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Mold in Mammoth? Part One Part Two
Q: We live in a Southern California beach community and have a second home here in Mammoth. We have always had mold problems at home and we've heard rumors that there are now serious mold issues here in Mammoth, especially in some real estate. We always thought it was too dry here in Mammoth for mold. Is there really a problem?
A: After figuring out what really needed to be said to answer this question properly, I really needed the space of two columns do it right. So this is Part 1, a general discussion of mold and real estate. Part 2 will appear in the next issue. And I will focus more on the specifics of the mold problems here in Mammoth in that column.
Mold has been around forever and exists just about everywhere. Some people savor certain kinds of mold at expensive restaurants and most of us have had penicillin. There are approximately 10,000 varieties of mold. Less than a dozen varieties are considered "toxic". Mold is generally not a big issue in Mammoth because it is so dry here. But it has become a problem, especially in some areas, and one that property owners and the real estate community cannot ignore.
My interest in mold accelerated last year when the walls of my home got ripped open to expose a water leak and a bunch of beautiful black mold. That was alarming to me because the home was only a couple of years old and was built by one of Mammoth's largest developers. Thus I received a first-hand education in mold remediation.
Mold's natural process requires only water or dampness, some organic material (like the paper on drywall or wood), and some warmth. It only takes about 24 hours for those elements to come together and things start growing. The common trigger to that in Mammoth is water leaking from a pipe, or a leaky roof or siding. What can really exacerbate it is second-home ownership, where the leak isn't detected for quite some time. The more moisture there is, the more growth.
Mold came to the forefront as a health issue in 1994 in the (in)famous "Cleveland" study when doctors linked seriously diseased children in one neighborhood to heavily mold infested homes. That linkage was later retracted but the damage was done and mold became a publicly recognized "toxic condition". The study strongly influenced the public's perception of mold and all kinds of problems have followed, including plenty of litigation.
From everything that I have read on the subject there is a difficult-to-prove link between most varieties of mold and the effect on human health. But based on the volume of litigation due to mold in homes, I have no doubt this subject will be debated by experts for many years to come. Clearly, there probably is a problem for some people and not for others. I can't say that the mold in my home had any dramatic effect on my health except for the increase in my blood pressure.
Mold's impact on real estate can range from direct damage requiring repair and remediation, to loss of use and /or rental income, to stigma damages (stay tuned) to third party liabilities. Because of these impacts, expect to see the real estate and related industries to become more involved. The insurance industry however, is trying to wash their hands of subject as quickly as possible. And unlike asbestos, there are no government regulations at this time to performing mold remediation.
So what is mold remediation all about? First, the source of the moisture has to be eliminated. For me, it was some faulty plumbing that had probably slow-leaked since the plumbing was originally charged. Second, the outbreak of mold has to be isolated. This could be as simple as a section inside a wall or the whole crawl space underneath a building. Mold remediation specialists have some fancy instruments to help verify the extent, but for here in Mammoth it usually means accessing an attic, or crawlspace or ripping down some walls. The isolation part of it is an effort to keep the mold from traveling via air to everywhere else. This is typically done with lots of plastic sheeting, duct tape, and fancy air cleaning machines.
The third phase is the actual remediation. This is where it can get tricky. There are some "industry" guidelines, trained and un-trained "experts", and a variety of techniques. Industry guidelines place mold outbreaks into several levels based on overall square footage of the mold. The higher the level the more intense the guidelines become, including the expertise of the personnel handling the remediation.
During the remediation all of the mold and material that it is attached to is either removed or scrubbed with hospital type disinfectant. Once all of that is completed and allowed to dry, the remediation specialists take air quality samples at the site. Those samples are typically sent to laboratories and the existence or non-existence of mold is established. Once the air samples are "clean", the property is technically cured of the mold problem.
But that cure may not be perfect. In some cases, subsequent air samples, months or years later, may be warranted. One key is to have your remediation professional provide you with copies of all the reports (especially from the laboratory), photos, diagrams, etc., from the process. In the next issue we'll look at how all of this is playing out in Mammoth, where some of the critical problems are, and potentially will be. And how to take necessary precautions and what changes we may see in the local real estate industry because of all of this. In the meantime, enjoy a nice sautéed mushrooms with your next steak or some delicious bleu cheese dressing on your next salad. Mmm…I think I'm heading to the Charthouse.
Paul Oster is Broker/ Owner of RE/MAX of Mammoth. An archive of his past Q&A columns can be found a www.remax-mammoth.com. You can send him your real estate related questions to P.O. Box 2618, M.L. 93546-2618 or email him at pauloster@earthlink.net. All questions will be researched and presented with the greatest care but accuracy is not guaranteed. For legal, accounting, construction, etc., advice, seek out the appropriate professional.
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