mold

July 28, 2003

Caroline,

I am so sorry to hear about your terrible misfortune. We live about

30 minutes away from you and we saw all of the flooding that took

place there, but we were lucky not to have quite as much rain.

Thanks for your post about mold...I have a mold allergy and have

always been so concious about the possibilities of mold.

Another one to consider that we are going through right now is a

properly sized air conditioning system. We have a brand new system

but it is not the right size for our home, and does not remove

moisture from the air! So as well, if you have any A/C issues, be

sure to get them looked at by at least 1 professional.

> I just wanted to throw this in in case any of you were hit by the

floods in

> the midwest this past month. We were, and in discussing our

problem with

> Dr. Goldberg, he was very clear that he wanted us to be aggressive

about

> doing what we can to prevent mold from setting in. He said it is

really

> important to keep mold under control for kids.

>

> I also wanted to say that we learned something... you can have a

major flood

> even if you don't live in a flood plain. We live in a neighborhood

where

> most of the houses are about 70 years old and have NEVER had

anything like

> this happen before. The rain just came down so hard and fast (I

hear we set

> some records) that the storm sewers could not take it all and they

backed up

> into the houses. Some of our neighbors had water up to the ceiling

of their

> basements.

>

> So... please make sure you have flood insurance, and make sure that

it

> covers storm sewers backing up. You need to be able to afford to

clean it

> up if it ever happens!

>

> Caroline

July 28, 2003

,

Thanks... that is an excellent point. We'll have to remember that when we

buy a new home, which we need to do soon (we have outgrown our house).

Another thing we realized was that we need to have a dehumidifier on each

side of our basement (it's two separate rooms) and that we need to have the

ductwork vented into the basement so that it pulls the air out of there to

circulate.

Caroline

P.S.

One of these days I would love to have a lunch at some central location

and meet everyone... if anyone is interested who could get to Indianapolis

or somewhere nearby, let me know.

> On 7/28/03 7:47 AM, " meljackmom " <meljackmom@...> wrote:

> Caroline,

>

> I am so sorry to hear about your terrible misfortune. We live about

> 30 minutes away from you and we saw all of the flooding that took

> place there, but we were lucky not to have quite as much rain.

>

> Thanks for your post about mold...I have a mold allergy and have

> always been so concious about the possibilities of mold.

>

> Another one to consider that we are going through right now is a

> properly sized air conditioning system. We have a brand new system

> but it is not the right size for our home, and does not remove

> moisture from the air! So as well, if you have any A/C issues, be

> sure to get them looked at by at least 1 professional.

>

July 29, 2003

Caroline....

Yes about the dehumidifiers!!

And if you build a new house, it is possible to install a

dehumidifier big enough to take care of the entire basement and

connected to a drain so it does not have to be emptied manually.

Clean air is a biggy for me and we have been talking to many

heating/cooling professionals this week, so before you build you may

want to talk with some of them to get their perspective (I know just

one more thing to do!)

And yes we definitely should do that (get together)....great

idea....I will post it and maybe it can happen before school starts!

>

> > Caroline,

> >

> > I am so sorry to hear about your terrible misfortune. We live

about

> > 30 minutes away from you and we saw all of the flooding that took

> > place there, but we were lucky not to have quite as much rain.

> >

> > Thanks for your post about mold...I have a mold allergy and have

> > always been so concious about the possibilities of mold.

> >

> > Another one to consider that we are going through right now is a

> > properly sized air conditioning system. We have a brand new

system

> > but it is not the right size for our home, and does not remove

> > moisture from the air! So as well, if you have any A/C issues, be

> > sure to get them looked at by at least 1 professional.

> >

July 29, 2003

We built a house five years ago and used " the Healthy House " book as a guideline

to avoid all the big chemical/environmental triggers.

Re: Mold

Caroline....

Yes about the dehumidifiers!!

And if you build a new house, it is possible to install a

dehumidifier big enough to take care of the entire basement and

connected to a drain so it does not have to be emptied manually.

Clean air is a biggy for me and we have been talking to many

heating/cooling professionals this week, so before you build you may

want to talk with some of them to get their perspective (I know just

one more thing to do!)

And yes we definitely should do that (get together)....great

idea....I will post it and maybe it can happen before school starts!

> ,

>

> Thanks... that is an excellent point. We'll have to remember that

when we

> buy a new home, which we need to do soon (we have outgrown our

house).

> Another thing we realized was that we need to have a dehumidifier

on each

> side of our basement (it's two separate rooms) and that we need to

have the

> ductwork vented into the basement so that it pulls the air out of

there to

> circulate.

>

> Caroline

//message thread truncated//

______________________________

``````````````````````````````

Responsibility for the content of this message lies strictly with

the original author, and is not necessarily endorsed by or the

opinion of the Research Institute.

August 12, 2003

FYI I've had great luck putting some white vinegar in

the pan of the dehumidifier in attacking the musty

odor--good luck!

--- meljackmom <meljackmom@...> wrote:

> Caroline....

>

> Yes about the dehumidifiers!!

>

> And if you build a new house, it is possible to

> install a

> dehumidifier big enough to take care of the entire

> basement and

> connected to a drain so it does not have to be

> emptied manually.

> Clean air is a biggy for me and we have been talking

> to many

> heating/cooling professionals this week, so before

> you build you may

> want to talk with some of them to get their

> perspective (I know just

> one more thing to do!)

>

> And yes we definitely should do that (get

> together)....great

> idea....I will post it and maybe it can happen

> before school starts!

>

> > ,

> >

> > Thanks... that is an excellent point. We'll have

> to remember that

> when we

> > buy a new home, which we need to do soon (we have

> outgrown our

> house).

> > Another thing we realized was that we need to have

> a dehumidifier

> on each

> > side of our basement (it's two separate rooms) and

> that we need to

> have the

> > ductwork vented into the basement so that it pulls

> the air out of

> there to

> > circulate.

> >

> > Caroline

//message thread truncated//

______________________________

``````````````````````````````

Responsibility for the content of this message lies strictly with

the original author, and is not necessarily endorsed by or the

opinion of the Research Institute.

```````````````````````````````````````

July 30, 2004

Can somebody contact this family with any type of help?

Ken Moulton

July 30, 2004

Can somebody contact this family with any type of help?

Ken Moulton

June 12, 2005

Floridabound,

This forum deals with any health issue related to living or working in

a " moldy " or environmentally contaminated building. (Caused by high

humidity, water intrusion, HVAC system, etc.)

I'm curious, what mold/fungi that you are referring to as far as not

being toxic? How was this determined, self-testing, lab., etc?

KC

> I just found this group and would like to know if you only deal with

> Toxic Mold, or if you deal with health problems associated with

living

> in an apartment building that is infested with mold that is not

toxic.

June 12, 2005

tigerpaw2C

Thanks for answering my question about this group.

After moving into this building in June 2001, I

started getting sick, but had no idea what was wrong.

There was a musty odor in the hallway, I saw mold on

the walls in the basement, and " brown - rust-like dirt

kept getting all over my furniture and clothing. I

contacted a lab and they sent me culterettes to take

samples to have tested. The results showed Ulocladium;

Cladosporium; Aureobasidium; Penicillium; Fusarium;

Yeast; Basidiomycetes; and Epicoccum nigrum, are

present.

I have gotten so bad, that I have to use a nebulizer 3

or 4 times a day, and still have a difficult time

breathing, plus a lot of other health problems that I

didn't have before.

Barb E.

--- tigerpaw2c <tigerpaw2C@...> wrote:

> Floridabound,

>

> This forum deals with any health issue related to

> living or working in

> a " moldy " or environmentally contaminated building.

> (Caused by high

> humidity, water intrusion, HVAC system, etc.)

>

> I'm curious, what mold/fungi that you are referring

> to as far as not

> being toxic? How was this determined, self-testing,

> lab., etc?

>

> KC

>

> > I just found this group and would like to know if

> you only deal with

> > Toxic Mold, or if you deal with health problems

> associated with

> living

> > in an apartment building that is infested with

> mold that is not

> toxic.

>

__________________________________________________

June 12, 2005

> I have gotten so bad, that I have to use a nebulizer 3

> or 4 times a day, and still have a difficult time

> breathing, plus a lot of other health problems that I

> didn't have before.

> Barb E.

>

Barb, I'm so sorry. Is there any possibility that you can move to a safer

home?

We just finish my mold remediation from the tornado/roof damage plus the

slow leak we had coming from the roof but didn't know until we were blessed

with the tornado and water was gushing from the hall ceiling. Having MCS

along with my mold reaction necessitated working very close with the

contractors and telling them what building products I can use and which I

cannot. That was interesting for them. The workers were amazed once we got

to sealers and paint how non-toxic they are and they could actually apply

them without respirators or breathing problems. The contractor worked with

me; the hall was totally sealed off during remediation from rest of house

with only entrance the front door. I had no reaction to anything during

this work.

What I've noticed in the few days following this work is that I'm feeling

better physically than I have for quite some time. Even though I couldn't

see the mold I was reactive to it.

In all seriousness, the tornado was a blessing because we did not notice the

slow water leak from the roof, mold was growing above the hall ceiling 2

stories high on the interior wood and drywall. Had the ceiling not leaked

water, it might have been years before the leak was detected (brown water

spots on the ceiling) while the mold continued to grow and contaminated our

home. We are so careful to check weekly all our plumbing connections, caulk

in bathrooms and kitchen and do a major inspection monthly for any

water/mold damage. Having to pay for all this out-of-pocket hurt; yet

imperative we had the work done as quickly as possible. I'm telling all they

need to inspect their homes, stop all leaks and make appropriate repairs to

prevent health and financial damages in the future.

Rosie

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June 13, 2005

Rose

I see there is another Barb in group so I will have to sign Barb B

now. Anyway, Rose, are you referring to a non-toxic sealant that

could be used over bare wood? I need to use a sealant over wood

beams I have exposed now on an screened-in porch. It has floor to

ceiling louvered windows but they aren't meants to keep weather out

completely, just rain, so humidity out there is whatever it is

outside. I took floor down to concrete which I may paint. There is

brick supported corners of room and bare wood beams now is rest of

construction, was a dry wall type of material - no insulation.

Barb B (not E)

The workers were amazed once we got

> to sealers and paint how non-toxic they are and they could

actually apply

> them without respirators or breathing problems. The contractor

worked with

> me; the hall was totally sealed off during remediation from rest

of house

> with only entrance the front door. I had no reaction to anything

during

> this work.

June 13, 2005

Rose,

Regarding brown water marks on ceiling. I have those on ceiling in

master bedroom here from a roof leak. I had a professional air

quality person in for basement and that room and he thought I

shouldn't worry about it. He said since house was plaster not

usually a problem, to plug up leak, and paint over it would probably

be enough. Problem is room smells too. I was surprised. Some air

quality people aren't too concerned either. Tests run showed mold

but not too high a count. However I made mistake of running tests

in the dead of winter and humidity in house was about 25% since I

didn't humidify this past winter. Now that summer is here, room

really stinks so I'm back to point zero. I just have to ignore

tests really and work on room, attic above and chimney area until it

smells fresh or at least doesn't stink. It must mean something is

wrong. All it has is brown water spots and people doing estimates

on work needed in house, just say to paint over those. What

surprised me is air person did too basically - after making sure

leak is fixed properly on outside. Curious.

Barbra B

Had the ceiling not leaked

> water, it might have been years before the leak was detected

(brown water

> spots on the ceiling) while the mold continued to grow and

contaminated our

> home. We are so careful to check weekly all our plumbing

connections, caulk

> in bathrooms and kitchen and do a major inspection monthly for any

> water/mold damage. Having to pay for all this out-of-pocket hurt;

yet

> imperative we had the work done as quickly as possible. I'm

telling all they

> need to inspect their homes, stop all leaks and make appropriate

repairs to

> prevent health and financial damages in the future.

>

> Rosie

June 13, 2005

Hi Barb B--thanks for clarification on which Barb. Yes, I finally found a

non-toxic interior sealer that I do not react to; first bought smallest

container at Home Depot, painted a piece of wood outside myself and was ok.

then told contractors they could purchase whatever amount they need. Prior

to the purchase, had long talk with the company's technical department and

he assured me many with MCS are able to tolerate their products. Talk about

doing a happy dance. Another so called non-toxic sealer is by AFM which I

cannot tolerate; in fact cannot tolerate any of their products and think

they are totally over priced.

See http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=10 Called Bin

Primer/Sealer. In Houston Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Lowe's and many other

hardware store sell their products. You'll notice it is not intended for

exterior use except for spot painting. Do give the company a ring tomorrow

and ask if they have something non-toxic for your needs. Each of their

product contains the MSDS -- material safety data sheets and the company is

more than willing to answer whatever questions you may have. I was delight

to have found it and can now seal some old doors painted over a decade ago

with enamel using my non-toxic no VOC paint....LifeMaster.

Rosie

From: " barb1283 " <barb1283@...>

> Rose

> I see there is another Barb in group so I will have to sign Barb B

> now. Anyway, Rose, are you referring to a non-toxic sealant that

> could be used over bare wood? I need to use a sealant over wood

> beams I have exposed now on an screened-in porch. It has floor to

> ceiling louvered windows but they aren't meants to keep weather out

> completely, just rain, so humidity out there is whatever it is

> outside. I took floor down to concrete which I may paint. There is

> brick supported corners of room and bare wood beams now is rest of

> construction, was a dry wall type of material - no insulation.

> Barb B (not E)

>

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June 13, 2005

Barb, this doesn't surprise me at all. After my home was severely damaged

by the storm 4 years ago had a number of contractors in for estimates. Many

said basically same thing....cover the stain and paint over it; don't worry

it's nothing once you get a new roof and fix any exterior water sources.

They don't know! They are ignorant of long-term contamination and we need

to educate ourselves and/or find educated contractors even though they

generally cost more unfortunately. Then had the extreme where the

contractors insisted our home had to be totally taken apart; only wood 2x4's

left and rebuilt while we spend year or so at another location at our cost.

I didn't fell and know now for certain that wasn't necessary. A year after

the storm---just to give you an example of hyper, greedy contractors, my

reverse-osmosis water maker leaked (it's under the sink cabinets) and the

boards under sink had to be removed and replaced. Called my contractor,

told him problem, he said they have been studying mold remediation and he

recommends that my entire kitchen had to be trashed (appliances, cabinet's,

everything), all sheetrock removed and rebuilt since I had leaking water for

a day. Sigh----I rent my R/O watermaker, called the company, they offered

to come right out and replace with new unit and pay for repairs. Those

where crazy years in Houston with contractors either ignoring/ignorant or

greedy; in fact they still are. My recent small remediation project cost

more than I had thought and will have to watch my pennies for quite some

time to recoup.

Had to literally fight and demand with my contractors to take out sheetrock

that had mold on it in the bathroom and I insisted they remove more

sheetrock than what had visible mold on it and insisted we treat the wood

behind sheetrock. Oh they were furious because it cost them extra time

which they didn't want to give me. I learned quickly never to take their

advise but research on my own and inform them they must do it properly and

here's how. I wasn't well liked by the workers. Homeowner's insurance did

agree to pay for my no-VOC interior wallpaint since I showed the inspector

in my garage several cans of no-VOC paint and they had to replace with same.

Contractor was told to purchase only the specific no-VOC paints, wrote

everything down for them, gave them address and all the specs; they returned

with cheap commercial grade paint and I told them sorry, has to go back.

They went through their explanation that there is no difference, they

already had it tinted and couldn't return, etc. They were furious and

grumbled during the entire time they were here how much I was costing them.

Guess they thought they could buy cheap paint and make a few extra dollars

off the job.

If you have a roof leak you have an attic with building materials in that

attic correct? One or two stories and where is bedroom's ceiling in

relationship to roof? Any wood between roof and bedroom ceiling? Any

insulation up there? What else in between bedroom ceiling and attic. Can

you examine the attic; any mold in the attic? Don't know about your roof,

but down here we have the roof wood 2x4's, insulation, plywood, then roofing

paper and shingles. that's just the roof. Rest of attic is full of wood and

insulation, central A/C and heating equipment, loads of electrical wires,

more 2x4's, more plywood to walk on, more insulation, then wood subfloor,

beneath it drywall. Loads of places for mold to grow.

lol 25% humidity in Houston is perhaps 5 days out of 365. We always run

dehumidifiers in our home; have one upstairs and one downstairs on wheels

which I can move from room to room. It works well, even in Winter when

temps are below 40. It's a Danby 58 Pint Dehumidifier Silhouette. Bought

it via www.Costco.com has lifetime warranty with Costco which is great for

me.

Barb, don't ignore the smell, your nose is telling you something is amiss

and you know mold will just continue to grow. I'm proud of you for taking

the initiative and not ignore this any further. This is what's happening to

so many homes down here; people have a little brown spot, throw some Kilz on

it, paint over it and think it's done when in fact it isn't and in a few

years they will have serious problems like the house next door or that

mansion I saw Saturday.

From: " barb1283 " <barb1283@...>

< >

Sent: Sunday, June 12, 2005 7:50 PM

Subject: [] Re: Mold

> Rose,

> Regarding brown water marks on ceiling. I have those on ceiling in

> master bedroom here from a roof leak. I had a professional air

> quality person in for basement and that room and he thought I

> shouldn't worry about it. He said since house was plaster not

> usually a problem, to plug up leak, and paint over it would probably

> be enough. Problem is room smells too. I was surprised. Some air

> quality people aren't too concerned either. Tests run showed mold

> but not too high a count. However I made mistake of running tests

> in the dead of winter and humidity in house was about 25% since I

> didn't humidify this past winter. Now that summer is here, room

> really stinks so I'm back to point zero. I just have to ignore

> tests really and work on room, attic above and chimney area until it

> smells fresh or at least doesn't stink. It must mean something is

> wrong. All it has is brown water spots and people doing estimates

> on work needed in house, just say to paint over those. What

> surprised me is air person did too basically - after making sure

> leak is fixed properly on outside. Curious.

> Barbra B

>

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June 13, 2005

Barb B.

I have found that too. The landlord of my company’s office hired a company

that specializes in “Safety, Health, Environmental, Consulting and Training”

; however, there is no mention of mold on their website. I hired an

independent certified mold professional (CMP) that I found on the National

Association of Mold Professionals’ website. He was extremely helpful and

knowledgeable. The CMP was also certified in mold remediation, but his

company does not remediate because he feels that is a conflict of interest.

He did it so he could advise people what to expect as far as remediation and

their options.

This “air quality company” just did a follow-up test in my office. Of

course, now the humidity is up outside so the exterior spore count is higher

than interior… but, the count inside is also now higher and this time Stachy

showed up on the air sampling test and this company said there is no

problem!!!!

Kim

[] Re: Mold

<<<<Some air quality people aren't too concerned either. Tests run showed

mold

but not too high a count.>>>>>

June 13, 2005

Rosie

I've been trying to find another place to move to,

since I first realized there was mold in this

building, but to date, have not been able to find

anything. The apt. building where I live, is for

low-income seniors, and there aren't many places in

the area that are willing to accept Section 8, and if

they do accept it, they have a very long waiting list,

so all I can do is keep looking, because even though

the owners of this building know it's loaded with

mold, they don't care and won't do anything to correct

the problem. The Manager will even tell you, if you

don't like it, then move.

Barb

--- Healthier4all <Healthier4All@...>

wrote:

> > I have gotten so bad, that I have to use a

> nebulizer 3

> > or 4 times a day, and still have a difficult time

> > breathing, plus a lot of other health problems

> that I

> > didn't have before.

> > Barb E.

> >

> Barb, I'm so sorry. Is there any possibility that

> you can move to a safer

> home?

>

> We just finish my mold remediation from the

> tornado/roof damage plus the

> slow leak we had coming from the roof but didn't

> know until we were blessed

> with the tornado and water was gushing from the hall

> ceiling. Having MCS

> along with my mold reaction necessitated working

> very close with the

> contractors and telling them what building products

> I can use and which I

> cannot. That was interesting for them. The workers

> were amazed once we got

> to sealers and paint how non-toxic they are and they

> could actually apply

> them without respirators or breathing problems.

> The contractor worked with

> me; the hall was totally sealed off during

> remediation from rest of house

> with only entrance the front door. I had no

> reaction to anything during

> this work.

>

> What I've noticed in the few days following this

> work is that I'm feeling

> better physically than I have for quite some time.

> Even though I couldn't

> see the mold I was reactive to it.

>

> In all seriousness, the tornado was a blessing

> because we did not notice the

> slow water leak from the roof, mold was growing

> above the hall ceiling 2

> stories high on the interior wood and drywall. Had

> the ceiling not leaked

> water, it might have been years before the leak was

> detected (brown water

> spots on the ceiling) while the mold continued to

> grow and contaminated our

> home. We are so careful to check weekly all our

> plumbing connections, caulk

> in bathrooms and kitchen and do a major inspection

> monthly for any

> water/mold damage. Having to pay for all this

> out-of-pocket hurt; yet

> imperative we had the work done as quickly as

> possible. I'm telling all they

> need to inspect their homes, stop all leaks and make

> appropriate repairs to

> prevent health and financial damages in the future.

>

> Rosie

>

> --

> No virus found in this outgoing message.

> Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.

> Version: 7.0.323 / Virus Database: 267.6.9 - Release

> Date: 6/11/2005

>

__________________________________________________

June 14, 2005

Rosie,

Yes, chimney goes through master bedroom and has sprung leaks now

more than once around flashing. I won't be satisfied until I can go

up and look myself but only beams to walk on now so will wait until

I get a plywood walk put up by someone rather than take chance of of

falling - I might land in the bedroom! Once you understand these

things, keeping on top of repairs is the key. I have put off

repairs, sometimes weeks, figuring when repaired, things will dry

out. All of them have been small in size. I didn't realize it can

spread...I mean GROW!!!

You should be able to go to doctor and say my house had flood in it,

I am not feeling well..and that should be enough said, proper tests

done on you. People should be aware dry up even small minor leaks

right away or you may pay for it with your health.

> Barb, this doesn't surprise me at all. After my home was severely

damaged

> by the storm 4 years ago had a number of contractors in for

estimates.

June 14, 2005

Hi Kim,

Yes. Now I have learned. I don't think it is good idea to do

professional tests for mold in the winter if humidity is very low,

you get false sense of security. I'm not going to pay to rerun them

but use the mold plates but I wouldn't recommend spending money of

mold testing in low humidity conditions if the low humidity is

temporary. Now I can't get my house humidity down that low - it was

only 25%-30% humidity at time of testing. I didn't humidify all

winter. I thought I did a wonderful job of cleaning the house.

However now things don't smell so 'fresh' here so now would have

been better time to test air. Perhaps one should deliberately let

humidity in house go above 50% for week or so before testing.

Thanks for web address of mold professionals.

> Barb B.

>>

> This " air quality company " just did a follow-up test in my

office. Of

> course, now the humidity is up outside so the exterior spore count

is higher

> than interior… but, the count inside is also now higher and this

time Stachy

> showed up on the air sampling test and this company said there is

no

> problem!!!!

>

> Kim

June 14, 2005

Barb,

If what I’ve researched is correct, the humidity level shouldn’t be the only

factor involved. There can still be moisture and water intrusion and the

humidity level could still be low inside… but, the water/moisture is there

for the mold conditions to begin. My opinion is that if the humidity would

be high inside, without water intrusion, then it should be a factor. But,

if the water intrusion exists, humidity levels could be 0… the water is

still there.

We had a lot of water leakage from the roof in the Spring of 2004 and in

December 2005. They never fixed the roof because the repairmen could never

find the leak. Last Spring the water was coming in through the windows

somehow and soaked the carpet in the lobby. My boss put the couches up on

coffee cans to keep the wood from getting wet, and put trash cans under the

leak in the suspended ceiling. In December there was a lot more rain and

more leaking. In January, the ceiling tile finally collapsed from the

weight of the water.

The landlord’s inspector did their air testing in February. It showed the

total spore count inside my room/office at 127 spore count/m3 and outside at

42 spore count/m3, but there was Cladosporium showing up inside when it didn

’t outside. This inspector said there wasn’t any evidence of elevated mold

counts. He also didn’t test the air ducts. The relative humidity at that

time was 29% in my office and 22% outside.

I had an independent inspector do one in March. His report found elevated

levels in the HVAC ducts (200 spore count/m3 each or Cladisporium and

Aspergillus/Penicillium) and on the insulation, not to mention we found a

piece of ceiling tile above another ceiling tile that had a black moldy

patch on it. Exterior counts showed 0 for Clad and 40 for A/P. I don’t

know what the humidity levels were, but I do know that his “moisture meter”

detected moisture in the walls at numerous locations throughout the office

floor.

The same company hired by the landlord just did their retest a couple of

weeks ago. The relative humidity in my office was 43% and outside was 27%.

Now, after what their supposed remediation was (which they did not clean the

HVAC ducts, nor remove the insulation – just cut off a section of it), the

total fungal spore count in my office has gone up from 127 to 210 and is now

showing 21 spore count/m3 of Stachybotrys.

So, does that mean that because the levels are now higher outside (total

fungal spore count 3,270 spores/m3) that I’m not going to be sick?

Especially when they are also now higher in my office by 83 spore count/m3.

If I got sick when it was 127, am I not going to get sicker when it’s at

210?

It’s all just a game though. Especially since there aren’t any standards.

I think the entire picture needs to be taken into consideration when

determining “elevated levels” and not just spore counts.

But, that’s just my opinion.