CAIRO, January 31, 2011 (AFP) – Egypt’s new Vice President Omar Suleiman said on Monday that President Hosni Mubarak had tasked him with opening “immediate” dialogue with the opposition amid raging protests against the regime.

By, Carrie
Benuska

As I
completed last week°òs article on water intrusion, I was forming ideas for a
follow-up article on mold, the nasty by-product of water intrusion. With all of
the rain that we were receiving, these topics seemed relevant and interesting.
As I am formulating this article, the sun is shining and my daughter is heading
off to the beach for some tanning. I am not going to allow this sudden Southern
California warm spell to push me off course, though. Since we are still in the
middle of winter, I would like to discuss the important topic of mold.

I call
mold the “lead-based paint of the 21st century”. Lead-based paint became a hot button
in the 1970°òs, when it was discovered that the substance was hazardous to our health.
It became a topic of concern with home buyers, and multiple references to lead based
paint were incorporated into residential real estate disclosure paper work.
Since it was banned in 1977, most of these toxic walls have been painted over,
making leadbased

paint less
of a problem in residential real estate.

The new
hot button for real estate buyers and the topic of several residential real
estate disclosures, is mold. Mold or fungi is natural and exists both indoors
and outdoors, most often where there is water. Anyone who spends time in the
garden has been in contact with mold, because molds play a major role in
causing decomposition of organic material. The dark dusty substance that you
see on a leaf that has been lying in the wet soil is mold. There are thousands
of species of mold, and they play an important part in our environment. Mold,
like lead-based paint, first became a real estate hot button when it was discovered
that it can be hazardous to our health. According to mold expert Mark Levy, owner
of “The Mold Guy”, a commercial and residential mold inspection and testing company,
“too much exposure to mold may cause or worsen conditions such as asthma, hay
fever, or other allergies. The most common symptoms of overexposure are cough,
congestion, runny nose, eye irritation, and aggravation of asthma. Depending on
the amount of exposure and a person’s individual vulnerability, more serious
health effects – such as fevers and breathing problems – can occur but are
unusual.” Levy points out that mold can grow almost anywhere there is water
damage, high humidity, or dampness. He also claims that most types of mold that
are routinely encountered are not hazardous to healthy individuals. Most
homeowners have encountered mold at some point in an under-ventilated bathroom
and quickly cleaned up the mold with an over-the-counter cleaning product. Problems
occur when there is a chronic water intrusion problem or the presence of a leaky
pipe or fixture. These water issues are not always easy to detect and can exist
in a basement or within the walls. Homeowners need to keep on the lookout for
signs of water intrusion, which include separated building materials, warped
floors, or the presence of discolored, peeling or bubbling paint. The presence
of a musty smell also is a great indication that mold might be growing. Anyone
who is concerned about the presence of mold in their own home or a home that they
are considering buying should consider a mold inspection. Levy°òs company will test
for evidence of mold and develop a plan to remediate any problems found.

According
to Levy, removing the source of the moisture is critical to preventing mold growth.
Without fixing the source of the problem, mold can start growing back within 24
to 48 hours.

Levy said
that hindering interior mold growth starts on the exterior of the house. He suggests
looking closely at the perimeter of your home, verify that water is not
gathering at the foundation or making its way through the walls. The soil
should be graded so that water flows away from the house, and sprinklers should
be located away from the foundation and their spray carefully directed away
from the house. Levy also suggests that a well-operating gutter system with
working down spouts is a must.

In
addition to checking for water intrusion from the outside of your house, Levy
suggests keeping a close eye on the interior “red zones”, which include under
sinks, washers, and refrigerators. He suggests that every six months homeowners
look in these areas to ensure that you don°òt have an unknown leak. In
addition, make sure that your bathrooms are well-ventilated, and take time to
wipe down the shower each day, to keep it free of excess water. There is no
doubt that homeowners and buyers alike should be aware of the dangers of mold,
but there is no need for panic. There are common sense practices that can keep your
home free of any hazardous mold problems, and there are experts like “The Mold Guy”
who can thoroughly diagnose any problems. A good place to start is to read through
the valuable information on their website,www.themoldguyinc.com. Remember that without water problems, there most
likely is not a mold problem.