[CAUT] Mold mitigation

[Gregory J. Granoff]

David,
You're correct, there was no mention of water damage.  The house is fine
from that perspective, as far as anyone knows.  As I said to James in my
response to him, the issue is probably the Humboldt climate well known for
dampness, especially along the coast where we are.  He is a musician,
records, gigs, and uses the piano frequently, though as he is more a wind
player and guitarist, and associates are more likely to use the piano than
he in actual rehearsals and so forth.
All your suggestions are useful, but I suspect moving the piano to a
different local in the house probably isn't going to fly, since I suspect
he's decided that the piano will either be treated in some tried and proven
way, or be rebuilt or replaced.   No one has any idea whether the piano is
even infected; they just want to cover all the bases in
the most direct way possible.  I'm getting the feeling--as others have
suggested--that the simplest thing is to replace it, period.
I'm going to check in with this guy very soon about what I'm learning
here.

I'm not familiar with the ozone tent Andrew speaks of.  Any idea what it
is/does?  Andrew?

Thanks very much for everyone's help!
Greg



On Thu, Jan 10, 2013 at 9:52 AM, David Skolnik
<davidskolnik at optonline.net>wrote:

>  Greg, James -
> Without getting into technical details beyond my immediate knowledge, the
> data seems somewhat incomplete.  I may have missed something, but I don't
> understand the basis for James assumption that the piano suffered water
> damage.  It would be interesting to know the suspected cause of the mold,
> i.e. a water leak, flooding, Humbolt climate?  Does he use the piano?  Can
> the piano be moved to a part of the house that he doesn't frequent, to see
> if that makes a difference?  If his condition suddenly improves, that would
> narrow it down a bit.  I would be wary of going immediately the off-site
> 'expert evaluation' route, partly for the initial expense (it can't be
> cheap, unless the wife does it herself or knows someone), and then question
> of what to do, based upon the assessment results.  I suppose you could move
> it off-site to do a thorough cleaning (or take it out in the back on a
> sunny day - whenever that might be- and blow it out).
>
> It would be interesting to see (photo) how the house has been cleansed
> without eliminating all elements of comfort.
>
> David Skolnik
>
>
> At 11:32 AM 1/10/2013, you wrote:
>
> Greg,
>    Of all the things that are be almost impossible to remove from a piano
> without rebuilding, mildew and mold are at the top of the list. It is more
> difficult then smoke and smoke odor  There simply is not a way to clean it
> out without removing and replacing parts. You have a living organism that
> is not just sitting there, is is growing  If I were in your place I wold
> first have the piano removed to a water damage restoration specialist and
> let is sit in an uncontaminated area for evaluation and then decide the
> next step from there.  Most of the time you can see it but not always.
> Getting the input from some folks that deal with it on a regular basis is
> helpful.
> Yours
> James Schmitt
> On Jan 9, 2013, at 8:57 AM, Gregory J. Granoff wrote:
>
> David,
> I'm not sure what the story is on discovery there, but his wife is a long
> time professional allergist, and they have come quite a distance already in
> getting rid of all furniture and permeable surfaces in the house
> (carpeting, etc.), cleaning, painting, etc., with no turning back.  I'm not
> going to say anything about finding what you tend to look for, if you know
> what I mean; but he did develop some pretty unpleasant symptoms when he's
> in his house--difficulty regulating body temp, feelings of mild atrophy in
> extremities, and mental cloudiness, among others, according to him.
> The question really is now:  what do with the piano.  He's aware--assuming
> that all this other stuff is correct-- that the piano might need to be
> replaced entirely, so it isn't a question of that being do-able if
> necessary.
> He just wants to know if that route is the only choice, and if it isn't,
> what are the realistic options for the existing piano?
> Thanks,
> Greg
>
>
> On Wed, Jan 9, 2013 at 5:08 AM, David Skolnik < davidskolnik at optonline.net>
> wrote:
>  Greg -
> How was the original mold assessment made?  How is the rest of his house
> being treated?  Did a reliable expert locate the primary source, and reason
> for its presence?
>
> David Skolnik
>
>
>
>
> At 12:26 PM 1/8/2013, you wrote:
>
> Hello list,
> I'm looking for info regarding a customer who has been diagnosed with a
> serious allergy to poisonous mold spores that have apparently infected his
> house.  He asked me whether there was any way to treat permeable surfaces
> such as felt, unfinished wood, etc. in pianos for the spores which can
> lodge there that didn't involve replacing everything.  I have no experience
> with this issue at all.  Anybody know?
>
> Thanks so much in advance for any advice and knowledge!
>
> Greg Granoff
> Humboldt State University
>
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