Salem firm tries to find if mold has taken hold

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Salem firm tries to find if mold has taken hold

Housing boom keeps inspectors very busy locating hidden woes

TOBY MANTHEY

Statesman Journal

http://159.54.226.83/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

AID=/20060102/NEWS/601020315/1001

January 2, 2006

Dennis Ragain's mold inspection company took root in 2001, just the

right moment.

The housing boom of the past several years has meant there are more

homes for Mold Technologies to inspect for moisture problems that

can lead to mold. Also, the speed at which houses are now built, and

inexperienced builders entering the market, means more new homes

have moisture or mold problems, Ragain said.

Question: You have said more people around 2001 started recognizing

mold can be a serious problem. Why did it take so long?

Answer: Part of it is we've changed the way we build structures. The

tighter we build homes, how fast we build them and building them in

the rain have created this environment for moisture intrusion. If

you get that, you end up with some kind of microbial problem.

Q: Do homes have more mold problems now than in the past?

A: More recognizable. The medical community is beginning to

understand that many respiratory ailments are directly related to

mold-spore activity. There are real health issues associated with it

because of our enclosed environment. (But) mold has been with us

since the beginning of time. There's a written record of mold

remediation in the Bible in Leviticus, chapter 14.

Q: How has your business changed since its founding?

A: We started as a mold- inspection business. As we analyzed homes

we discovered that the majority of problems were due to construction

defects, construction shortcuts and the improper maintenance of

homes. We began to focus more on moisture management and doing

inspections for builders who want to make sure the home was

constructed properly.

Our whole focus over the past year has been to develop a proactive

approach.

Instead of waiting for people to call us to check out mold growing

in a bathroom, we get calls from people buying a house who ask us to

check it out from a moisture management perspective. We let them

know if it has problems they need to address today to prevent mold.

Q: How can people prevent mold?

A: If you're talking about maintenance, people don't keep gutters

cleaned out, so water flows over the sides, against the exterior

wall. They don't keep homes caulked around windows and doors, around

the corners of homes. Water runs in behind windows and those areas.

It gets in the building envelope, and they end up with a mold

problem. By the time they see the mold, once it comes through the

drywall, they already have a real problem.

Most people aren't aware of what's going on in the attic or crawl

spaces. We find the majority of problems in the attic. They may have

ventilation problems.

Q: Visually, what did your worst case ever look like?

A: There was a new home in Woodburn. It was the daughter's bedroom,

where she slept in a crib. We called it the pink room, because it

was painted pink, but the entire interior wall around the window was

black with mold. The window was poorly sealed and hadn't been

installed properly. There were circles where different types of

molds will develop and do battle. In that case, the young girl was

extremely sick and had respiratory ailments. The parents were

extremely worried. In that case, they ended up having to move out.

Q: What happens to a house like that?

A: Usually remediation costs anywhere from four to eight times

construction costs. When it gets to be that bad, they will probably

knock it down and start over.

Q: How are you certified?

A: Originally, there was a nonprofit called the International

Association of Mold Management. They certified me, and I became a

certified instructor, and I can certify people because of my

background. I'm certified by the Indoor Environmental Standards

Organization, a new organization that kind of replaced IAMM.

Q: What do you get most calls for? How much does that procedure cost?

A: We're pretty consistent in what we do, no matter what they call

us for. We usually go through the entire process, because that's the

only way we can catch everything. If a doctor calls us because a

pregnant woman is moving into a new home, because pregnant women are

extremely susceptible to mold spores, we'll still inspect every

aspect of the home. If we were to do a standard 2,000-square-foot

home, and do three air samples, the cost is going to be right around

$595.

Q: How many homes have a serious problem?

A: There hasn't been a single property that doesn't have an existing

problem. Many aren't bad enough to be major concerns. We always

identify " red light issues, " active microbial growth and water

damage. Red lights are running around 30 to 40 percent, because

people are waiting so long until they call us. Then we have yellow

lights, preventive things.

Q: How prevalent are mold problems in Oregon?

A: Very prevalent. There's lots of construction problems. We build

homes too quickly. There are good builders, and there are others who

don't take the time to dry out the property before they seal them

up. They build in a moisture issue.

Q: Builders are really concerned about this, right?

A: Their liability policies are going off the charts. Insurance

companies paid out about $700 million for moisture claims in 2000.

In 2002, they paid out over $3 billion. In many cases, if someone

calls in with a mold problem, they may take care of it, but they'll

cancel the policy almost instantly.

Q: Do you worry your growth will slow down once the home market

slows?

A: No; there is so much activity out there, and in the way of

legislation, that I think it's only a matter of time when the kind

of inspection we do will become required on every sales transaction

of a home. It will become as commonplace as a pest and dry-rot

inspection.

tmanthey@... or (503) 399-6737