The Fungus Among Us

Mold Is a Relentless Survivor That Thrives in Classrooms

By Dave Arnold

When my oldest daughter was a child, she was convinced that a big hairy monster lived in her bedroom. She said at the time that it never made a sound and was invisible during the day. It only showed itself at night.

Her imagination may have been working overtime, but there does exist in many homes and schools a monster I call “mold.” It doesn’t make noise and is almost invisible. Sometimes it’s hairy.

Mold might be living and growing under your school or in the ceiling and walls. Mold isn’t inherently evil. In fact, it is a necessary part of our ecology. Mold breaks down and digests dead organic life.

Stubborn Survivor

Mold and people don’t mix. Unfortunately, mold grows in areas where students learn, teachers teach, and where ESP do their jobs.

This is when mold becomes a monster. Mold produces tiny spores to reproduce. It’s a relentless survivor. When mold spores land on a damp surface, they begin growing and digesting whatever they are growing on in order to survive.

As it continues to grow and multiply, it becomes a bigger and bigger threat to our health. No two kinds of mold are exactly alike and no two people are affected exactly the same. People with allergies, asthma, and respiratory problems suffer when mold is nearby.

I simply cannot breathe when I encounter certain types of mold, while my wife will break out in a rash. Some people only suffer the musty odor of mold without a physical reaction.

Mold needs moisture to thrive. I remember this fact very clearly after attending a session at the 2003 NEA ESP conference. Jeanne Young of the Health Information Network (HIN) presented a session titled, “The Fungus Amongus.” Jeanne and her partners certainly know their fungi.

Know Your Fungi

HIN has prepared a kit called “Tools for Schools.” It is offered for free to NEA members. This is a fantastic accumulation of information to aide school maintenance workers and custodians in the identification and correction of air quality problems. Every school district should have a copy of “Tools” in each building.

According to the kit, there is no practical way to eliminate mold in schools. But, mold can be controlled by cleaning it up and eliminating the sources of the moisture. Leaky roofs and plumbing problems are common sources of moisture for mold to live on. Excess humidity and condensation also contribute to the problem.

Once, a neighboring school was experiencing “mold issues.”   I was asked to give a presentation about how to defeat this enemy. A wise and experienced friend of mine who was in the audience asked a great question.

“Why do we have so much trouble with mold now, when no one ever had a problem with it in one-room schools,” he inquired.

I replied that our school architecture, infrastructure and construction have changed dramatically over the decades. One-room schools may have had leaky roofs, but they also had drafty doors and windows. The air flow quickly evaporated moisture before mold could start growing. In the pioneer days, those school houses took care of mold without trying.

Slay the Monster

In “Tools” you’ll find the Indoor Air Quality Coordinator’s Guide. Under “mold clean up” it states:

• “The key to mold control is moisture control. It is essential to clean up the mold and get rid of excess water or moisture. If the excess water or moisture problem is not fixed, mold will most probably grow again, even if the area is completely cleaned. Clean the hard surfaces with water and detergent and dry quickly and completely. Absorbent materials such as ceiling tile may have to be discarded.”
  
• “Note that mold can cause health effects such as allergic reactions; premeditators should avoid should avoid exposing themselves and others to mold. Wear waterproof gloves during clean up; do not touch mold or moldy items with bare hands. Respiratory protection should be used in most remediation situations to prevent inhalation exposure to mold.”

For more information, contact the following:

• Your state’s health department
• Health Information Network
• Environmental Protection Agency 
• EPA Indoor Air Quality Information Hotline, 1- 800-438-4318

If mold is a problem in your school, then there is an invisible monster amidst you.

More Dave's columns. 

(Dave Arnold, a member of the Illinois Education Association, is head custodian at Brownstown Elementary School in Southern Illinois. He can be contacted at  dparnold@csuol.com.)

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NEA or its affiliates.