Pretty pictures!

[Erby]

Dang, if only I did mold/fungus testing I coulda made me some real money.

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Good thing I wear a mask.

Another inspector I speak to occassionally told me he went in a good looking (?) crawl space a few days ago and that night his sinus were miserable. The next morning they were bleeding and he was in the doctor's office. Wear your breathing protection!

[sbrooten]

Very good advice! I have been in a couple of houses recently where I had a headache in a matter of minutes and had sinus problems for the next few days. And that was BEFORE I went into the crawlspace! A good mask is a mighty handy tool to have around.

[Chris Bernhardt]

One of my gripes about respirators is that they either pop off, fog up my glasses or prevent me from getting past ducts that I could otherwise get under. If I was to seriously wear one religously then I would have to write up as not readily accessible some areas that I could not safely get to without my respirator.

Does anyone have suggestions on any particualy models or brands that they have had good luck with?

Chris, Oregon

[Bill Kibbel]

For those not wearing one that fits well, I will gladly give you the details about my bacterial respiratory infections (2 hospitalizations, 1 ICU), "farmer's lung" and a coworker's battle with hantavirus. I've gone through a couple dozen before finding one that creates an excellent face-seal and isn't cumbrous. Surprisingly, it's not very expensive.

MSA Advantage 200 w/P100 filters.

They also need to be sanitized regularly and change the filters often.

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by Chris Bernhardt

One of my gripes about respirators is that they either pop off, fog up my glasses or prevent me from getting past ducts that I could otherwise get under. If I was to seriously wear one religously then I would have to write up as not readily accessible some areas that I could not safely get to without my respirator.

Does anyone have suggestions on any particualy models or brands that they have had good luck with?

Chris, Oregon

Visit Sanderson Safety Supply in Portland. They have a large selection of brands and various sizes within brands that you can try on. It's essential to find one that fits your particular face. Bring your glasses.

I prefer a full-face model made by North. It's fits my face well and even does a passable job of sealing around my beard. I feel naked entering a crawlspace without it.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[swolsen]

Originally posted by inspecthistoric

They also need to be sanitized regularly and change the filters often.

Hi Bill,

Do you just remove the filters and wash them with dish detergent? If not; how do you sanitize them? Also how often do you replace the filters? Does it depend on how you have used them?

Thanks

[Bill Kibbel]

Scott,

I remove the filters and wash the mask only.

Filter replacement happens when they look dirty or smell funky.

[chrisprickett]

The best way to sanitize it is to run it through the dishwasher. Remove the straps and filters first!!!

[randynavarro]

Been wearing a triple seal respirator since day one - made by Willson. Never had problems.

Jim, I've tried full face but is too cumbersome, restricts my field of view, and the glass always gets fogged when I start sweating.

How do you avoid these issues?

[randynavarro]

Installing pre-filters on the cartridges increases the life of the cartridge tremendously(which is the expensive part).

Really, all a respirator is in our jobs is a really good dust mask. The cartridges simply provide the added bonus of blocking odors.

The pre-filters will capture most all of the dust and dirt.

[Scottpat]

I use a full face respirator made by 3M. I like the pancake type filters, they are fairly inexpensive, easy to replace and you can change them for different types of hazards.

Best thing about a full face is that you don't have to worry about crud falling in your eyes. Yes, they are a little warmer but I would not go back to a half-face.

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by randynavarro

Been wearing a triple seal respirator since day one - made by Willson. Never had problems.

Jim, I've tried full face but is too cumbersome, restricts my field of view, and the glass always gets fogged when I start sweating.

How do you avoid these issues?

The North model is only slighly cumbersome. Its benefits greatly outweigh the cumbersomeness (?). It also has a great field of view. I don't feel that my peripheral vision is impaired at all.

Fogging is minimal. It only happens when I don't have the inner mouth/nose piece properly fitted. Sweating doesn't seem to cause it to fog.

I really haven't experienced much of a downside to it.

One time, a bit of fiberglass fluff got stuck inside the mask. So, halfway through the crawlspace, I took it off and shook it out. After I put it back on, I saw a giant hairy spider crawling across the lens. As I tried to wipe it off, I realized that the spider was *inside* the mask. In the resulting confusion, the spider actually fell onto my face and was scampering around on my eyes (under my glasses).

The mask no longer comes off while I'm in the crawlspace.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Terence McCann]

Originally posted by Jim Katen

The North model is only slighly cumbersome.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

What model number Jim?

[Terence McCann]

Originally posted by inspecthistoric

Surprisingly, it's not very expensive.

MSA Advantage 200 w/P100 filters.

They also need to be sanitized regularly and change the filters often.

Where did you get your's Bill? Google turned up this for me http://www.fastenal.com.

Also, in looking at the cartridge they make a few different ones. Why the P100's? I saw this one "MSA 817665 Gry/Red 1" Round Toxic Dust Replacement Cartridge" which might be more applicable, no?

I see very few crawl spaces (just wear a painters mask now) but your story has me re-thinking my safety plan.

[Inspectorjoe]

Originally posted by inspecthistoric

Surprisingly, it's not very expensive.

MSA Advantage 200 w/P100 filters.

Wow, that's not very expensive. Grainger has it for $10.74. Since I'm ordering some stuff from them today (including yet another set of left-behind thermometers), I'll try it. I've always used the disposable paper ones, but they steam up my glasses and I often end up taking it off.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/itemDetailsRender.shtml?ItemId=1611607064

Speaking of protective gear, Grainger has a great election of Tyvek coveralls. After some trial and error, I finally found the perfect hooded and footed one, but they don't seem to stock that model number anymore. This one looks essentially the same:

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/itemDetailsRender.shtml?ItemId=1611606791

Does anybody have a good glove recomendation? I bought a box of nitrile gloves, but my hands sweat too much to wear them for more than a few minutes. I'm back to using cotton jersey gloves, but I have to take them off whenever I take a picture. That kind of defeats the purpose.

[Bill Kibbel]

Inspector Joe wrote: "Wow, that's not very expensive. Grainger has it for $10.74".

That is cheap, but it doesn't appear to include the filters.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/itemDetailsRender.shtml?ItemId=1611606937

Terry wrote: "Why the P100's?"

P100 filters protect against dust, particles and mists and specifically lists protection from asbestos and hantavirus. The chemical cartridges protect against gases which I don't think is an issue for us.

[Erby]

I use the standard yellow dishwashing kitchen gloves.

Yeah, my hands sweat a bit sometime, but I don't have to remove them for pictures and I don't come out with my hands feeling "icky" like they did when I wasn't smart enough to use gloves.

I'm glad those pretty pictures stirred the discussion of breathing protection. I've heard of more than one inspector who's had bad problems from not wearing breathing protection in the attics & crawl spaces. Maybe this'll save some the trouble.

Protect Thyself!

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by Terence McCann

Originally posted by Jim Katen

The North model is only slighly cumbersome.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

What model number Jim?

This one:

http://www.north-safety.com/product.php?Item_ID=5384

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Bill01]

What exactly is the white stuff covering the right side joist in the first picture? I've seen this before but didn't know the correct name. Looked almost good enough to eat.

[Erby]

Sorry Bill, DDMG

I just tell em"

=============================

What appears to be mold or mildew is present. The identification of the organism(s) is beyond the scope of this home inspection. That means I think its mold but the only way to tell for sure is to test it. Testing is generally considered a waste of money by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), unless the mold is causing health problems.

See attachment " A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture & Your Home" from the EPA.

My basic recommendation is: The moisture source needs to be fixed and the mold needs to be cleaned up. Who does that is your decision. Do not spend money on testing. However, review the below information and recommendations before deciding on how to deal with this issue.

If, after reviewing the below information, you have additional questions or want further investigation, I recommend that you contact a Certified Industrial Hygienist, usually listed in the yellow pages under "Industrial Hygiene Consultants" to determine if there exists an ongoing climate for incubation or microbial contamination and to obtain their recommendations for dealing with the issue.

There is a lot of controversy over the issue of mold and mold testing.

The EPA does not recommend measuring airborne fungal levels. The EPA publication "A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home" states "Is sampling for mold needed? In most cases, if visible mold growth is present, sampling is unnecessary."

The EPA also says “You should be aware that although a substance may look like mold, a positive determination of whether it is mold or not can be made only by an expert and may require laboratory analysis for final confirmation. For about $50, some microbiology laboratories can tell you whether a sample sent to them on a clear strip of sticky household tape is mold or simply a substance that resembles it.â€

[Bain]

Yours is worse that what I saw this afternoon, Erby . . . still though, I thought I was gonna hurl just because of the stench. I found myself wishing I had one of Bill's masks, which I just ordered from Grainger this morning.

I see this a couple of times a year. Want to destroy your house? Build a pretty brick planter around it.

John

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[hausdok]

Hi John,

Obviously, that wasn't the first time that they'd fixed the rot there. The ends of those joists have been sawn away and new ends cobbled on at least once. Wouldn't be surprised to learn that they'd replaced the rim joist as well. Around here, half of the yayhoos would have cut blocks and pounded 'em up between the ends of those joists to hide that rim.

No support for those splices? Tsk, tsk.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Bain]

That's what I told the buyer, Mike. The original ruined joists were scabbed onto with new 2" bys at some point in the house's history, but the source of the problem was never addressed. I don't fuss too much about perpendicular supports if the scabs are well lagged or a sufficient amount of carriage bolts are utilized.

The fun part is returning to the main level and trying to poke my finger through the drywall or baseboards. I couldn't find any soft spots today, but I have in the past. Regardless, the wall cavities above the funk in the photos were no doubt crawling with ooze.

John

[Erby]

John, your reference to the "stench" tells me ya ain't taking care of yourself. If you were, you wouldn't be smelling the stench.

Glad to see you're getting the mask.

[Bain]

My main problem is one mentioned above---my glasses. I was wearing a inexpensive dust mask yesterday, but the crawlspace was damp, the humidity was high due to the rain, and my lenses kept fogging over.

Bugger.