New House Mold
Because of construct mistakes
and defects, many new houses have been completed with massive mold
infestation already growing inside house walls and ceilings even before
the new home buyer moves into the newly-constructed home. Below are some
questions and answers about new house mold problems.
[Oct.
11, 2002]
Q. I am in the
process of having a new home built by a new home contractor. It is a
panelized home so the walls and the roof trusses were brought in and
assembled on day 1. However the roof sheathing and shingles were not
immediately completed. The house has been assembled for about 14 days
(still just roof sheathing no shingles). We have had extensive rain over
the past 2 weeks and the builder never protected the house by using tarps,
etc. The fiberglass insulation is still in the house and is very wet. The
builder has proposed that they remove & discard the insulation and let
the house sit open for 7 days to allow the wood to dry out to prevent mold
& do a visible inspection for mold at that point. One website has
proposed discarding the insulation and spraying the house with a 50/50
solution of bleach and water. Let it sit for 1 day and then rinsing the
house out and putting industrial fans inside the house to dry it out. I am
concerned about invisible mold spores that could start growing later.
Should I allow the builder to proceed as they have suggested (remove
insulation and let wood dry for 1 week?) and then inspect for mold . Is
the other method (bleach) effective? Please let me know your thoughts.
A.
You have very good reason to be alarmed at the possibility of mold growth
in your newly-built home. Mold begins growing only after 24 hours of
wetness. Toxic mold growth can start after just 48 hours of wetness.
Forget the use of ineffective chlorine bleach. Instead, supervise the
builder to make sure that all of the construction timbers and plywood has
been sprayed at least twice with a heavy coating of Timbor Wood Preservative. You
are correct that all insulation plus all drywall that got wet needs to be
thrown away, and then replaced after final clearance testing finds no mold
infestation in your possibly moldy home. All wood with mold growth needs
to be cleaned completely of mold through toxic mold remediation by the use
of a power planer, belt sander, and scraping, or replaced with new,
mold-free lumber. After all remediation procedures are completed, have the
home checked with a toxic mold inspection and completely toxic mold tested
by a Certified Mold Inspector. To fine
a toxic mold inspector in your areas, please click on:
Certified Mold Inspectors
or you can do your own mold inspection, testing, and remediation through
following the effective mold removal and mold testing steps provided in our
new Mold Health Guide. |
