Dr Jackson Kung'u- Mold Specialist

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Dr. Jackson Kung’u (PhD)- Mold Specialist.
Phone: 905-290-9101
Mobile: 437-556-0254

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moisture damage

Mold In Bathrooms

Growth of mold in bathrooms is very common if there is no proper ventilation. Mold in bathrooms could be due to poor ventilation and high humidity in the bathroom.  The mold could be found growing on the walls and also the bathroom ceiling. Severe growth of  mold in bathrooms can also occur in drains which emit odors. Drains are a hot spot for fungal growth in bathrooms. The extent of fungal contamination in bathrooms is dependent on the amount of moisture present.

Predominant types of mold in bathrooms include Acremonium sp., Cladosporium sp., Cladophialophora sp., Fusarium sp., Phoma sp., Exophiala sp.,  Scolecobasidium sp., and Aureobasidium sp. With leaking pipes or prolonged excessive moisture other indicators of moisture damage such as Stachybotrys sp and Chaetomium can be found growing behind the baseboard.

How to control growth of mold in bathrooms

To control growth of mold in bathrooms, humidity has to be reduced. The CMHC recommends the following:

  • Check the bathroom fan to make sure it exhausts to the outside.
  • Turn the bathroom fan on when you shower. Keep it running for a few minutes after you finish your shower.
  • Take short showers.
  • Keep surfaces that get wet, such as the walls around the bathtub and shower, clean and dry.
  • If there is a carpet in your bathroom, remove it.
  • Check for water leaks.
  • Keep drains in good shape by removing debris from them.

Air Quality Mold Testing Kits

Air quality testing should be conducted by a qualified professional. However, there are basic tests that a homeowner or a property manager can perform by themselves and save money. Air quality testing for mold does not require any special training. Mold & Bacteria Consulting Laboratories has been renting air quality testing equipment to homeowners, property managers or professionals who are just starting their businesses.

To perform your own air quality testing for mold it’s important to plan ahead. For example you need to decide how many rooms you want to test as this will determine the number of air samples you will collect. ideally, one should test all the rooms but if the budget cannot allow you can test areas of concern. In addition to the samples you collect from indoors, an outdoor sample is also required. The outdoor air sample helps to determine which of the mold spores detected indoors had likely originated from outdoors.

Interpreting air sample results can be difficult. However, after comparing indoor samples with outdoor sample, if the types of spores detected from the indoor sample are the same as those detected from outdoors and the indoor counts are significantly lower than those of the outdoors, then we can conclude that the tested areas had no mold problem at the time of testing. This conclusion is only valid if we cannot visually see mold growth and the building is not damp. It’s important to note that while the spore counts could be low, presence of certain types of molds could be an indication of major moisture damage and possibly hidden mold growth.

 How to perform air quality testing

As indicated previously you’ll require to rent an air sampling pump. You’ll also need to purchase air sampling cassettes. Mold & Bacteria Consulting Laboratories provides instructions on how to operate the pump. After sampling the samples are sent to the laboratory for identification and counting of spores. The results are reported as the number of spores per cubic meter of air. Click air sampling instructions to watch a video on how to perform air quality test for mold.