Mold Action Guide after Flooding: When is a Mold Cleanup Job Complete? InspectAPedia® -
How to determine if a mold cleanup project has been completed properly
When & how to perform mold clearance inspections & tests
When can mold containment barriers be removed?
Who should conduct mold clearance testing: conflicts of interest
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This chapter explains when you can (and probably should) stop looking for or testing for mold in a building after a mold cleanup has been attempted. We explain how you can
be confident that the mold cleanup steps taken have been completely and properly performed. We explain when to
order a post mold remediation clearance inspection and test, describe what should be done, and review other
indicators that help you decide that a mold cleanup project has been completed after a building flood. Our photograph above shows the entry floor of a home at the completion of demolition, cleaning, disinfection, and treatment with a biocide sealant after the building was flooded.
If your building has been flooded, this website provides an easy to understand guide for flood damage assessment, setting
priorities of action, safety, and we provide special information about
avoiding or minimizing mold damage. These are quick, simple steps to minimize mold damage in a flooded building.
We also list after-flood "anti-mold" procedures that do not work or are unsafe - to help you avoid unnecessary expense in dealing with mold
after a building flood.
If your building is already moldy or if you suspect mold related illness in your building, we link to a step by step Mold Action Guide dealing with toxic or allergenic indoor mold and other indoor contaminants:
when and how to inspect or test for mold, when to hire an expert, how to clean up a moldy area, when and how to perform post-remediation mold testing.
If your septic system has been flooded we link to an article outlining what to do about that system as well. Extensive, technically detailed in-depth articles on other mold detection, testing, and prevention methods are organized at our Mold Information Center.
WHEN TO STOP LOOKING FOR MOLD After Cleaning and Repairing a Flooded Building
Mold Clearance Inspections: if significant costs were involved in demolition and cleaning to remove large areas of moldy materials
(more than 30 sq.ft. of contiguous moldy stuff) from a building,
before making final payment to the cleaning contractor, you should hire an independent expert to inspect and test (not just "test") the building
for mold.
The post mold remediation clearance inspector should examine the cleaned surfaces and will explore the un-treated areas to see if the demolition and cleaning were
extensive enough.
Screening tests for incomplete mold cleaning, remaining mold contamination, or cross-contamination of areas outside the work area may be performed to check for mold in building areas which were not included in the area of work, to be sure
that they were not accidentally contaminated during the cleanup. Be sure that the post mold-remediation clearance inspection includes a
thorough visual inspection. Simple screening tests for the presence or absence of mold are not reliable.
Conflicts of interest:Be sure that your mold inspector
has no financial relationship with and is completely independent from the cleaning contractor. This step should be taken after
all demolition and cleaning have been performed and before any reconstruction has occurred. Otherwise it will be impossible to
check the building cavities that were supposed to have been cleaned.
Clearance Inspections are discussed in more detail in a separate document at Clearance Procedures
There should be no visible mold in the building.
All demolition and cleaning should have been completed before the mold clearance inspection is begun.
No moldy building contents should have been left in or stored in the building, and nothing that was removed from the building should
have been returned unless it has been cleaned.
There should be no wet areas in the building, including no hidden wet areas in building cavities or behind floor baseboard or trim.
The building should not smell moldy.
Occupants returning to the building should not have an allergic or respiratory-distress or respiratory illness response that appears
related to being inside the building. If this occurs, consult your doctor. People exposed to mold, allergens, and stress can become
hyper sensitized to mold and other respiratory irritants.
Mold work area containment systems such as plastic barriers should be left in place until after a successful mold clearance inspection, including the lab work.
Taking down mold containment barriers before the building has been cleared is a sign of a contractor in a rush. The risk is that if the cleanup was not adequate, you've now risked cross contamination of other building areas and contents - thus increasing the ultimate amount of mold cleanup work and cost.
When a remediator removes their containment system before the mold clearance inspection we think that the contractor was in a rush, may have worried that we'd consider their containment practices unprofessional or inadequate, or the contractor may just be over-confident in their work.
Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest corrections or additions to articles at this website, and if you wish, to receive online listing and credit as a contributor. Particular thanks are due to the many experts and also consumers who read and critique technical articles at InspectAPedia.com.
Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.
Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.
Mark Cramer Inspection Services Mark Cramer, Tampa Florida, Mr. Cramer is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors and is a Florida home inspector and home inspection educator. (727) 595-4211 mark@BestTampaInspector.com 11/06
Hankey and Brown home inspectors, Eden Prairie, MN, technical review by Roger Hankey, prior chairman, Standards Committee, American Society of Home Inspectors - ASHI. 952 829-0044 - hankeyandbrown.com 11/06
Arlene Puentes, a licensed home inspector, educator, and building failures researcher in Kingston, NY. 11/29/06
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
Kansas State University, department of plant pathology, extension plant pathology web page on wheat rust fungus: see http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/path-ext/factSheets/Wheat/Wheat%20Leaf%20Rust.asp
"A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home",
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency US EPA - includes basic advice for building owners, occupants, and mold cleanup operations. See http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldguide.htm
Allergen Tests in buildings advice about how to test, what to look for, in evaluating the level of dog, cat, or other animal allergens in a building
"IgG Food Allergy Testing by ELISA/EIA, What do they really tell us?" Sheryl B. Miller, MT (ASCP), PhD, Clinical Laboratory Director, Bastyr University Natural Health Clinic - ELISA testing accuracy: Here is an example of Miller's critique of ELISA
http://www.betterhealthusa.com/public/282.cfm - Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients
The critique included in that article raises compelling questions about IgG testing assays, which prompts our interest in actually screening for the presence of high levels of particles that could carry allergens - dog dander or cat dander in the case at hand.
http://www.tldp.com/issue/174/IgG%20Food%20Allergy.html contains similar criticism in another venue but interestingly by the same author, Sheryl Miller. Sheryl Miller, MT (ASCP), PhD, is an Immunologist and Associate Professor of Basic and Medical Sciences at Bastyr University in Bothell, Washington. She is also the Laboratory Director of the Bastyr Natural Health Clinic Laboratory.
Allergens: Testing for the level of exposure to animal allergens is discussed at http://www.animalhealthchannel.com/animalallergy/diagnosis.shtml (lab animal exposure study is interesting because it involves a higher exposure level in some cases
Allergens: WebMD discusses allergy tests for humans at webmd.com/allergies/allergy-tests
Animal Allergens: Dog, Cat, and Other Animal Dander - Cleanup & Prevention Information for Asthmatics and regarding Indoor Air Quality.
Recognizing Allergens: What various indoor allergens look like - identification photos to help identify pollen, dust mites, animal dander, toxic or allergenic mold - Common Mold and other Allergens, Irritants, Remedies & Advice
Rodent control issues, including dander, fecal, and urine contamination of buildings and Building insulation are discussed at our
Associations: Sick House, Sick Building, SBS - Air Quality, Government, Private Associations and Information Resources
Atlas of Clinical Fungi, 2nd Ed., GS deHoog, J Guarro, J Gene, & MJ Figueras, Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, Universitat Rovira I Virgili, 2000, ISBN 90-70351-43-9 (you can buy this book at Amazon)
Atlas of Indoor Mold, Online Clinical Mold Atlas, Toxins, Pathogens, Allergens and Other Indoor Particles - Medical Health Effects of Mold (separate online document)
Black Mold that is Harmless Photos of recognizable, usually harmless black mold on wood, bluestain, ceratocystis, ophistoma
Building Floods: quick steps after a building flood or plumbing leak can prevent costly mold contamination
Classes of Mold: what types of cosmetic, allergenic, or toxic mold are a problem? Can mold be cleaned-up successfully?
"A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home", U.S. Environmental Protection Agency US EPA - includes basic advice for building owners, occupants, and mold cleanup operations. See http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldguide.htm
"Disease Prevention Program for Certain Vegetable Crops," David B. Langston, Jr., Extension Plant Pathologist - Vegetables, University of Georgia (PDF document) original source: www.reeis.usda.gov/web/crisprojectpages/209797.html
"Disease Prevention in Home Vegetable Gardens,"
Patricia Donald,
Department of Plant Microbiology and Pathology,
Lewis Jett
Department of Horticulture, University of Missouri Extension - extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G6202
Fifth Kingdom, Bryce Kendrick, ISBN13: 9781585100224, is available from the InspectAPedia online bookstore - we recommend the CD-ROM version of this book. This 3rd/edition is a compact but comprehensive encyclopedia of all things mycological. Every aspect of the fungi, from aflatoxin to zppspores, with an accessible blend of verve and wit. The 24 chapters are filled with up-to-date information of classification, yeast, lichens, spore dispersal, allergies, ecology, genetics, plant pathology, predatory fungi, biological control, mutualistic symbioses with animals and plants, fungi as food, food spoilage and mycotoxins.
OTHER IAQ ISSUES: How To Find and Address Other Indoor Air or Indoor Environment Contaminants Besides Mold
Mold or allergens may not be the only or even the main indoor environmental contaminant. Don't let media attention to mold
cause so much enviro-scare fear that other, possibly more urgent hazards go un-addressed.
Ozone Warnings - Use of Ozone as a "mold"
remedy is ineffective and may be dangerous.
Pet control - if you can't say goodbye to your bird, cat, dog, guinea pig, hamster, tropical fish, then limit the
areas they occupy and limit the airflow from that area to sleeping or other areas of the building, use allergenic
bedding, eliminate wall-to-wall carpeting, improve housecleaning including use of a HEPA-rated vacuum cleaner. For more details
see our article Dog, Cat, and Other Animal Dander - Information for Asthmatics and Indoor Air Quality
Rodents, Mice, Squirrel Control - I find high levels of mouse and rodent dander, fecal dust, and urine-contaminated dust in some buildings,
and high levels of these materials in building insulation in those locations. If you have a mouse problem, particularly if mice and their waste (fecals or urine) are contaminating
the building HVAC or building insulation, may need both steps to clean up or remove infected materials and steps to stop an ongoing
rodent problem. If squirrels are a problem, the cleanup needs to include closing off entry openings into the building. Get some
help from a licensed pest control expert.
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