In Louisiana, moisture is not limited to what enters during a storm. Heat, humidity, air conditioning, and how a building has changed over time can all influence where moisture develops and how long it remains.
Environmental work in an occupied school has to reflect what is actually happening in the field. The project team needs clear information about the building conditions, the affected areas, and the practical decisions that may be needed as the work progresses.
Wynn and his crew quickly jumped in to help. They showed up with advice, guidance, and true partnership. You can get professional services anywhere. You can’t get this level of dedicated client commitment just anywhere.
Why does mold keep coming back in Louisiana schools? Learn how moisture, HVAC systems, leaks, and building conditions can cause recurring mold problems.
Learn how hospitals can investigate indoor air quality concerns, identify the source, and address mold, moisture, odors, and HVAC issues with minimal disruption to patient care.
Imagine you’re sitting in your office when you notice a drip-drip-drip. You get the trash can out and put it under the leak-problem solved! Or is it? Does that water touch anything that supports mold growth, like the gypsum board ceiling or your ceiling tile? Do you notice odors after it rains? Do you notice dark fuzzy stuff around the leak or on your air conditioning vents? Mold might not be the end all bad stuff that some folks make it out to be. But if you or someone else notices it-it must be an aggravation at the very least-and it is causing pain of some sort, so let’s stop it, clean it up, and keep it from coming back. Just taking the time to talk about mold is hurting your productivity and there are known health affects of mold-let’s leave that topic for another day. Ten Things You Should Know About Mold: 1. Potential health effects and symptoms associated with mold exposures include allergic reactions, asthma, and other respiratory complaints. 2. There is no practical way to eliminate all mold and mold spores in the indoor environment; the way to control indoor mold growth is to control moisture. 3. If mold is a problem in your building, you must clean up the mold and eliminate sources of moisture. 4. Fix the source of the water problem or leak to prevent mold growth. 5. Reduce indoor humidity to decrease mold growth. 6. Clean and dry any damp or wet building materials and furnishings within 24-48 hours to prevent mold growth. 7. Clean mold off hard surfaces with water and detergent, and dry completely. 8. Prevent condensation. 9. In areas where there is a perpetual moisture problem, do not install carpeting. 10. Did I say stop the moisture? What to do if you have mold: 1. Stop the moisture (and keep it from coming back). 2. Clean up the mold (may require demolition). 3. Develop and implement a proactive moisture management plan. Do you need a professional engineer to design the remediation and repairs? As professional engineers, we are trained to analyze and find the cause of the problem, identify and evaluate the pros and cons of options, and offer you the solution that best fits your goals. This is the basis for design. We, as engineers, spend countless hours searching for options, learning about solutions, investigating products, and trying to understand the available technologies. We have long detailed conversations with experts on subjects like air sealing, water management, egress, health and safety, wind loads, indoor air quality, and structural loads. What to look for if you need professional help: A registered Professional Engineer who has 20 years in the industry and is experienced in solving mold related issues. Look for someone the experts call when they have a question-or when they’re too busy and they want to be sure their clients are taken care of. Someone who has a clear and well defined process that’s going to keep you informed and educated throughout the project so that you know what’s happening throughout each step and you have all the documentation to help eliminate or mitigate any future litigation you may encounter. Leave a comment or question below and I’ll send you a copy of a Proactive Moisture and Mold Management Program that you can use to help you avoid mold problems. Stay moldy, my friends. Chris White, P.E., LEED AP has been helping clients solve problems for 20 years. He is the Most Interesting Engineer in the World. You can follow him on Twitter @ChrisWhitePE .
Why does stucco leak water into buildings? We get many calls about stucco and water intrusion. I have one friend (he develops buildings) who hates stucco. Why Stucco has been around for a long time. Think of the beautiful stucco structures that are over 100 years old. The stucco was used initially on full masonry walls. It helps shed water and in some cases provided a sacrificial protective service. Really good stuff. So why is it a problem now Well, today it’s used it on materials different from masonry. We put it on steel or wood framing. That’s different but not necessarily the kiss of death. Sometimes what looks like stucco is synthetic stucco or nontraditional stucco (I think of stucco being a three coat system). That’s different as well but not necessarily the kiss of death. Sometimes stucco is considered the sole protective weather barrier—not as an integral part of the cladding system, but as the only protective system. And this is almost always the kiss of death. What should I do if my stucco leaks First, find out where the water is entering the structure. Is it entering through the field of the stucco, at roof to wall connections (think of balconies as a mini-roof), or at openings (windows, doors, cable entrances, etc.)? If water is entering through the field of the stucco, you have a real problem. You’ll probably have to replace all of the stucco. If water is entering roof to wall connections or openings, you can remove the stucco in those areas, properly flash and prepare the openings, and repair the stucco. If you find structural damage because of the water intrusion, you’ll have to replace the damaged materials. What to watch for Well, you bought a stucco cladding system to begin with—how do you know you’ll get a proper system the second go around? That is the $64,000 question. You may not have picked up on it, but I have used the word system throughout the discussion above. Stucco is an important part of the cladding system and it has to be tied in with the water barrier. If you screw up the water barrier, it doesn’t matter what you use for cladding. Note, there are other parts to the cladding system. Stucco is not bad for buildings I like stucco. It is pretty, durable, and nearly maintenance free. But the entire cladding system has to be designed and built properly. If you need help reviewing or designing a cladding system or if you have questions or comments, send me an email. Also, I’d appreciate any photographs you have of failing stucco or of successful stucco repair projects.
If you’re like me and not in the path of Hurricane Laura, you’ve spent a good bit of time watching Hurricane Laura news coverage. So far it looks like the surge wasn’t nearly as bad as predicted, but Hurricane Laura caused a tremendous amount of damage to Cameron and Calcasieu parishes and the surrounding areas. It’s also too soon to tell how much damage Hurricane Laura will cause as the storm moves inland and dissipates. What’s certain though, is Hurricane Laura will leave a considerable amount of water damage, resulting in water damage restoration and mold remediation. Hurricane Laura environmental cleanup is going to be a huge undertaking and will cause disturbance of asbestos, lead, PCB, and mercury. Proper removal and disposal of those materials is super important. Typically, storm coverage emphasizes water damage and mold remediation. Water damage restoration and mold remediation after Hurricane Laura will be the most obvious cleanup and restoration tasks. But everyone involved with Hurricane Laura environmental cleanup has to consider the other environmental hazards they could encounter. Hurricane Laura environmental cleanup will take time. Response work, particularly environmental cleanup, must balance speediness and caution. This is particularly important since we’ll want to get out right away and assess damage as soon as Hurricane Laura clears out. I know everyone wants to get in and get everything cleaned up and put back together. When we went through Hurricane Gustav (and other storms over the years), I was the same way. But sometimes hasty cleanup efforts can make more of a mess if we don’t slow down and assess all the potential environmental hazards in the work area. We may also put ourselves, co-workers, friends, and family at risk if we unknowingly create an environmental problem. Your safety is the most important consideration. Whether it’s water in the roadways, downed power lines, unstable structures, or contaminated water, make sure it’s safe to move around before you try to get in and assess the damage and environmental hazards. And when the storm is over, we often see hot temperatures return. Dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke are common problems people face. You’re stressed out and exhausted, and now you’re working in the heat, trying to put your home or business back together. Take care of yourself, then worry about contents – it’s worth repeating that you can always replace buildings and contents, but not people. You can replace buildings and contents, but not people. I won’t get too far into avoiding mold and mold remediation, other than to stress that you need to get the building clean and dry. Maybe Hurricane Laura is the only cause of the mold. Or maybe there’s an ongoing moisture problem that existed before the storm, and now the recovery work has led to discovery of other moisture problems. Find the cause, get the building dried out, cleaned up, and keep the mold from coming back. One other quick reminder on water damage restoration and mold remediation: there is no such thing as a Mold Free Certificate . There’s no requirement to get your home or building certified as “mold free” to make sure you can sell or rent a home or building. Anyone trying to sell you a mold free certificate is trying to scam you. Period.
We have had some questions on cleaning and disinfecting facilities for coronavirus (COVID-19). We have worked to prepare specifications building owners can give contractors to clean and disinfect facilities for coronavirus. In particular, these specifications include cleaning and disinfecting HVAC systems for coronavirus. Obviously, the coronavirus pandemic is unlike anything we’ve experienced. This is not like a flood, hurricane, earthquake, or any other natural disaster we’ve faced. The other virus scares we’ve had in recent years haven’t come close to this. And since coronavirus is invisible and very difficult to detect (at least in comparison to the kind of environmental sampling we typically do), cleaning and disinfecting facilities for coronavirus is not like mold remediation or asbestos abatement. Instead of quickly firing out specifications for cleaning and disinfecting for coronavirus, Wynn and I spent a good bit of time thinking through the process, including surface cleaning and disinfection, HVAC system cleaning and disinfection, and finally, how to verify successful cleaning and disinfection of coronavirus. So it’s taken us some time to get the specifications together. Add to that what we don’t know about coronavirus: how long it can survive on different surfaces and in certain conditions, how temperature and relative humidity affect coronavirus, on and on. We’ve done our best to come up with a thorough cleaning and disinfection specification, but something pretty much any restoration or environmental contractor can execute. Compared to our other specifications, like for mold and asbestos, these specifications are much shorter, while still containing good information to protect the contractor, building occupants, and get the job done. We got to thinking about the places or surfaces where coronavirus could survive, as well as the risk for building occupants from high touch surfaces or ways to spread coronavirus through the air. Surface cleaning and disinfection for coronavirus is obvious. But there could be areas we haven’t yet considered. It got us to thinking about a place or system every building has: the HVAC ductwork and coils. It turns out coronavirus likes cold, wet places. Well, what’s one place that’s cold and wet in our buildings? That’s right – the air conditioner coil, or HVAC system coil. Whatever term you use. When we run our air conditioners, the HVAC coil stays cold and wet. Since coronavirus can get into the air, it can get into the HVAC system, and from there, to the coil. So there’s a ready made spot for coronavirus to survive, even if the building is totally abandoned. Unless we totally abandon a building and shut off the air conditioners, there’s a chance coronavirus could survive past what we think is a safe period. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s included in the specifications, and our thinking for how to go about cleaning and disinfecting facilities for coronavirus: First, the specifications require a thorough cleaning and disinfection of surfaces and materials. No magic here – a thorough cleaning using one of the materials listed with the EPA for cleaning and disinfecting coronavirus . Second, building owners may want to consider cleaning and disinfecting HVAC systems for coronavirus. This includes the ductwork and the coils. For other microbiological contaminants like mold, often duct and coil cleaning is not necessary. There’s also the inconvenient fact that as soon as you open the building and turn the HVAC system back on, mold gets back into the ductwork and rest of the HVAC system since mold is everywhere. So we aren’t against cleaning ductwork and HVAC system coils, but it’s more often than not more related to the Owner’s risk tolerance for mold. Since coronavirus likes cold, wet places, and we are assuming people aren’t going to shut down their HVAC systems for a month, we recommend cleaning and disinfecting ductwork and HVAC coils for coronavirus. If you’re going to spend all that time and money cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and contents, we think it’s a good idea to consider cleaning your ductwork and coils. Third, the specifications cover how workers protect themselves while cleaning and disinfecting for coronavirus. This includes use of protective clothing, gloves, goggles, and respirators. The specifications contain procedures for workers to clean themselves before and after going into the coronavirus cleanup work area. Last, the specifications cover how to conduct testing to verify if the contractor cleaned and disinfected successfully. Unfortunately, there’s no ready-made coronavirus test that is commercially available for environmental testing, at least right now. And rightly so, any commercial lab that can analyze samples for coronavirus is going to be busy analyzing tests for people. So how would we measure success, or at least guess at it? What we’ve settled on for now is a combination of verification used for different facilities such as surgical suites, food preparation, and other public areas. For surfaces, we’re suggesting use of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). For HVAC system testing, we’re suggesting using gravimetric testing and analysis. Building owners should decide what criteria they want to set for successful completion. As we get further into this or find other alternatives, we’ll update these recommendations. If you’re interested in more information or would like to get a set of the COVID-19 Cleaning and Disinfection Specifications, click the link below. In case you missed it, here’s a link to the Indoor Environmental Quality Podcast Episode 8 where I cover Ready.gov and OSHA information on coronavirus. If you’d like more information, email me . Or visit our website www.wynnwhite.com or you can find me on Twitter and Instagram: @chriswhitepe The Indoor Environmental Quality Podcast is available in iTunes (if you’re still running the old school iTunes application!), Apple Podcasts app, Google Play, iHeart Radio, and Spotify.
