Snapshot
A homeowner grew concerned over what she thought was mold growth in the bathroom vanity. While it was determined that what she observed was not mold, air sampling revealed a much larger issue. The top two floors of the home tested at nearly 4 million total counts and there were no visible signs of mold. The cause was later identified, and the home was treated accordingly using only Healthy Homes products. The initial one-day cleaning and treatment saw a 99.9% reduction in total mold counts with Aspergillus and Penicillium accounting for nearly all of the total composition.
Intro
Ron Sager, owner of Sager Healthy Homes, was contacted by a homeowner over potential mold in her home. She had not been feeling well and after seeing what looked like mold near a minor leak in her bathroom vanity, she tried connecting the dots between her symptoms and potential mold exposure. It was determined that the vanity did not have mold growth, but it was recommended that the home still be tested to rule out any potential negative health effects.
The home is a 3-story structure with a full basement. It was noted that it was well maintained and immaculately clean. These observations made the test results especially surprising given that total mold counts in the primary bedroom were nearing 4 million. Additionally, the first floor of the home tested 99.7% lower than the bedroom on a higher level.
Problem
Test results showed that the basement and first floor were about half of what the exterior control was for total mold counts. The second and third floor showed extremely high levels for a structure in this condition. With no obvious visual signs of mold growth, the results were initially unexpected. After thoroughly inspecting the home, Ron Sager noted that there were two air handlers supplying the home. One for the basement and first floor, the other for the second and third floor. He discovered that the second unit had developed a leak which kept the emergency catch pan below it full of water. This was the equivalent to a petri dish of molds and bacteria being sucked into the HVAC system. The standing water was determined to be the mold source mold that was distributed throughout the upper two floors via the air handler.
Approach
The first step was to eliminate the mold source. The emergency catch pan was drained and thoroughly cleaned with BIO-Clean while a local HVAC company repaired the leak. HEPA air scrubbers were placed on the second and third floors to capture airborne contaminants and create a negative pressure air space. Walls and other hard surfaces were cleaned with BIO-Clean while carpets and upholstered furniture were HEPA vacuumed. Finally, the second and third floors as well as the HVAC system were fully fogged with DE-Mold to kill any airborne mold, bacteria and other pollutants.
Results
Post testing was performed by Sherwood Inspection Services 13 days after the initial testing was conducted. In the second round of testing, the exterior control increased 44% to 28,211 total counts. Since the HVAC system was the delivery mechanism of mold throughout the second and third floors, this was tested to ensure it was no longer contaminated. The HVAC system had a total mold count of only 307 post cleaning. The primary bedroom exhibited a 99.9% reduction in total mold counts from 3,916,032 to 3,840.
These results were achieved over the course of one day with two technicians. The application of simple but effective protocols in conjunction with Healthy Homes Inc biological based products led to an efficient, cost-effective and highly successful outcome.
