Home Purchase & Rental Mold Guides

TopIEQConsiderationsforRentingaPlace

Beforerentingaplace,thefollowingconsiderationsforavoidingindoorenvironmentalquality(IEQ)problemsare recommended:

1)Waterevents. SpecificallyasktheLandlordiftherentalhashadanywatereventsandhowtheywerehandled.

2)Lease. Besuretoknowtheprovisionsoftheleasethatpertaintowaterdamageandmoldbeforeyourent.

3)Drainage. Firstfloorapartmentsareriskynotonlybecauseofbreak-ins,butalsobecauseofdrainageproblems. Look foraslightslopeofthegroundawayfromtheApartmentorhouse. Ideally,thegroundshoulddroponeinchforeveryone footthatyoumoveawayfromtheApartmentforthefirst5-to-10feetaroundthebuilding. Alsolookforstainsifsprinklers aroundthebuildingarestrikingtheoutsidewalls.

4)Crawlspaces. Ifyou’rerentingahouse,I’mnotafanofcrawlspacesorcellarswithbaresoil. Thesoilalwayshasorganics whichprovidefoodformicrobes. Upto60percentoftheairfromacrawlspacerisesintotheoccupiedspace. Ifyou wouldn’tbecomfortablesittinginthecrawlspaceandbreathingthatair,youprobablydon’twantitunderyourlivingspace.

5)Sinks. Thekitchencabinetunderthesinkisverypronetowater-damageandresultantmold. Sniffformustyodorsin thesinkcabinet. Lookforwaterstreaksthatgointothetoekickorbaseofthesink.

6)Vinylwallpaper. Vinylwallpaperonanexteriorwallinthehumidsouthcantrapmoistureandcausemold. Oftenpink blotchesappearwhichareadeadgiveawaythatmoldisgrowingbehindit. Regularpaperthatbreathesisfine.

7)Baseboards. Ifabaseboardiscrackedatthetopwhereitmeetsasheetrockwall,thatisapossibleindicationthatthewall hasgottenwetandcausedthebaseboardtoswell. Thisiscommonunderwindowsthatleakintowalls.

8)HVAC. TurnontheHVACandtakeawhiff. Ifitsmellsmusty,there’sagoodchanceit’smoldy. Air-conditioning ductboardthatisover10yearsoldwilloftenbemoldy.

9)DIYTesting. Sometimesinacompetitivemarketyouwon’thavetimetohavesamplesanalyzed. However,wedo offerrushanalysisforanextrafeeonourDIYtests. Attheveryleast,Irecommendcollectingwipesforouranalysisbefore movingyourcontentsin. OurLevel2Mycotoxintestingisanexcellentchoiceforrentalswherebudgetisaconcern. While moreexpensive,themostcomprehensivetestingwouldbeourLevel3MycotoxinandtheMoldDNAScreen.

TopIEQConsiderationsforHomeBuying

Beforeplacinganoffertopurchaseahouse,thefollowingconsiderationsforavoidingindoorenvironmentalquality(IEQ) problemsarerecommended:

1)Drainage.Lookforaslightslopeawayfromthehouse.Ideally,thegroundshoulddroponeinchforeveryonefootthat youmoveawayfromthehouseforthefirst5-to-10feetaroundthehouse.Itcanbeveryhardandexpensivetofixadrainage problem.

2)Crawlspaces.I’mnotafanofcrawlspacesorcellarswithbaresoil.Thesoilalwayshasorganicswhichprovidefoodfor microbes.Upto60percentoftheairfromacrawlspacerisesintotheoccupiedspace.Ifyouwouldn’tbecomfortablesitting inthecrawlspaceandbreathingthatair,youprobablydon’twantitunderyourlivingspace.Crawlspacescanbefixed,such asusingencapsulationwithadehumidifier,butplanonspendingupto$25K.

3)CelluloseInsulation.Seeifyoucanfindoutthetypeofatticand/orwallinsulation.Blown-incelluloseinsulationalmost alwayshaspotentmycotoxinsevenwhentheroofdoesn’tleak.Celluloseislightgraylikegroundupnewspaperbecausethat iswhatitis.Sometimesitwilllookbrownlikeoldnewspaper.Wecantesttheinsulationformycotoxinstobesure.But havingtheatticcellulosevacuumedoutandreinsulatedwithblown-infiberglasscancostupto$10K.Celluloseinsulationin wallcavitieswouldbeveryexpensivetoremove.

4)Sinks.Thekitchencabinetunderthesinkisverypronetowater-damageandresultantmold.Lookforwaterstreaksthat gointothetoekickorbaseofthesink.Ifthesinkislocatedonakitchenislanditcouldbealow-costremediation.Butifthe molddamageisagainstawallfullofcabinets,changingthecountertopandcabinetsmayrequireacostlyfullkitchen renovationtomatch.

5)Vinylwallpaper. Vinylwallpaperonanexteriorwallinthehumidsouthcantrapmoistureandcausemold. Oftenpink blotchesappearwhichareadeadgiveawaythatmoldisgrowingbehindit. Regularpaperthatbreathesisfine.

6)Baseboards. Ifabaseboardiscrackedatthetopwhereitmeetsasheetrockwall,thatisapossibleindicationthatthewall hasgottenwetandcausedthebaseboardtoswell. Thisiscommonunderwindowsthatleakintowalls.

7)HVAC. TurnontheHVACandtakeawhiff. Ifitsmellsmusty,there’sagoodchanceit’smoldy. Air-conditioning ductboardthatisover10yearsoldwilloftenbemoldy. Considerthecostofchangingouttheducting. Changingducts betweenfloorsonatwo-storyhouseorinavaultedceilingcanbemorecostly.

8)Waterevents. SpecificallycheckontheSeller’sDisclosureFormoraskthesellerifthehousehashadanywaterevents andhowtheywerehandled.