Jonathan Campbell
HealthyHomes™ Quality and Mold Remediation Consulting
Low-cost help for homeowners and contractors

Helping people to make their homes safe and non-toxic

You are not alone. Millions of homes in the US have mold problems, most of them undetected. Mold can grow almost anywhere, and mold spores are everywhere. Most building materials are not mold-resistant - they provide food for the mold spores. All that is needed for mold growth is water, and modern construction techniques and materials trap water.

Heavy rains, humid weather and especially flooding and plumbing leaks set the stage for mold growth in your home.

If you have detected mold because a room or basement smells musty, or you have seen mold or mildew growth on the floor, walls, ceiling, air conditioner, or furnace, you are far ahead of most homeowners.

Mold can make you and your family ill, so it is important for you to understand how to remove it safely and also how to treat yourself and family members for possible exposure. If anyone in your family is experiencing unusual allergies or ill health that seems to get better when they are not in the house, then mold exposure may be the cause.

Mold harms you with its toxins that you breathe, and also, if your immunity is compromised, the mold spores can invade and grow in your lungs or get into a cut and actually spread to the rest of your body.

As a health and home quality consultant, I can help you. I provide natural therapies for mold-caused illness. There are safe natural anti-fungus agents that you can take which are safe, as well as supplements for detoxification and enhancement of immunity.

Additionally, I can help guide you through the mold removal and remediation process. Depending on the level of mold contamination, you may be able to remove the mold yourself, wearing protective clothing and respirator, or hire a contractor who is trained in mold removal.

If you know or suspect that the mold growth is extensive or hidden, you may want to hire a local mold inspector certified by MICRO or NAMP to determine the extent of the contamination. And you will certainly want to hire a licensed contractor who is knowledgeable about handling of mold contaminated materials and versed in mold-inhibiting construction techniques.

I have specific expertise in mold-free construction materials and techniques. I can work with you and your contractor so that the problem will be unlikely to arise again in the repaired section of your home.

You can contact me now for an inexpensive email or phone consultation: http://www.cqs.com/askjon.htm. If you live in eastern Massachusetts, I can consult with you at your home as well. The fee is $60 per hour, including travel time. Call me at 617-522-4241 (9 AM - 6 PM weekdays) to schedule an appointment.

Money back guarantee: If my advice doesn't help, you get a refund!

You will also want to become a mold expert yourself. After all, your home is probably the largest investment of your lifetime. You probably don't want to be calling me or some other expert miles away every time you have a simple question. There are some fairly good mold books available, and I have listed a few at the end of this article.

Warning: I recommend against downloadable ebooks on mold remediation. Buy books at websites that have reader ratings such as Amazon.com.

There is a now a wide selection of mold-free building materials and an internationally recognized rating system for mold resistance such as ASTM G-21. There are also books written by experts in mold-free construction and "breathable wall" technology, with the understanding that water vapor needs to be controlled and allowed to flow freely, and that attempts to "seal it" ultimately fail.

Mold books (most available at Amazon.com and other online vendors):

1. The Homeowner's Guide to Mold by Michael Pugliese. This is an excellent, professionally written book that presents the entire range of household mold basics to homeowners in clear, understandable language. However, it does not have a discussion about the problem with vapor barriers and possible mold in all walls made with paper-backed gypsum drywall and/or paper-backed fiberglass insulation.

2. What Every Home Owner Needs To Know About Mold by Vicki Lankarge. This is a fairly good introduction to mold inspection and remediation for the homeowner. And, like most books on the topic, does not discuss vapor barriers, paper, and gypsum.

3. Breathing Walls by George Swanson et al. George is one of the world's experts on breathable wall materials and design. The book is currently available only at his website, http://www.geoswan.com. This book is designed to give you a complete technical understanding of the mold problem and the newest techniques available for building mold-free homes and additions. This is ONLY book that discusses the basic problems facing virtually all homeowners today - the vapor barrier and paper-backed construction products.

4. Mold Illness and Mold Remediation Made Simple by James Schaller and Gary Rosen. This is not a great book, but it does have some essential information not found elsewhere. It is written half like a comic book with not very funny actual comics, and it doesn't even have an index, a sign of poor book workmanship. It does not even describe many places where you might find mold in your home. However, it does have a description of the use of the sophisticated instruments used by professional, commercial mold inspectors, rules about remediation, and information about mold illness that I have not seen before or since.

5. My House Is Killing Me! by Jeffrey C. May. This is an excellent book on molds and toxins in the house and has discussions about remediation, venting, etc. However, like most books on the topic of mold, the focus is on leaks and floods, and does not address mold inside walls caused by vapor seals with paper-backed wallboard and insulation.

Contact Jonathan Campbell

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Jonathan Campbell, Health, Home QA, and Mold Consultant
124 Metropolitan Ave.
Roslindale, MA 02131-4208
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