On 28 Sep 2001, at 19:51, Eric Cordian wrote:
In any case, I think claims of "Attack of the Killer Mold" are vastly overblown.
In the past, long ago, humans lived in caves and holes in the ground, at least in some places. Mole and bacteria were pretty common and humans survived. If you are born into an environment where "mold" and "spores" are common you build-up a resistance early in life. In recent years the American consumer has been assaulted with vendors selling anti-bacterial and anti-mold solutions which promise a healthy environment. I question the soundness of attempting to sanitize our environment to the point where there is limited exposure to bacteria and molds. I notice a lot more kids with allergies and environmental sensitivities than I remember as a youth and if I manage to visit the home of these kids I notice the home is usually very clean. The point here is providing an ultra clean environment for young children may not be the best way to prepare them for a life in a world with various life forms, read mold and bacteria, attempting to use you as a host.
Most people with mold-related health problems live in damp slums with clumps of it growing on their walls.
Not entirely true. I live on the west coast of Canada in what is basically a temperate rain forest 6 to 8 months of the year. Most modern paints have anti-fungal ingredients, or they are just poison to begin with, and generally resist mold for a number of years. When the paint gets old and there is humidity there will be mold. With new paint and lots of humidity there will be mold in no time. A few years ago the Canadian federal gov't tightened building regulations to require new construction to have a double envelope. Basically the walls are sealed on the outside and sealed on the inside. Great idea for most of Canada which is cold and dry but questionable in a temperate rain forest. Now add to this municipal gov'ts who in an attempt to maximize property taxes and development charges decide to tax on the square footage covered by the eves rather than the interior square footage and the problem grows. Developers build with no eves and the building walls, outside envelope, are subject to the full force of the weather, which is mainly liquid. The authorities responsible for building inspections fall down badly and only go through the motions. Since it is warm enough to work year round, even though it rains 6 to 8 months a year, the builders work year round. They frame the walls in the rain and even though they put a roof on the structure they will seal the wet wood framing on both sides. The end result are buildings with significant moisture leakage and mold. The problem is not so bad with single family dwellings as the eves tend to keep the weather off the walls, or so it is commonly thought. Multi-family dwellings are hit big time. They call it the Leaky Condo Crisis and virtually every multi-family building constructed in the last 5 to 8 years has the problem. It is very common to find the inside structure of walls black with mold. I can see the discoloured wood as I pass by. These are not low-end dwellings. Occupants of these Leaky Condos are complaining of mold related health issues. They are finding many condos in Seattle are suffering from similar problems. Older low-end construction doesn't tend to have a problem as there is no sealed envelope, never mind double sealed envelope, and the walls tend to breath and any moisture dries out in the summer. Virtually Raymond D. Mereniuk Raymond@fbntech.com FBN - Offering PUP - Unbreakable Encryption Techology http://www.fbntech.com/pup.html