Have you ever wondered if your indoor air is contributing or causing health problems for you and your family? Is mold responsible for the children, the elderly being sick or feeling bad in general? With 90% of our time spent indoors, it is a very real possibility. Below is one case where we definitely made a difference.
The Mold Issue
A young woman living in an efficiency apartment in an upscale area of Washington DC was having health issues at home; her eyes and nose were running, sinus congestion, headaches, etc. but when she went to work, her symptoms cleared up. She knew something was wrong, so she contacted her property manager. The manager came over – saw nothing, smelled nothing and told her he didn’t know what to do. This went on for several weeks and her health continued to decline so she contacted an industrial hygienist to test for mold.
The Mold Inspection
The hygienist performed his inspection and gave her a report three days later saying she had a mold problem. When she asked what to do about it, he said he did not know as there was no visible mold but the tests came back that the apartment was severely impacted. He told her that we might be able to help.
The Mold Remediation Process
Upon entering the apartment I was impressed that there was no clutter; only a salt and pepper shaker on the counter, a bedside lamp, a clock and that was it – very clean. We used InstaScope® to test the air for mold and discovered that her levels were absolutely horrid, so the search began. We looked under her windows, in the bathroom, under the vanity, in the kitchen, under the sink – nothing. We then went to the mini-split HVAC system on her wall and found the source. Taking a flashlight, we did not see anything so we contacted the property manager for someone to check out the unit. Sure enough, the unit had been installed improperly and the drain pan was full of mold. Our testing showed over 15 million spores and mold fragments per cubic meter of air compared to outside readings of 2,360.
he Results
Upon replacing the HVAC unit and cleaning, her readings were less than 600 which reversed her symptoms and her health restored. Having the ability to pinpoint where the active mold growth is occurring is invaluable to solving hidden mold problems. Taking advantage of new technologies to help solve people’s problems is what we do.
