Alert! Congress to target "TOXIC MOLD!"
Raymond D. Mereniuk
Raymond at fbntech.com
Sun Sep 30 02:10:54 PDT 2001
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 at fbntech.com
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