[Greenbuilding] Water Damage and Mold Abatement

[Jefro]

Yes, I remember your research---I should have been more specific that 
the oil should be applied only to the wood.  So far as I know, it is 
non-toxic to breathe, but of course that may change as well.  Wearing 
personal protective apparatus such as gloves and mask should be standard 
with applying any fungicide, including bleach or tea tree oil.

Kat wrote:
> I realize that this has been mentioned before, but it bears 
> repeating:  Tea tree oil is an estrogen mimic and might cause 
> hormonal-type effects on humans.
>
> from http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/356/5/479
>
> Most cases of male prepubertal gynecomastia are classified as 
> idiopathic. We investigated possible causes of gynecomastia in three 
> prepubertal boys who were otherwise healthy and had normal serum 
> concentrations of endogenous steroids. In all three boys, gynecomastia 
> coincided with the topical application of products that contained 
> lavender and tea tree oils. Gynecomastia resolved in each patient 
> shortly after the use of products containing these oils was 
> discontinued. Furthermore, studies in human cell lines indicated that 
> the two oils had estrogenic and antiandrogenic activities. We conclude 
> that repeated topical exposure to lavender and tea tree oils probably 
> caused prepubertal gynecomastia in these boys.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------
>
> On 4/5/2007 1:32:51 PM, Jefro (jefro at jefro.net) wrote:
>
> > An option I have used is to bleach the mold thoroughly, then treat with
> > either tea tree oil or tung oil (or both). Tea tree oil is quite toxic
> > to mold and non-toxic to people
>