Get rid of molds and other contaminants in your home

The townhouse where I lived in New York in the mid-Nineties had the washer/dryer in the basement.  During the winter months, it was damp and cold.   During my first winter in the townhouse, I noticed that when I did my weekly laundry, I would get all sorts of allergic reactions such as sinusitis, itchy eyes, asthma, or sore throat.  This would last for a few days.  

One laundry incident opened my eyes to the toxicity of mold and, after connecting the dots, I discovered that mold was, indeed, the bane of my existence in that basement.  One afternoon, towards the end of winter, I spent a lot of time in the basement to sort out my spring sweaters according to color, before putting them in the washer in separate batches.  I wanted to get ready for spring with newly washed sweaters.  I must have spent at least two hours sorting them out and putting them in the washer per batch, then putting them in the dryer per batch as well.  I didn’t want to risk the color of the black and red sweaters running into the pastel colored ones. 

I was so sick for a week thereafter. I had watery eyes, asthma, sinusitis, and the worst migraine of my life.  Finally, I called my doctor friend and told him of my ailments after doing laundry in the basement.  He told me to tell the building owner to call a mold specialist and have the basement checked.  And true enough, the basement had molds on the walls, on the floor and on some of the items that were stored there.  Fortunately, the molds didn’t spread to the rest of the townhouse because we had all sorts of humidifiers, exhausts in the kitchen and the bathroom, and room ionizers, and we ran the heater during the cold months. Mold thrives on wet and damp surfaces. ?The toxins produced by molds, called mycotoxins, are actually far more toxic than heavy metals in terms of concentration and can tend to affect  more biological systems in the body than do pesticides or heavy metals.  Fungi (mold) have the ability to dodge your immune system by rapidly mutating, while at the same time producing chemicals that suppress your immune system. (Mold-Help. org)    

But there are other issues that can contaminate the air in your work place, your home, and your environment as a whole.  With most new buildings now virtually sealed off with glass, it is almost impossible for clean air to circulate in buildings. The only way to keep the air clean is through proper duct and building maintenance to guard against the build-up of chemical, radioactive and biological contaminants that could degrade air quality and cause illnesses and ailments. 

Many employers are clueless as to why even their most physically-fit employees often go on sick leave. They conjecture that the cause could be an abusive and improper lifestyle or health habits or undue exposure to toxins at home or in transit.

Yet, a good reason for such illnesses could be that the building where the company operates falls under the list of “sick building” syndrome (SBS) of the World Health Organization.  WHO coined this term in 1986 to describe a building with poor ventilation and contaminated with chemicals — both in and outdoor — or is teeming with biological contaminants like molds, bacteria, pollen, and viruses that can cause irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, and skin.  

Reports from the US National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health showed that 60 percent of occupants of buildings, where ducts have never been cleaned, are more likely to suffer from respiratory diseases.

Thus, clean ducts can improve air delivery systems and ensure adequate supply of clean, fresh air.  Besides, furnishings, carpets, and fabrics stay clean longer.

Fortunately, the SBS issue in the Philippines is now being addressed by a company called Piahstreams Consultant Services, which was founded in the United States by Jackson Tseng and is dedicated to global environmental protection and restoration.

Piahstreams Philippines managing director Carlos Carmona said the company has been providing, since 2011, microbial decontamination services to public hospitals, government and commercial buildings. 

Piahstreams inspects buildings to analyze contamination issues and recommend effective solutions to address special niche market demands like pandemic control, indoor chemical spread, flood building dehumidification, moldy document restoration, fire suppression controls and others.  Its major services include mold remediation, system decontamination, water recovery, and fire recovery.  Assisting Piahstreams in these activities is the Remediation and Decontamination Solutions Corp., an affiliate of City Service Corp. that does the actual cleaning and total remediation of the building establishment.

The environmental remediation core focuses on improving the indoor environment and providing property owners and managers with assessments, remediation management and loss prevention programs for molds, and indoor air quality challenges using engineering, industrial hygiene, and building science expertise.

Piahstreams can be reached at 882-2065/882-3344 or at the Remediation and Decontamination Solutions Corp., Inccan at 550-1004 to 09.