will help you. I can take any antibiotic on the market when I get sick. This includes Penicillin.  But if you are allergic to Penicillin and take an injection, you are in trouble.  In the same way, working in an atmosphere where Penicillium is present to this point does not seem to bother me whereas you might have an allergic reaction within minutes, depending on the severity of exposure, the type of exposure, the duration of exposure, and your individual sensitivity to the specific spore.  That’s why there are still no real guidelines for exposure to biological contaminants. There are too many variables.

Is black mold the worst of all the molds?  It depends on the species that you are looking at.  You see, molds use enzymes to help digest the surface that they are growing on to use it for food. The color of the mold depends on the specific enzyme and the specific substrate being digested.  So, one particular mold species may appear as different species on different substrates. Fun stuff, huh? Just laugh a minute. Any thing, except actual wood, in a house that is made of cellulose, is potential mold food. To minimize the chance of biological growth there are two things that need to be kept in mind.

• If you have a wetting event, clean it up and dry things out immediately. Biological growth can occur within 24-72 hours depending on the specific species of mold. If you have to get a professional that knows how to dry things out, do it!
• Keep the relative humidity in the house below 60%, 50% if at all possible. If this is a problem in your house, buy a dehumidifier and run it as often as necessary. Whole house dehumidifiers that can be placed in the attic are available. Use your bathroom exhaust fans when you bathe and your kitchen exhaust fan when you cook.

So now you don’t have to worry and be happy. If you are having ongoing allergic symptoms, have your house checked. If not, just be aware of your surroundings.  And above all, never watch the six o’clock news.

EPA Changes Sampling Protocol Guidelines
by Jerry Fenchel, National Accounts Director

Effective January 1, 2004, the EPA required procedures for sampling protocol were modified. If you are wondering what “sampling protocol means,” and what changes have taken place, please read the following Q & A to help you understand sampling protocol.

Q. Is sampling protocol where the builder can participate in the EPA Energy Star Homes program and only have a certain number of houses tested?
A. Yes. The EPA allows for sample testing, often referred to as Batch Testing.   The conditions are (1) builder builds a minimum of 85 homes a year; or (2) (new in 2004) the builder builds a subdivision and applies sampling protocol to the SAME floor plan with the SAME subcontractors.

Q. What is a “batch” and how many homes make up a batch to be tested?
A. The EPA requires a MINIMUM of 15% of homes to be randomly selected by the 3^rd party verifier. For builders with less than 85 houses/year, the batch must be from the same subdivision and the same period. Houses are “batched” using the 15% rule.

Q. Does a builder qualify for sampling (batch testing) when they first become an Energy Star Partner?
A. No. To be eligible for sampling (batch testing), the builder must first have 3 consecutive homes successfully tested AND passed, including the HERS rating or BOP completion, prior to commencement of sampling.

Q. What happens when the test house passes?
A. Provided all houses in the batch have met the requirements to include HERS analysis or a BOP, then all houses in the batch PASS!

Q.  What happens when a house fails testing?
A. When the randomly selected test house FAILS, and corrective action by the builder has taken place, the 3^rd party verifier randomly selects 30% of the remaining houses in a batch and tests for the reason for the failure (new in 2004).  (Prior to January 1, 2004, all houses in the batch were required to be tested.) If another house in the batch fails, then all houses in the batch must be tested.

Q. If the test house fails, can another house assigned to the batch be passed before the 30% retesting occurs?
A. No.  Not until all houses in the batch have met the qualifications, including HERS analysis or BOP completion and the 30% retesting has taken place.

Q. Is there more detailed information available from the EPA regarding sampling protocol?
A. Yes.  Please visit the EPA web site for a complete overview of the sampling protocol. Click here to visit the EPA web site, then look under Quick Links for the Revised Sampling Protocol Policy.

Inspector’s Corner
Weatherization
by Bernardo Lopez, City Supervisor- Houston

The principals of weatherization are as simple as making modifications to the house building shell. These modifications will help reduce heat loss or gain through the shell as well as improve indoor air quality. The largest advantage of weatherization is that it helps reduce high-energy bills and saves the homeowner money at the same time. Although, having your home retrofitted is a good thing, there are some issues that may cause the homeowner to limit some modifications. One main issue is the availability of funds to perform upgrades and cover the cost of labor for the improvements. The second thing is to have the home audited (energy wise) by a rater or a company that provides weatherization retrofits. Once the home has been audited, you will have a better idea of what upgrades would be the best to make the largest impact on the efficiency of energy consumption. I personally have read some studies on weatherization that have showed some significant reductions in energy consumption.

The most cost effective strategy that a homeowner can follow is to replace or install weather-stripping at doors, at windows that have replaceable weather-stripping, and at attic access doors. One other inexpensive solution is to replace worn-out thresholds. Some basic strategies for weatherization are as follows:

• Repair or replace HVAC systems with an energy efficient system
• Add insulation to uninsulated walls (old houses) or improve R-values of old insulation
• Repair, seal or replace windows with Low-E coating
• Educate homeowners on energy saving solutions, including how to operate Programmable T-stats
• Maintenance of HVAC systems, use ENERGY STAR approved appliances, compact fluorescents, etc.

This is a short summary of weatherization practices, but if you require extra assistance, please feel free to contact Guaranteed Watt Saver at 1-888-488-0206.