Mold Cleanup When Someone Is Very Sensitive

The sensitive person should leave before work begins and stay away until the cleanup is finished, the area has been cleaned again, and results have been checked. Talk with that person's doctor about how long to stay away. Babies, people prone to asthma or other breathing trouble, and anyone seriously ill belong in the same group.

How strong can reactions be? One inspector told of a very sensitive woman who had moved to a healthier home. A friend opened a box of belongings from the old moldy house while she was in the room, and she became seriously ill in a matter of minutes. Most people are nowhere near that sensitive, but stories like this are why caution comes first.

Evidence: Inspector's practice (precautionary).

• A well-fitted respirator is the most important piece of gear. An N95 filters most mold particles; a P100 filters finer particles still. A model with an exhalation valve is easier to breathe through.
• Particle filters do not stop mold gases. For those, the respirator also needs an organic-vapor cartridge.
• Add goggles, gloves, disposable coveralls and shoe covers, and remove them before stepping into clean parts of the house.
• Respirators make breathing harder. Workplace rules (OSHA) require a medical evaluation before a worker uses one, and people with some heart or lung conditions should not wear one without a doctor's approval.

Evidence: Well supported (OSHA respiratory protection standard; EPA mold cleanup guidance).

Containment simply means walling the work area off from the rest of the house, usually with sturdy plastic running from floor to ceiling, and covering vents inside it. Professionals also set up a fan with a fine filter that pulls air out of the work area and sends it outside. Air then flows from clean areas toward the dirty one, never the other way.

Mold particles spread more easily than most people expect. The usual routes are:

• no barrier, or a barrier with gaps, and no pull of air into the work area;
• shoes, clothing and hair carrying particles out;
• moldy debris shedding as it is carried through the house;
• a vacuum without a true sealed HEPA system blowing fine particles back out;
• a bathroom or kitchen fan, or a clothes dryer, elsewhere in the house drawing air out of the work area;
• open heating and cooling vents pulling particles into the ducts;
• particles still hanging in the air when the barrier comes down.

Never vent moldy air toward a neighbor's windows or a play area.

Common mold spores take hours to settle out of the air, roughly four to eight hours by one veteran inspector's account. So after the work, stay out overnight. Then begin at the doorway with a sealed HEPA vacuum, moving slowly so you do not stir the air, damp-wipe level surfaces, and repeat over several days.

Evidence: Inspector's practice (precautionary).

Lean toward a professional when:

• the moldy area is large, or materials will have to be opened up or removed;
• the heating and cooling system is involved;
• someone in the home is very sensitive, asthmatic, seriously ill, or a baby;
• the mold may be Stachybotrys on wet drywall, which calls for extra care.

Ask for independent testing afterward so you know the job worked.

Evidence: Well supported (EPA recommends professional help for large areas and for contaminated heating and cooling systems).

This page is for education only. It is not medical, legal or engineering advice. The inspector whose work this builds on was an environmental consultant, not a physician. Talk with your doctor about health concerns, and use licensed professionals for electrical work and large mold jobs. Products, prices and labs mentioned reflect the years they were recorded and may have changed.

Source: the field work of environmental inspector May Dooley, MS, MA, CMC

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