Using Biocides Properly And Safely

… … … After all the water damage Tropical Storm Sandy caused, we started getting phone calls on what was the proper procedure for cleaning up moldy surfaces and such.  Inevitably they would ask should they use bleach to clean the surfaces.As we always do we recommend the use of cleaners (i.e., Dawn), water, and lots of elbow grease (scrubbing).  For those of you who need a reference for this recommendation click on this EPA link.  The point of this post is to clear up some of the misconceptions regarding bleach and biocides as a whole.

As the term biocide implies "life killer", it is designed to destroy/kill living organisms.  This is one of the dangers with a biocide, we are a living organism and these chemicals could kill/damage us.  Its important to remember that everything is a poison, what matters is the dose.  So the dosage is very important when working with biocides.  This information also means that there must be a regulation or regulatory agency that regulates biocides, of course.  The regulation that regulates most biocides is called the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the agency that enforces it.  Before EPA can approve an application under FIFRA, "the applicant must show, among other things, that using the pesticide according to specifications "will not generally cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment."  This act regulates chemicals used to disinfect, sanitize, or kill molds, fungi, bacterias, etc.  One of the key words in the quote above is the word "specification".  What the quote is basically saying, is that the biocide manufacturer must come up with the safe procedures to use when using that manufacturer's biocide.  Another words the label on the biocide has the safe procedures for using the product (the label is the law, if its not on the label you can't use it that way).  Which in some ways makes things easy, follow the instructions on the label and it can be used safely.

Which brings us to what the label on bleach says?

As you can see above, bleach is a corrosive.  This means it could do damage to the skin, eyes, or the respiratory system.  This part of the label tells you what to do if you happen to get this product on your skin or in your eyes.  The next label tells you how to use it safely:

For disinfecting surfaces you use 1/2 cup bleach to 1 gallon of water.  Please note that the label requires that the surface you are disinfecting should be pre-washed/cleaned.  The reason for this is that dirt, or other organic materials can deactivate bleach reducing its disinfecting ability.  In order for bleach to disinfect a surface, the surface must be cleaned first.  Which brings us back to our suggestion at the beginning of this post, the most effective way to get rid of mold is to clean the surface with a detergent and elbow grease.

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Mold Evicts Occupants from their Westbury Apartments

On March 28, 2008, the Archstone Westbury Apartments deadline arrived for occupants to vacate their apartments. Archstone-Smith, a Colorado company, that manages the Archstone Westbury Apartments terminated the leases of these tenants on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 because mold and mildew had infested the apartments. In order to determine the cause of the infestation, the owner needed to open walls and ceilings to determine the underlying cause of the water intrusion.
It was good to see an owner being proactive in trying to prevent tenants from being exposed to mold or mildew. There are other ways to perform this investigation, including the use of infrared cameras and moisture meters, though it is probably better to ensure the safety of the occupants while determining the underlying cause.
As in many mold problems, according to newspaper articles written at the time this site also had a long list of water intrusion problems that were not addressed by the building maintenance staff. We could only speculate that had the maintenance staff responded faster or performed a more thorough investigation or water clean-up that the current evictions could have been avoided. Building owners should look at there building maintenance programs and ensure that all complaints of water intrusions are handled within 24 hours. Any evidence of moisture intrusion should be thoroughly investigated to determine the cause (again the moisture meters and infrared cameras would be helpful) and the water intrusion should be dried completely utilizing water collection devices (mops & wet vacuums) and drying devices (fans & dehumidifiers). Once mold grows on the property it indicates a lack of attention by the apartment owners, building owners, occupants/tenants, and building maintenance staff. When dealing with mold the best offense is to determine the cause of the intrusion and the best defense is to dry everything within 24 hours. It is also important to remember the use of bleach is unnecessary. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) both recommend the use of detergents instead of bleach. Bleach is a very strong chemical (it is a biocide) and is not needed to clean areas properly.