Mold is growing throughout the property on walls and personal belongings in the form of a light. Hard to see but widespread dusting of white mold and in some areas the mold is green.

The vast majority of the source of the problem is the water and humidity created by the water leakage that started in the bathroom in the condo upstairs.

When the water leaked down,  it caused drywall directly under it to become soaking wet and this resulted in much stachybotrys mold growth in the master bathroom and adjacent closet.

Also,  some of this water evaporated and caused a humidity problem that resulted in the dusting of mold growth throughout the condo. The humidity from evaporating water thus explains the very widespread nature of the growth.

If the AC was turned down lower,  it might have dried the air out more, According to the client , the AC had been set at 80F because the property was vacant.

The majority of the source of the problems was the excessive wetness and excessive humidity created by the leak. If the leak had not occurred,  the mold would not have started.

Besides leaks and passive movement of humidity,   another contributor was the fact that the air handler is just 10 foot from the tub that leaked into the ceiling.

Several holes in the HVAC closet ceiling and HVAC closet walls provided a  pathway for humidity to be sucked actively from the ceiling void under the leaky tub, and into the AC return through these holes in the closet walls and ceiling. The AC unit then distributed the humidity and spores to the rest of the condo.  Seal the openings in the AC closet. 

No leaks were observed at the time of inspection but if no repairs have been made, Plumbing repairs must be made a soon as possible and prior to any remediation.

With the aid of the AC unit that was working properly at the time of inspection and with the aid of the dehumidifier, humidity was under control at the time of this inspection.

Indoor humidity was 55F at 78F this is satisfactory. 

Outdoor humidity was: 65  %RH at   85  F

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guide entitled Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings,  indoor humidity should be maintained below 60% relative humidity, ideally 30-50% RH, if possible.

These conditions were found roughly 2 weeks ago. Based on the extent of decay and the amount of slow growing stachybotrys mold on the bathroom ceilings,  it is likely that the tub upstairs has been leaking into this bathroom ceiling for several months unnoticed. This was unnoticed because the property was vacant and the leaks were hidden inside the ceiling.

Client has sinus problems and as a result did not stay for the inspection.   

HVAC INSPECTION

AC SYSTEM

CONCLUSIONS:

All the AC system components visually looked clean but spore levels were high throughout the property and mold odors were very high throughout the property. Thus,  the AC system will harbor mold odors & spores and must be thoroughly cleaned. See AC remediation section. 

If professional mold removal also known as mold remediation is needed, then information on mold removal will be in the remediation section of the report.  Other general conclusions and important information can be found in various other parts of this report.This is just a summary of the inspector's findings. It is very important that you read the entire document.