Mold! What is it good for???
It's all in the day of a REALTOR...mold, radon, lead based paint. A small wonder that we are still alive to tell the tale.
The one thing that scares the be-geebers out of folks is mold! Read below for the real story about mold and it's effect on people.
Charles Buell says it all in a way that is understandable.
Finally, some serious relief from the glut of disinformation, wrong information, and just plain hype about mold----however well intentioned it might have been.
In 2004 the Institute of Medicine's mold study group concluded that there was "insufficient" evidence to find a causal association between the presence of mold and ANY of the claimed adverse health effects. Now---hot off the presses----comes the July 2009 position paper of the World Heath Organization on indoor molds and indoor air quality. What comes out of this position paper is that the association between "damp" living spaces and "some" slight increase in adverse health effects, has less to do with mold and more to do with a wide variety of factors associated with "damp places." The entire backdrop of the damp environment has to take into account a host of other factors that are just as likely to be a part of any damp environment. Here is a partial list of co-conspirators of, "THE DAMP"----dust mites, bacteria, termites, protozoans, endotoxins, volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, pesticides, viral survival, and poor ventilation.
With this latest information it becomes not an issue of "mold remediation" but instead an issue of "correcting the damp."
Don't you just hate it when things just turn out to be logical and common sense after all?
As agents,
As brokers,
As inspectors,
As mortgage brokers,
As appraisers,
As stagers
As real estate attorneys----
----we all have to, almost daily, deal with the hysteria that has “grown” around mold. (In fact it is a kind of fungus all its own.) This information should counter some of the hype, and I suspect the only ones that will be disappointed are those geared up to make money off of the hysteria.
Please don't take my word for it though.You can read the well documented story here at:
Health Effects of Moulds (Molds): State of Knowledge
Charles Buell
Seattle Home Inspectors, ASHI Home Inspector, Structural Pest Inspector, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA
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Lizette, I just saw you posted something so I was pleasantly surprised to see you had reblogged this----I really hope this information gets all over the place----this is good news for all of us in this business.
Charles I love all the posts you do on home inspection! I want everyone on my newsletter mailing list to read this one. Thanks for having it available for reblog.
Very interesting. I'll be interested to see what the remediation companies say in response.
You are welcome Lizette---glad to help.
Erik, I think there will always be a need for fixing THE DAMP----the focus on testing is what will likely go away.
Lizette,
Charlie has a good post here. Some people want to keep the world in a fever pitch over mold or suspected mold. It is primarily a money-maker for certain parties with special interests.