We should respect mould. This is the advice of internal buildings environmental expert Paul Gressin. Mr. Gressin was brought to Bermuda to help with the recent mould clean-up at CedarBridge Academy. He said the microbes abound in warm humid conditions and are found absolutely everywhere.

“People should not be afraid of mould they should respect it. It is necessary for recycling and plays an important role in breaking down organic matter,” he said.

There are hundreds of different types of mould and efforts to kill them all would render us at tremendous risk for disease. According to Mr. Gressin mould spores are in the air and at normal levels pose no risk to healthy humans.

Asked about aspergillus, the mould variety that rose to prominence in the recent CedarBridge clean-up, Mr. Gressin said it’s fine at normal levels.

“I’ve run about 1,000 tests on the Island in all kinds of places,” he said. “And I’ve found it present everywhere. It’s even found in Alaska. It is a problem at high levels. It’s the volume that is getting you sick. In sterile places like hospital operating rooms and computer rooms you may not find them but you can never keep your home like that. If you did that in your home you would get sick the first time you left the house,” he said.

“Mould helps us more than it hurts.”

He said that mould existed in Biblical times and noted that the book of Leviticus advises people to try to clean it themselves or if it is too much to call a priest for his help. If all else fails the Old Testament says they should take the problem and dump it in an unclean place.

It’s more than 2007 years later and the advice has only changed slightly. Today safety guidelines in the US still recommend that people clean small areas of mould growth themselves.

The New York Department of Health standard stipulates that the average person can tackle areas ten to 30 square feet.

Instead of calling a priest, modern-day people are advised to call an environmental cleaning specialist. In Bermuda that means the Environmental Health Office or a private company like TES Ltd. or Bermuda Water Consultants. These professionals should be consulted for infestations talking up an area over 100 square feet. And not unlike the Leviticus advice, in situations where the mould has completely taken over environmental consultants will suggest demolition.

Mr. Gressin of Professional Building Inspectors, Inc. said his company is frequently contracted to do mould clean-up. “I do a lot of work in Florida where the conditions are much the same as here in Bermuda,” he said. “It’s warm and it’s humid.”

“It’s easy to think of it in a triangle. One point is temperature, one is food and one is water or humidity above 60 percent. Remove any of these points and the mould cannot grow,” he said.

Mould growth is not synonymous with being dirty. Mr. Gressin said when he goes into a home he doesn’t assess how dirty or clean it is. “You can have a very dirty home, that is very dry and so there will be no problems with mould there,” he said. Similarly a very clean home that is damp may have very high levels of mould growth.

In many cases omitting the food source is the easiest way to eliminate mould especially in the home setting. Any organic matter is food for mould. It will not grow on glass or plastic. Carpets are a wonderful breeding ground for them as are heavy curtains and upholstery fabrics. Mr. Gressin said in his opinion carpet should not be used in the Bermuda environment at all.

“Do not use carpet, it’s like landing in a ploughed field for mould. On tile there’s no food source,” he said. “And I can get a tile floor really clean with a mop and some bleach (bleach does kills mould but doesn’t have a residual effect) in a way that is almost impossible with a vacuum.”

When a home does require professionals to step in and clean up, Mr. Gressin said the process is fairly quick. He said in many cases the family could continue to live in the premises while the work is going on but usually recommends that the elderly and those with weakened immune systems stay with a friend.

The clean up method used depends on the extent of the problem. There is an industry manual on the topic that is very specific on exactly what course to take at the various stages of contamination. The Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification S520 is the manual used. It details what equipment and products should be used and Mr. Gressin said environmental cleaning companies usually adhere very strictly to it.

Asked what homeowners can do in Bermuda to kill mould Mr. Gressin recommended cleaning with anti-microbial agents like Foster480, Microband and Shockwave. He said where carpets are used hepa vacuuming is best. “But the hepa vacuums you buy in the shops are not the real thing,” he said.

“Bleach will kill mould but is only good for about five minutes,” he said. “Where there is a lot, a mask should be worn and it needs to be the right type of mask a P100 or N95 not just the little ones you find in the hardware store. Special garments are also necessary,” he said.

BREAKING THE MOULD