Boulder City Magazine is a monthly publication full of information about Boulder City and Southern Nevada. Boulder City Magazine features the Boulder City Home Guide, a real estate guide to Boulder City and Southern Nevada.

Home Care
by Scott Sauer
Advanced Structural Inspections

Mold Clean Up
Although we have discussed mold the last couple of months, we haven’t covered what to do if you have a mold issue to deal with. There are many recognized guidelines and they vary widely from one to another. When trying to determine if you need professional help, the EPA uses a 10 square foot rule.

However, other guidelines may be as little as 1 sq. ft. or up to as much as 30 sq. ft. So, ultimately you will have to decide for yourself based on your best judgment and educating yourself on the issue.

You should take a few things into consideration before you decide to clean mold on your own. First of all, are there any people in the home who may be affected by the release of these allergens? Second, what is the size and concentration of contamination? As stated before, 10 sq. ft. is a general rule, but if you have people in the home who have allergy complaints, asthma or a compromised immune system, you may want to get help with affected areas smaller than 10 sq. ft. Then again, you may consider cleaning an area larger than 10 sq. ft. if no one in the home has any allergic symptoms and the contaminants are lightly spread over an area larger than 10 sq. ft.

When attempting any type of clean-up, you should use personal protective equipment which should include a respirator, safety glasses and gloves. An N95 respirator can be purchased at the local hardware store. Care should be taken not to breathe or touch any contaminants. Porous materials such as drywall, plywood, carpet, etc. generally should not be cleaned, but removed instead, as the growth will penetrate the surfaces where cleaning products will be unable to remove them. Use a solution of water and dish detergent to clean moldy areas, gently wiping off the mold. The use of bleach is generally not accepted any longer. If you decide to use a disinfectant such as Lysol, you should read the directions and follow them closely. Disinfectants may not be recommended for porous materials and they may need to be mixed with water. If you do not correctly mix these solutions then it may limit the effectiveness of the cleaning and more disinfectant is not necessarily better.

So, take the information we have given you the last few months and further educate yourself on the mold issue. The fact is that all molds can have an adverse effect on those individuals who happen to have an allergic response. It is believed that molds are a leading contributor to the significant rise in the number of asthma cases. Mold can also cost you greatly as a disclosure in a real estate transaction. So be observant and deal with any known moisture issues immediately. The longer you wait, the greater the problem.

For more information on mold you can contact the EPA online at www.epa.gov/mold or contact the EPA’s Indoor Air Quality Information Clearinghouse at (800) 438-4318.

For more on mold,
contact Scott at www.scottsauer.com.




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