Testing and Detection of Indoor Pollution, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's,) Molds, Yeasts, Fungi, Materials Degassing, Pet Odors, Smoking and/or Cooking Odors

THE NOSE KNOWS

Upon entering the home, if you detect even the slightest toxic smell, whatever it may be, always consider this as a RED FLAG -  CAUTION - STOP! SAFETY FIRST. Put on your respirator, earplugs, gloves, suit and any other safety gear needed to insure your personal safety. You must treat each job as a potential hazard. DO NO TAKE ANY CHANCES.

If you're feeling is that all of your safety gear is just too cumbersome and in the way, then ask yourself if you can risk your health for a few minutes of supposed discomfort. The most emphatic answer is NO! Follow the rules for your personal well-being. Always remember - SAFETY FIRST, FOREMOST AND ALWAYS!

You simply do not know what you are going to be exposed to; simple, yet complex pollution ranging from animal smells, smoke to toluene, xeline, formaldehyde, yeasts, (such as Candida albicans "candideasus") or molds and bacteria ranging all the way to stachybotrys atra. If you recall, the West German military was experimenting with this for possible use in biological warfare. This is a toxin so poisonous and deadly that the decision was made to halt experimentation. So always remember thatstachybotrys can be present- it is not rare. If this does not serve to keep your safety equipment on, I don't know what will!

ASK AND LOOK FOR CLUES

INQUIRE: Talk to the owner or occupant, they may be able to shed some light on the problem. Is the irritant more noticeable in specific areas; in a specific room or place? Ask about the possible use of pesticides. Ask about the type of cleaners used, such a bacterial cleaners, and/or heavy doses of bleach. How about the use of candles or potpourri? Ask about animals, smoking, and musty odors. A musty smell is a good indication of molds, yeasts and fungi. But keep in mind that the irritant can be there (such as fungi) yet it can't be detected by smell. Ask about mildew. Remember, most people still don't think of mildew as a serious mold problem. After all, it's only mildew; it may be agitating, but harmless because it's "just mildew." That mildew may be toxic mold to the trained eye and confirming by testing is part of the Education Process.

 

Yes, toxic fungi are everywhere plus viruses, bacteria and germs are all around; plus odors ranging from animal feces, smoking odors, hazardous chemical compounds in the construction materials.

Let's address the most important and the most overlooked culprit of all. One of the chief causes of illnesses caused by allergy and asthma attacks are the 15 species of DUST MITES and their feces presently identified. 42,000 dust mites can be living in one ounce of pillow or mattress dust. They are living, breeding and defecating in that one ounce. In the past, studies were done that indicated that 1/3 (one-third) of the weight of an old pillow was occupied by dust mites and their feces. Makes you want to wear your respirator in bed!

Dust mites and their feces are one of the main contributors of sending asthmatics to emergency rooms. Specifically, inquire of the client about whether there are any occupants that are affected more so in the bedroom.

 

Make specific inquires- DO YOU, OR ANYONE IN YOUR FAMILY suffer from allergies, asthma, constant stuffy, runny noise, coughing, fatigue, inability to concentrate, nausea, sneezing, headaches, red, itchy, runny eye irritation, depression, sore throat, lost of energy or dizziness? Any of these could be mistaken for a cold or virus, when in fact they are caused by indoor pollution such as dangerous toxic molds, degassing chemicals of other toxic VOC's. Lack of alertness can jeopardize their health not only in their home, but also at work and while driving.

Make note of any information you have obtained from the client that could shed some light on the problem.

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN

The Nose Knows

You may be able to follow your nose; or perhaps seeing is believing. First, check out all the areas relating to the inquiry you have made of the occupant. Then begin a systematic check (from attic to crawlspace.) Pay special attention to water leaks, moisture, plumbing, toilet(s) (condensation on the toilet tank can be the culprit,) shower, bath tub, around and under sinks, washing machine drains and supply hoses, hot water heaters, air conditioning units, drains; basement or slab floors can serve as sponges for soaking up moisture. Check for roof leaks, kitchen and bathroom vents, windows, walls and door leaks- and don't forget gutters (possibly feeding water into a wall.)

LOOK AND SMELL - are there animals (pets), birds, cats, dogs, rodents or insects in evidence; degassing from remodel materials or new carpets or furnishings (such as cabinets, paneling, floor covering.) Pay attention to ceilings for telltale spotting of leaks and the source of the spotting. Check around the baseboards.

KEEP IN MIND: First and foremost, you were asked by the client to come and investigate and find the cause of their probable suspicions. Do your job. You may not be able to smell it, and you may not be able to see it. However, that does not mean that there is nothing to be concerned about. You may test the air and take swabs of suspected areas. That is the one solution.

If the tests are negative, then you have not failed. Now it's time to resort to the only known method of dealing with the unknown, and that is Ozone Shock Therapy- the Catch All. You must remember that in all of our years of experience that there are over 40% of the more difficult jobs successfully dealt with and we did not know, positively, what chemical soup we had encountered. We do know that, whatever the cause, it was eliminated.

PERFORMING TESTS

By Jerry Young- GP Air Restoration of Air Testing & Design

 

  1. Check temperature and humidity in the home or building. Humidity should be between 30-50% for a healthy home or building.

  2. Ask the homeowner or occupant if there is any specific area that has odd odors. What kind of odors?

  3. Have they remodeled recently, paint, carpet, laminate flooring, refinished cabinets.

  4. Is there pet urine, pet odors or other VOC's in the home? Pet dander is another type of allergen.

  5. Ask if they have replaced their pillows recently. Pillows and bedding are a perfect breeding ground for dust mites.

 

IN THE HOME

 

Look for mold in the carpet along walls (use a bright flashlight.) This can be a sign of moisture in walls; check suspect walls, floors and ceilings with moisture meter.

If there is visible mold, take a swab (Bacti-Swab*) open package, and remove swab/cap from tube, collect specimen of moldy area (5 cm. sq.,) return swab/cap to tube. Crush ampoule through sleeve at mid-point, push cap down firmly to assure swab/pledget contact. Label properly and send to lab for processing.

 

If mold is suspected in the wall, remove electrical outlet cover and collect sample from inside the wall, or a small hole can be drilled in suspected area of the wall to collect a sample. If there is no obvious mold, suggest that air samples be taken on each level of the home. Or swab a wall (5cm. sq.) on each level of the home. Label each sample and submit to lab for typing and a count of mold, yeast and bacteria.

 

Air samples can taken with the CyClex* circular bio-aerosol impact sampler. The CyClex has the ability to evenly and qualitatively collect aeroallergens such as pollens, mold and fungal spores, fibers, dander, insect components and other air-born contaminants. The CyClex also has the ability to collect carpet and inner wall samples.

* Follow the manufacturer's instruction on Bacti-Swab and CyClex.

ATTIC

You will need a bright flashlight. Look for wet or dark wood; it may be the beginning of mold on the roof sheeting, rafters and trusses. Take samples as needed from suspect areas using swab as mentioned above.

CRAWLSPACE

Use a bright flashlight. Standing water and inadequate ventilation they are the main causes of mold, yeast and bacteria in a crawlspace. Take samples as needed from suspect areas using swab as mentioned previously.

 

If you have any question regarding the procedure above, please call Jerry Young at 1-866-888-4611.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

In most cases, follow your nose. Use your testing equipment and experience. Do your best for a thorough inspection that will result in the final analysis and recommendation.

In the process of obtaining the history of the premises and major complaint or concern, you may have detected certain clues that can lead you to the source of contamination. However, even if you find an immediate source, do not stop there. The inspection must be as complete and thorough as possible. Do not overlook any nooks or crannies. You are there as a professional.

The usual things to look for are the most obvious, such as moisture. Moisture caused problems are paramount, but they are not the problem in many cases. Moisture is where you find it. As mentioned previously, use the humidity and moisture meters. When in doubt, measure twice.

Cover all bases. Keep in mind that cat dander or smoke can be more toxic to some people than molds. Our experience has shown that ?pets" supply lots of food for dust mites- dander is just more food. Birds and amphibians are loaded with their own bacteria and can be detrimental for some people while they are petting of cleaning the pets' habitat. Think of a Petting Zoo- critters have all kinds of unwelcome companions living on them, no different than rodents.

 

A WORD ABOUT THE BUZZ WORD- REMEDIATION

TREATING THE INFECTED AREA

 

We have all seen the recommended methods; rip out the affected area and, in the process, spread it everywhere. Whoa! Wait! Wrong! Before ripping out (disturbing) anything, or everything in that area, you MUST ozone it first. If, in fact, the mold is behind the wall and the sheetrock has to be removed, the paramount consideration in this business is; you don't fudge, you don't take shortcuts. Getting by is just not good enough and could very well be detrimental.

 

Soaking and sloshing the area with bleach. Bleach (Clorox) is made up of 94% water and 6% sodium hypochlorite (really nasty stuff,) which you dilute even more when you mix it with water. Clorox recommends 3/4 to 1 cup bleach to 1 gallon of water. Some agencies recommend as high as 1 part bleach to 11 parts water. So now that you have stirred up this mixture, where and how do you apply it? In order to do some good, you must hit every target (cell, spore) directly.

 

MOLD SPORES ARE EVERYWHERE. Just because the visible infestation is located in the attic, crawlspace, basement, bathroom or kitchen doesn't mean it's not elsewhere. Therefore, we use ozone. Ozone has the ability to go everywhere, to get into every nook and cranny. For bleach to compare to ozone, you would have to use a pressure washer and saturate the entire area from top to bottom (attic to crawlspace) and everything in the interior- walls, floors, ceilings, and all furnishings , wherever the spores have settled. Then, when the sodium hypochlorite dissipates, what is left is the root of all evil- the water (moisture) that nourishes the remaining mold and yeasts that were not dealt with or new spores and yeasts brought in from outside.

 

Disturbing fungi is similar to poking a sleeping tiger or rattlesnake- (take your pick.) A fungus immediately goes on the defensive by releasing and injecting millions of spores into the air (in its area) which will drift everywhere. Once free and in the air they will settle to obtain moisture and food. The cycle begins again. The hyphae (tiny threads) tangled together in a mass is called mycelium , which feeds the fungi and grows at an unbelievable speed. Within 24 hours a colony can produce more than 1/2 mile of new mycelium.

Now you can see why bread, for example, becomes moldy so quickly. Microscopic analysis sometimes shows the presence of several miles of fungi doubling back and forth, twisting and turning, in a single loaf. The fungi's reproduction is performed by spores and the ability of the fungi to survive is insured by the weight of their number. Just one colony can release hundreds of millions of spores in 3 or 4 days.

 

These spores are so miniscule that it is said that a level teaspoonful could hold 50 sextillion of these little critters. How many is a sextillion? That's 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000! Seven sets of 0's - I wonder who counted them. This figure is beyond comprehension. However, the larger spores go at 300 million per level teaspoonful. Perhaps we can comprehend 300,000,000 -  yeah, right, who's counting? That's the equivalent to the total population of the United States and Canada in a teaspoon.

These little, tiny, miniscule critters are intelligent. They have been around longer than we have (we should be so lucky!) If we don't like the way things are going, why just mutate, adjust and carry on!

 

THE 3-STEP OR PHASE RIP OUT

This is where we are different than the everyday remediation people. Prior to ripping out the infected, contaminated area, we must ozonate. When the spores sense ozone as a danger, they spring into action and begin spewing out spores. In the process the airborne spores are oxidized (destroyed) while at the same time, the colony itself is being oxidized.

 

Now proceed to the next "rip it out" phase. After the wall has been removed and before it is replaced, you must ozonate the exposed area again to deal with the spores released and spread from behind the wall.

 

One more word about the "rip it out" phase; we have seen many studies, reports and recommendations for "rip it all out" remediation that were designed for their bulk documented (1/2" to 1" thick) appearance to impress the neophyte or unfamiliar person, instead of a downright factual report that a layman can understand.

In general, we agree that in some instances the "rip it out" disposal approach is needed. What we do not agree with is the super critical points that are not covered or dealt with in the process- and that is as we have said before- treat, ozonate, destroy as much of the toxic fungi as possible before you even begin to disturb the affected area(s); then once again, treat with ozone to destroy the residue fungi spores that were released during the "rip out phase" and also treat the newly exposed area. When the remediation is completed there must be a final treatment of ozone to assure safe re-occupancy.

We have now addressed fungi. Since the focus is on molds, yeasts, mildew, bacteria, viruses, germs and microbes, another problem gets a lot less attention.

DEGASSING CHEMICALS

We are all aware of degassing chemicals, but how familiar are we with them? While some fungi are very toxic, All Chemicals Are Toxic - new construction, remodeling, new furnishings, have hundreds of different separate compounds degassing. When combined, this can become a witch's brew, a toxic cocktail or soup- take your choice. It becomes mind-boggling to conjure up or imagine the number of various VOC's (Volatile Organic Compounds,) residue/products that are formed, which at this time have not been dealt with or identified simply because no one knows what hundreds of various things degassing at the same time can grow into some kind of witch's brew, toxic cocktail or soup.

 

However, a large number of various chemicals degassing and combining in various diverse strengths are something else. Although tests can be performed for some degassing, it usually is not practical or cost effective. The only redeeming factor is that fortunately, these VOC's are made up of carbon-based compounds; and we all know that ozone loves carbon molecules!

 

TESTING FOR HUMAN FLOTSAM RESIDUE

Cooking odors, smoking odors, lifestyle, pet dander, urine, feces, and bacteria from amphibians, aerosol sprays, and potpourri and so on- where does it start, or where does it stop? Experience has shown that there are numerous commonalities in human habitats, yet every case is different. Here is one case where the NOSE exceeds any known tests or testing equipment regardless how sophisticated. As with any VOC's, there are so many possible different ingredients and combinations of compounds that it is simply impossible to isolate any specifics. Remember the carbon molecule.

Instead of attempting to isolate or pinpoint the sources or combinations, use good old O.S.T. (Ozone Shock Therapy)- essentially, it works every time!

Please keep in mind that the above are only guidelines. It is important to cover everything. As you experience more of the various situations, please share them with us.