Molds are types of fungus. There are a huge number of different strains, some much more toxic than others. Mold thrives in warm, humid places (such as bathrooms, kitchens, or basements), but mold and its spores are all around us, all of the time. There are many health effects that can be attributed to certain types of mold. Personal susceptibility plays a major factor in the severity of symptoms experienced from mold exposures.
If you find mold growing in your building, please let us know as soon as possible! Most of the issues we’ve found on campus are due to water intrusion in some way, shape, or form. We will come to your building and make an assessment of what to do next. Most likely, we will not need to do any testing or sampling because we will be performing the same careful remediation no matter what strain is present. The first step after the initial assessment involves getting Georgia Tech Facilities involved to help find and eliminate the source of the mold. Once we’ve fixed the problem, the next step is remediation. Some projects are small enough for us to handle in-house, but other jobs may require us to hire a contractor.
If you think that you may have mold affecting your indoor air quality but you can’t see any obvious source, we can conduct appropriate air and surface testing for microbial activity. The results can then be compared to the types and levels found in the ambient outdoor environment to see if mold levels are elevated in your area. Some individuals are much more sensitive to mold than others, and we consider each investigation seriously. We may find that we need to fully clean building HVAC systems. Sometimes all it takes is keeping your office and surrounding common areas clean.
For more information, please don’t hesitate to contact us!