Yes, you read the header of today’s mold inspection blog correctly. A house, not a person, recently tried to “save itself” from a horrific outbreak of toxic mould by dialling 911.

The Marblehead, Massachusetts property’s owner, James Cowen, was away and traveling. While he was gone over the winter, a pipe burst. Water exploded through the walls, ceilings and floorboards. The basement was flooded with five feet of water. All the soggy, sagging floors and ceiling began to breed toxic mould. With no proper mold removal possible while Cowen was gone, it grew to obscene levels.

Eventually, however, water damage short-circuited the phone system in the house. That triggered a 911 call (automatically?) from the equipment. The responders recorded the call as a hang-up and got nothing but static when they tried to contact the home so they decided to investigate.

When police found the home, the water levels and toxic mold levels had grown to astronomical levels. The health director for the Town of Marblehead called the scene “a horrific mess.”

Building commissioner Bob Ives added that “the house is unfit for human habitation” and that “I don’t think anyone would want to go in there because of the level of mold.”

Somehow, the house only made a single 911 call. It’s a somewhat amusing story on the surface – how did a house know to call 911? – but toxic mold is no laughing matter when all is said and done. Naturally, James Cowen couldn’t have called a mold removal company to handle his problem because he had no idea that his pipes burst. However, in hindsight, seeing how much hazardous mould formed as a result, he would have been smart to inspect his pipes before embarking on a long journey.

That’s the best lesson to take away from this story. We know that moist, flooded homes breed mould, so make sure you protect all your pipes and water sources before leaving your home unattended for an extended period.

MoldInspections.ca is the trusted leader for mold-free homes and breathable indoor air spaces in Toronto, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and beyond. Providing certified mold inspection, detection and testing since 2005, we service home owners, real-estate agents, landlords, property managers, insurance companies and businesses. Featured on CTV and recommended by contractors, we regularly serve as expert witnesses in court proceeding relating to Mold and Indoor Air Quality issues. Do you have mold? Call us today for a free quote at (416) 575-6111.

Major mold removal could be in store as an eventual consequence of recent flooding in Manitoba and Quebec.

In Manitoba, the government made the decision to intentionally breach a dike on the Assiniboine River and flood more than 150 properties for the greater good of protecting 800 other homes. Just south of Montreal, roughly 3,000 homes were flooded by the Richelieu River earlier this month.

Some of the damage caused by flooding is easy to see and predict. Rushing floodwaters can mix with sewage containing both human and animal waste, contaminating drinking water or food with potentially infectious viruses, bacteria and other micro-organisms. One common threat is E. coli, as the people of Walkerton, Ontario learned the hard way when seven people died and more than 7,000 became ill in the now-infamous 2001 crisis.

But threat many flood victims often overlook is mold, and the kind that can’t be stopped pre-emptively by a mold inspection. The water damage caused by flooding causes increased moisture which creates a breeding environment for mold, explains Denise Koh, Manitoba’s medical officer of health dealing with environmental health.

“People who are sensitive to mold may experience increased asthma symptoms or difficulty breathing,” she says. “They can have irritating symptoms such as a stuffy nose, irritated eyes, wheezing, skin irritation and mold infections in the lungs.”

If you’re a flood victim, you should strongly consider commissioning a mold inspection and removal company to assess the damages and see whether your home has developed mold or is at risk for mold.

If you’re fortunate enough to live in a region not currently affected by flooding, such as the Greater Toronto Area, you can still learn a valuable lesson reading about the problems in Quebec and Manitoba. The flood damage highlights what mold can do to the human body. It’s thus imperative for all buildings to undergo proper mold detection.

Sometimes, we can’t fully understand the danger of a toxic agent like mold until it destroys something dear to us.

The Astrolabe Theatre on Nepean Point has long been one of the most beloved attractions in our nation’s capital, Ottawa, Ontario. It’s famous for the views it provides of the city and for its amphitheatre, which seats roughly 700 people.

But the City of Ottawa has to say goodbye to the historic building. The reason: proper attention wasn’t paid to mold removal. It’s too late now. The building is saturated with toxic mold and asbestos. The National Capital Commission has decided to demolish it.

As NCC spokeswoman Judith Gabois-St-Cyr explained, water infiltration was a key part of the building’s deterioration. The overly moist environment became a breeding ground for mold.

Could a proper mold inspection have saved the Astrolabe Theatre? It’s tough to say; the building is 30 years old. But an earlier commitment from building officials just might have caught it in time. Instead, the theatre is simply too overcome not just with mold, but also with carcinogenic asbestos fibres – especially in the service building and in the former dressing rooms for performers.

The site will be remediated; it hasn’t yet been decided what new attraction will replace the Astrolabe Theatre. The demolition schedule isn’t official yet but $1 million has been devoted to it for 2011-12.

Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area can learn a valuable lesson from the Astrolabe Theatre’s demise: historical buildings may be beautiful, but they’re also at major risk for mold and other hazardous materials. If we want to keep them intact and enjoy them forever, periodic assesments from a mold inspection and removal company are a prudent idea.

Doctor Ray Copes, Director of Environmental and Occupational Health for the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion, recently gave a seminar detailing the dangers associated with Grow-Ops and, more specifically, remediated Grow-Op homes, or former Grow-Op homes that have been seized and repurposed.

It’s fairly simple for us to understand the immediate problems an illegal drug growth operation poses. In British Columbia alone, the number rose from 1,251 in 1997 to 2,802 in 2000. The Grow-Ops accounted for roughly $100 million in electricity theft in B.C. Grow Ops are associated with countless building violations and unsafe electrical setups. They also negatively impact communities because of the violence associated with them, whether it’s through rival dealers trying to steal the stash in “grow rips” or the booby traps often lining the houses.

However, as any mold inspector will tell you, the damage former Grow-Ops leave behind can be just as harmful. Once they’re seized, the federal crown assumes control of Grow-Op properties. But does the government do a good enough job of preparing those buildings for healthy living and keeping residents informed about the properties’ past?

Grow-Ops that housed drugs like marijuana often have poor breathing environments as a result of rampant mold and the use of tobacco and the harmful chemicals associated with it. Not surprisingly, former methamphetamine labs are particularly dangerous. Meth labs often have hydrochloride and ammonia residue among many other harmful agents. There were 29 meth labs seized in Canada as recently as 2005.

Should Grow-Ops be condemned entirely because of their poor conditions, be they chemical residue, water damage, mold and so on? Not necessarily. But the government needs to do a more thorough job with its mold detection, mold removal and general approach to cleaning these former Grow-Op buildings.

The process that went into creating the drugs once found in these buildings may have been complex – rocket science, even – but cleaning them isn’t. If the government showed a better commitment to remediating the buildings and did a better job informing new residents about the buildings’ past, it would go a long way toward ensuring that Grow-Ops’ days of harming their communities are over.

Health

Real Estate Transactions

Former Flooding

Drug Houses