Insulation Behind Water Damage Walls Will Not Dry Out

Insulation is like a sponge and once it gets wet it will take a really long time to fully dry. The wet insulation will cause mold and foul odors even when the exterior wall has dried. Wall drying techniques are generally ineffective at drying insulation. Insulation abutting an exterior wall can absorb excess moisture and then transfer this moisture to the wall causing black mold.

Rubber Baseboards Trap Excess Moisture Causing Black Mold

Rubber baseboards will cause the lower wall to retain excess moisture after a water damage incident or even with routine carpet or hard floor cleaning. Floors at or below ground level are subject to retain excess moisture through a wicking action called capillary action. The impermeable rubber baseboards will retain this moisture causing widespread mold and odors.

Uncapped Sump Pit Will Increase Radon Levels

Open sump pits and other holes in the foundation can increase overall radon levels, especially in the winter when the surrounding ground is frozen. Radon is the 2nd leading cause of lung cancer in the United States and the EPA recommends testing for radon in your home every two years.

Broken Fiberglass Insulation Can Enter Through Loose Recess Lighting

Fiberglass insulation from the attic, air ducts, and above the ceiling can break apart and enter the airspace through cracks and openings within recess lighting, air vents and other fixtures. It is recommended to test your air for fiberglass and seal all fixtures to prevent unwanted glass intrusions. Children and Asthmatics appear most sensitive to elevated fiberglass counts with symptoms ranging from irritated eyes, persistent couging, and runny nose. 

Air Movers Ineffective At Drying Wet Carpeting

Air movers, fans and other drying techniques are generally not effective in drying carpeting. Biological growth will occur within 72 hours. The infrared image above shows wet areas around the air mover after 2 days. Mold and bad odors will result causing adverse health conditions in the home or building.

Ice Dams Lead To Mold

Ice dams occur due to many variables to include roof pitch, insulating properties and the amount of freezing and melting on the roof. The consequences of ice damming will last far beyond the winter season as moisture seeps into the attic sheathing and walls causing black mold.

“The Basement Smell”: Why Basement Air Is Unhealthy

Do you or know somebody who lives in a home with the noxious “Basement Smell”?  Based on thousands of assessments we’ve conducted and the resulting tens of thousands of samples processed as Indoor Air Quality Specialists, I can say with certainty that basement air is the most compromised air in every house.  Even an apparently clean, finished basement often carries ten times the pollution levels as upper floors and, because these pollutants are buoyant and therefore rise, often spoil air in rooms above them. But, why does the air in basements smell unhealthy enough that we’ve coined colloquial phrase after it?

Finished basements with carpeting and gypsum-based wallboard may accentuate the “Basement Smell” and degrade the overall air quality because carpeting absorbs moisture through the foundation in a process called capillary action; this capillary action in turn creates excess humidity, putting more moisture into the air and wetting the insulation. While carpeting manufacturers claim the carpeting is resistant to mold, dusts, dirt and skin cells in the fibers are not. Combined with excess moisture, conditions become ripe for smell molds like Penicllium and Aspergillus. To even further complicate matters, standard gypsum wallboard is a common source for the “Black Toxic Mold” such as Stachybotrys, Chaetomium, and Ulocladium. Typically the insulation behind the wet wall will absorb the moisture from exterior cement walls or a moisture intrusion source like a sponge, making the backside—out-of-sight—moldy first. When you are able to see patches of mold on the front of your wallboard, it is the tip of the ice berg. As a note: even a one-time water damage incident can lead to Black Mold, which can continue to grow and release pathogenic spores even after the wall has dried. It may take months for this insulation to dry. Such environmental circumstances lead to the foul odor we refer to as “The Basement Smell.”

Unfinished basements also create conditions optimal for mold growth because they often contain more organic content (dust, dirt, debris), encouraging fungal growth, than finished basements. Because basements are typically designed with the limited cross flow ventilation, their lack of airflow, combined the humidity from the capillary action described above, insight toxic mold, bacteria and virus growth. It’s not just the toxic properties of these pathogens that make for an unpleasant odor but the irritating and harmful microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOCs) present.  So, when you say it “smells like a basement,” you’re really saying “these mVOCs are out of control. I need fresh air!”

Stored utilities further degrade basement air quality by spitting out ultrafine lung damaging debris referred to as particulate matter. These particles ranging from 0.3-10.0 microns are so tiny you can’t see them, but have the ability to infiltrate the lung tissue in your respiratory tract. The smaller the particle, the more likely these toxins are to enter your blood stream. Just because you have a door separating the finished to unfinished section does not block these particles; you can fit hundreds of thousands of these particles on a pinhead. At IndoorDoctor, we use digital meters to quantify these particles so you can make informed decisions about how to properly service and ventilate your basement.

Other environmental concerns contribute to an overall the unhealthy basement environments that produce the “Basement Smell.” Some are listed below:

• Fiberglass: Often ignored, fiberglass insulation is another pollutant that very common in basements; it can be found within walls, on ceilings, stored in crawlspaces, and lining duct work. Unfortunately, despite being a known carcinogen and terribly irritating to breathe, little effort is made to reduce breathing in the tiny jagged glass particles.  It is not uncommon to see exercise equipment below or near exposed insulation even though the vibrations from this equipment can jar thousands of lung-damaging glass particles into the air.
• Crawlspaces: Crawlspaces are often so dank and inaccessible that most homeowners don’t bother trying to make improvements because redoing a foundation, tearing out walls, installing vapor barriers becomes cost prohibitive. These crawlspaces , which are often nesting areas for vermin, account for the majority of odors, With our advanced equipment, IndoorDoctor can help you make sound practical decisions to reduce the harmful toxins generated in crawlspaces.  
• Radon: Radon is the 2^nd leading cause of lung cancer in the United States and New England is a hot spot for for the gas due to the ledge and granite rock formations. Radon, which comes up through the basement foundation, is colorless and odorless, making it almost impossible to detect without the testing that the EPA suggests every two years.  Beware of uncapped sump pits, too, which allow for greater passage of radon gas into your airspace.
• Traditional Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): Traditional Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which are found in the paint cans and fertilizer bags we tend to store in our basements because we cannot take them to the dump, can also emit odors and have serious health effects.

So, what can you do about the “Basement Smell” when you can’t get rid of your basement? The first step is to get it tested. An Indoor Air Quality Specialist from IndoorDoctor can help you quantify the molds, pathogens and other environmental factors that are either emitting a foul odor or, sometimes even worse, are dormant below your main living area. The information from these tests will help you develop a cost-effective plan to reverse the conditions and improve your indoor air quality. As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, basement environments account for a large percentage of the Indoor Air Quality Assessments I conduct, and I am confident that proper testing and follow-up will prevent you from having to talk about your “Basement Smell.” Contact IndoorDoctor today to see how we can make your home healthier. 

Is Your Firewood Contaminated with Poison Ivy?

So you’ve just cut down some firewood from the back yard or gathering some sticks for the stove. Did you check to see if there were any harmful plants nearby like Poison Ivy? It’s not just touching the plant when cutting the wood that can cause you harm. Burning wood exposed to Poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac release an oil, urushiol, that when burned will release into the air. Because it's an oil, it sticks to just about everything it touches.
 When the oil gets on the skin an allergic reaction, referred to as contact dermatitis, occurs in most exposed people as an itchy red rash with bumps or blisters. When exposed to 50 micrograms of urushiol, an amount that is less than one grain of table salt, 80 to 90 percent of adults will develop a rash. The rash, depending upon where it occurs and how broadly it is spread, may significantly impede or prevent a person from working. Although over-the-counter topical medications may relieve symptoms for most people, immediate medical attention may be required for severe reactions, particularly when exposed to the smoke from burning these poisonous plants. Burning these poisonous plants can be very dangerous because the allergens can be inhaled, causing lung irritation.

IndoorDoctor recommends that wood exposed to urushiol should not be burned.  Even in winter you may contract poison ivy from touching wood you use to burn in the fireplace. The wood may be long dead but the urushiol remains active for up to several years. What's more, burning the wood may actually carry the allergen to your skin or you may even inhale it with the smoke and ash. It has been known to cause respiratory distress. If this happens, see a physician immediately. The smoke and gaseous by-products of burning urushiol may end up on your skin and in your lungs if you burn it in an inadequately ventilated stove or fireplace, resulting in severe medical distress.  The oil from poison ivy is extremely stable and will stay potent - essentially forever.  For example, you can get a rash from clothing or tools that have the oil from last summer, or even from many years back. Removal of the bark from the wood can help but that process has its own set of problems.
 You can reduce your risk of exposure to firewood that has been covered with poison ivy, poison oak or sumac by careful examination of the source area for the wood for suspicious vines or by purchasing wood fuels from a knowledgeable professional.