Mold Inspection of Austin
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mold inspection Austin
How To Read Mold Inspection Report Austin, Texas
Beyond health issues, look for expensive fixes. “The big-ticket items are structural, electrical, and mechanical issues,†says Rob Nelson, a real estate broker. “An HVAC, furnace, major appliance, or water heater that isn't functioning properly is a red flag that is worth raising to a seller.†He seconds the warning about older roofs, not only because of water-damage concerns but also because replacing them can be expensive Austin TX. Foundation cracks are another costly fix and hint at structural damage Austin TX.
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Bill, without knowing anything about the building, history, leaks, occupant complaints, visible mold contamination, how an inspection was conducted, how testing was conducted, a mold count is of not much help. Even if an absolute mold count represents an airborne level of a harmful individual mold species is low there could still be a serious mold contamination problem at a property.
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An ethical mold or environmental investigator should interview the client carefully before the inspection to assist in deciding if such a costly inspection and test process is really appropriate and cost-justified. In cases where there are not occupants at special risk of mold-related illness or respiratory illness, and where there is no building leak history, and where no substantial mold is visible nor suspected, a costly mold investigation may not be appropriate.
But a bare bones mold-lab report which simply offers some counts or numbers or culture results, when provided by an investigator who was supposed to have performed a screening inspection for mold, but who did not also perform a thorough visual inspection of the building is not a good value.
Here is another no content mold test report. What does the number mean anyway? Is it high, low, dangerous, safe, typical exposure, peak exposure, minimum exposure? Five mold genera/species are named as represented by a single count. What can that possibly mean?
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What we often learn is that there was no actual mold inspection. The inspector simply collected some test samples, sent them to a mold test lab, and returned the mold lab test report to the client with no supporting explanation or interpretation. That sort of mold inspection is not very helpful as no one can really interpret what the report means .
We wouldn't expect an aerobiology or mold test lab to operate without someone at hand who actually has some appropriate knowledge and experience. But watch out for laboratories that are over-worked, processing perhaps thousands of samples monthly with a too-small or under-trained staff.
Quality building investigation reports also include professional photo documentation of the investigator's observations at the inspection site as well as microscopic findings in the mold test laboratory .
The best a competent mold test lab can do when working only from a mold sample (that is, with no expert building inspection results) is tell you what's in the sample collected, not whether the sample represents the building and not whether the sample captured the most important problem in the building.
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The report did not indicate any findings of presence or extent of toxic mold . Instead in a handwritten document on the pest control service agreement, the client was provided a rough description of mold to be treated by demolition, sprays, and use of an air scrubber.
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Software often gives inspectors the choice of including photographs in the main body of the report, near the narrative that describes them, or photographs may be grouped together toward the beginning or end of the report.
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The leak’s been fixed. So why does it still smell like mildew?
Q: Earlier this year, a downspout on my condominium came loose, and water infiltrated my bedroom. It took the property manager 3½ months to repair it, so a lot of water came in. After the repair, I waited five months for the walls to dry out, during which there was a strong mold/mildew smell. When I brought in a plasterer, he removed the damaged plaster. A worker applied a white sealant, Zinsser Odorless Oil-Based Stain Blocker, and returned to spray mold/mildew killer. That was five weeks ago. After a few days, the smell was still as strong as before, so I bought the same product — it smells like Clorox — and sprayed the walls every third day. The mildew smell lessened only a small amount. I found a recommendation online to apply vinegar to kill the odor. I have done that three times over the past week. The smell has lessened a bit, but I worry that if I proceed to get new plaster and paint, the mold/mildew will come through. How should I eliminate the odor?
Washington
A: Hire a licensed mold assessor to test your walls and the air to make sure the underlying issue — excessive moisture — has been addressed. A persistent smell hints that mold or mildew (the term for specific kinds of mold) may still be growing because moisture levels are high.
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If you were to hire a company that does assessments as well as remediation and were told more remediation work needs to be done, you may wonder whether the advice was just a way to drum up more business. So hire a company that does mold assessments but not remediation work, suggested Joe Mulieri, owner of MoldGone in Silver Spring (240-970-6533; moldgone.net), which does both types of work throughout the Washington area. He said an assessment might cost a few hundred dollars. The D.C. government website lists licensed mold professionals in two categories: assessors and remediators. To view the list, type “mold professionals†into the search box at DC.gov .
Assuming you aren’t seeing any mold now, the smell could be coming from inside the wall cavities, perhaps within insulation stuffed into the walls, with the smells then wafting into the room through gaps around trim and between the walls and flooring. These air gaps could also be allowing warm, moisture-laden air to settle on a cold surface, where it condenses and raises the moisture level enough to support mildew growth. If the room didn’t have a moldy smell before the gutter problem, it’s possible that 3½ months of leaks soaked the insulation enough to compress it, allowing condensation to occur where it wasn’t an issue before. Or mildew could be in the ceiling or the floor, perhaps in carpet padding.
If the walls in your condo were covered in drywall, the best solution probably would be to remove the damaged materials, see what’s going on inside the wall and start fresh. Replacing drywall makes sense because mildew can feed on the paper that covers both sides of drywall’s gypsum core and because drywall is relatively inexpensive to replace.
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Plaster, however, is less prone to harboring mildew because it doesn’t provide food for mildew, and it is more expensive to replace. “Plaster is more dense and less absorbent than drywall,†Mulieri said. Although it’s sometimes necessary to remove plaster to address hidden issues, it’s often sufficient — once a leak is plugged — to go with the procedure your plasterer used: scraping off the outer layer, then applying an encapsulant. Mulieri said he uses AfterShock, a sealant produced by Fiberlock Technologies that was designed to disinfect surfaces and prevent mold from re-growing.
Many contractors, like yours, encapsulate by using a less-expensive oil-based sealer, such as Zinsser Odorless Oil-Based Stain Blocker or Kilz Orignal. But if you read the technical documents for these products, they don’t mention using them to encapsulate mildew. The Zinsser product sheet says only that it blocks stains from water, fire and smoke damage, while the Kilz sheet says it blocks stains from a longer list of sources and “seals pet, food and smoke odors.†There is no mention of mildew with either product.
There is a lot of confusion about how mildew grows and the risks it poses. People often focus on “killing†mildew by spraying it with bleach or similar products. But that kills only mildew hit by the spray.
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And if you inhale dead spores, the health risks are the same as if they were alive. That’s why the Environmental Protection Agency’s advice for do-it-yourself mildew cleanup focuses on wiping away mildew, using just water and detergent, on hard surfaces. The EPA says consumers can generally clean up moldy areas of less than 10 square feet by following its safety advice, which you can read by typing “mold cleanup in your home†into the search box at EPA.gov. For larger areas, it recommends getting a pro — one that is licensed.
I Was Reading This https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/the-leaks-been-fixed-so-why-does-it-still-smell-like-mildew/2019/09/20/d5447828-d570-11e9-9610-fb56c5522e1c_story.html
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Hamilton Clinches F1 Championship No. 6 at US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas
Lewis Hamilton secured his sixth Formula One championship with a second-place finish Sunday at the U.S. Grand Prix, a race won by his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.
The British driver now ranks second in F1 history behind German Michael Schumacher's record seven titles. Hamilton has won the last three season championships and locked this one up with two races left.
He has been a dominant force at the Circuit of the Americas, with five wins here since it opened in 2012, but a poor qualifying set up a start from fifth.
Hamilton quickly bolted to third on the first lap as he passed the Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc. From there, Hamilton looked to be in the hunt for his sixth win at the track while knowing he could coast in for the championship, because a finish as low as eighth would clinch it.
He still fought hard for the victory before fading late in the final five laps to fall behind Bottas, who was on fresher tires.
"Still we rise!" Hamilton radioed to his garage on a lap after the checkered flag.
Sunday was the second time Hamilton secured the championship in Austin, matching his 2015 title, when he fought off Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg in the final laps to get the victory. In 2017 and 2018, he clinched the title in Mexico City without reaching the podium either time.
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Hamilton could have rolled through a lazy Sunday drive had he wanted to, but championship drivers seldom do. Not when in pursuit of history.
"It's an honor to be up here with these (past) greats," Hamilton said. "My dad taught me when I was like 6 or 7 years old to never give up. That's our family motto."
Bottas was the only driver still mathematically in the hunt for the title, but just barely. Bottas had to win and have Hamilton fade to ninth or lower in order to extend the championship to the Brazilian Grand Prix in two weeks.
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Saturday's qualifying left Hamilton starting from the third row as the cars bolted uphill into the blind left turn that can make the field become a demolition derby. Hamilton stayed clear of the dangerous traffic, giving Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Ferrari's Leclerc plenty of room to maneuver to avoid a collision.
Hamilton wasn't content to stay there.
He quickly reeled in and zoomed past the Ferraris into third halfway through the first lap. From there it was a matter of settling in for a long race to see whether he could make a move for a championship victory.
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Hamilton grabbed the lead when Bottas pitted for tires and he didn't let it go without a fight. He defended against a Bottas pass with six laps remaining before finally surrendering the spot on the next lap.
Verstappen was looking to pass Hamilton on the final lap, but a yellow flag caused by Haas driver Kevin Magnussen ended the threat and gave Mercedes the 1-2 finish.
The Circuit of the Americas had a special spot reserved for the championship car next to the podium winners for the post-race celebrations.
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There was only one car that could be.
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