[Greenbuilding] [BULK] Re: Mold questions

[Lawrence Lile]

> Also, many people don't necessarily see mold as a serious problem.

>Mold is vastly overrated as a health problem. It is true that some
people have reactions to it, but most typically constructed houses these
days will have a lower concentration of mold spores inside them than
outside them, except if there is snow on the ground outside. In the
redwoods, there is lots of outdoor mold as fungus is continually
digesting all the cellulose in the mulch layer. Climate may be a bigger
factor than housing in some cases.
Find a contractor who is familiar with these issues, there are probably
lots around there. A well-detailed set of plans can help also. You might
look for contractors who build Energy Star houses, they will tend to be
better educated on some of these details.


I've got a basement full of the stuff.  Some idiot before me decided to
try to finish off a leaky, unsealed, and uninsulated concrete basement.
They furred out sheetrock, no insulation, and the mold grew on the
hidden side of all that sheetrock.  I'm going to hire someone with tyvek
coveralls and dust masks to tear it all out before I try to sell it, but
it hasn't been making me sick that I can tell for the last ten years.  I
have asthma and am sensitive to some kinds of mold and dust, but this
stuff seems to have no effect on me.  The house across the street is for
sale at a fire sale price, because of the same problem.  

Mold is a big, big problem for sellers of houses.  Buyers act like it is
radioactive asbestos.  I don't believe it represents an actual health
problem for a big portion of the population.  

--Lawrence Lile