(Click the Link below for full story)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1241046/pdf/ehp0110-a00599.pdf

Dust mites are 8-legged arthropods that live in the house dust of homes where they are prevalent. They have been recognized as a major source of allergens regarding house dust since 1967 and feed on organic materials such as fungi, skin cells, yeast and bacteria. Increased dust mite populations are directly related to older, lower income single-family homes as well as the presence of carpeting and the lack of air conditioning. Moisture, which is an indicator of mold viability, is also an increased risk for dust mites in your home. Although they lack eyes, dust mites are light sensitive and photophobic and thus cause them to live deep within soft substrates such as you mattress, box-spring, pillows, blankets, clothes, and carpet; these are places where moisture is retained and fluctuations of humidity are minimized. It is not uncommon to find thousands of dust mites inside a single gram of house dust. (Click link below for full story)

Dust mite allergy

1. You see mold growing inside your house or building.
Mold is everywhere in our environment, but it shouldn’t be growing inside our buildings. We can help you find out if what you think is mold really is mold, what type it is, and how to remove it safely. Some types of molds are known to have more of a health concern than others. Our reports can be taken to your health care professional if you have health concerns for the quality of your indoor air. If repairs are indicated our detailed reports include repair recommendations for a mold remediation contractor to follow.

2. You are buying or moving into a different house or building.
Buying a property is a huge investment and you don’t want to find out there is a mold and moisture problem after you have signed those escrow papers. If you are moving to a rental property you may have to sign a lease. ET&T can help you by doing a mold and moisture inspection before you commit yourself to the property.

3. You smell a musty or moldy odor that is stronger when the windows and doors have been closed.
Often you can smell the odor from mold before you can see it. The mold you see with your eye is made up of thousands of mold spores you can’t see without a microscope. Having a mold inspection done when you smell the odor and not waiting until you can see the mold is important. It may help to prevent some damage to your building and save you a lot of repair work.

4. You have had a water leak or the neighboring unit has had a water leak.
Mold needs a source of water or moisture in order to grow. If you have had a water leak for a few days that may be all the time it takes for mold to start growing. It is extremely important to get the water leak repaired as soon as possible and the building materials dried out rapidly and appropriately. ET&T can help you to assess the extent by moisture mapping to identify the wet areas and prescribe the necessary drying action. We can also document and verify your drying company has done the job right.

5. Your allergies or asthma are worse when you are inside.
This may be an indication that allergens are present. Mold is a common indoor allergen. You may have mold growing indoors that you can’t see or smell. In addition to ruling out mold, we can perform allergen testing for dust mites, cat and dog dander, mouse, rat and cockroach.

6. The building feels damp to you.
We can help you by identifying your moisture problems and recommend strategies to prevent mold growth from occurring.

7. You see condensation on the inside of your windows.
There is more than enough water in condensation to allow mold to grow indoors. Let us find out why you have condensation indoors and advise you in how to reduce the moisture levels inside your property.

8. Your pets have been sick.
Animals can be a good indicator of the indoor air quality for your property. Some animals health can be affected by mold, often sooner and as much or more than people.

9. Water from rain or sprinklers doesn’t drain away and puddles up against your walls.
Even though we think of the outer walls of our buildings as barriers this is not the case. When walls are continually dampened by sprinkler over spray or puddles, water can soak through the outer wall, into the wall cavity and eventually cause damage to the inside walls of our buildings.

10. You see mold growing on your furniture or on items in your closet.

Frequently, we find mold growing on the back of furniture that is pushed up against a wall. Closets are notorious for having mold problems because they often have a colder temperature and little ventilation. Closets are often against an outside wall, near plumbing or stuffed to the brim with possessions we rarely use or move around during cleaning.

If you have noticed any of the situations from this list, you may need to have moisture testing, a mold inspection or mold testing done. We are happy to discuss your concerns and circumstances to help you decide if you need our services or not. If you do need an inspection, we custom design an inspection plan to meet your specific testing needs. Contact Environmental Testing & Technology, Inc (ET&T) at (760) 804-9400 or send us an email at info@etandt.com for a free phone consultation.

Multi drug resistant organisms (MDRO) are the ones that really make you sick and measures for prevention are a smart and natural choice.  Healthy individuals in gyms and other common environments seldom carry MDROs even if they are working in heath care settings.  The scientific community agrees that the overuse of antibiotic medications in humans and animals has resulted in this increase of drug resistant bacteria. Please visit http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/about.html for more information.

Not only during the flu season, which starts much earlier than fall, we may all contract something in common areas where we mingle. You never know where the previous users have been when you need to visit the restroom.  You do not know what cleaning methods or protocols have been used.  Inefficient “spray and wipe” cleaning procedures are common and will not eliminate potentially harmful germs. Dwell time is crucial for disinfectants to live up to their label. The labeled kill rate was determined from testing on hard surfaces with sufficient dwell time. The kill rate may be much lower with reduced dwell time and a dirtier surface . Bio films – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20149602 – can harbor a myriad of organisms and should be cleaned off on all accessible and frequently touched surfaces. Norovirus – http://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/about/overview.html – is the leading cause of so called “food poisoning” or “stomach flue” in the US.

Clostridium difficile – http://www.cdc.gov/hai/organisms/cdiff/cdiff_infect.html  – or C. diff produces spores and MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococus aureus – http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/DS00735)  can survive on environmental surfaces for days, weeks or even months ……but not when removed by an efficient cleaning method and protocol.

The routes of entry into our bodies are; Inhalation of droplet nuclei (> 10 microns) in the air or contact with mucous membranes, such as mouth, nose or eyes. The prime suspect for facilitating the contact with our mucous membranes is people! We do it to ourselves.  If our hands do not touch our face, we have avoided this crucial part of transmission.  Not to touch your face can be as difficult as brushing your teeth with your left hand if you are right handed.

The CDC recommends hand washing as a critical element in preventing infections. – http://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/ – When we observe others washing their hands, we quickly realize that few people actually know how to wash their hands efficiently! – it really takes a solid 20 seconds of washing and lathering with soap all over your hands and wrists  – stop the time, you will be surprised how long that is – it is as long as singing the entire song “Happy Birthday to you…” – twice!

We suggest using the list below as an inspiration on how to improve your daily infection control and prevention approach to your environment:

• Make it a habit to wash your hands when you get home, to work, to a restaurant or your hotel room before doing anything.
• Teach kids to wash their hands and lead by good example.
• If you want to wash your hands and can’t, use hand disinfection lotion, small bottles are available for easy carrying in bags or pockets.
• Open doors if possible with your body (shoulder, elbow, hips) and not with your hands.
• If you have really good balance from sports such as martial arts, skating or yoga, you may be able to use your feet to open doors.
• Use the paper towel to touch the door handle when leaving the restroom, this can conveniently be done if a trash container is located close by.
• Use disinfecting cloths to clean the remote control and other surfaces in your hotel room.
• Disinfect your steering wheel and car door handle with dealer recommended cleaning fluid regularly.
• If you are sick, be nice to yourself and others and avoid public places.
• If a healthcare professional is not washing/cleaning hands before touching you – speak up!
• Use antibiotic medication only if your doctor or healthcare professional recommends it.

My grandmother and mother used to wear gloves when going into the public. Maybe, we have to adopt a generalized prudence when entering environments where we touch frequently used surfaces.

We do not need to become germaphobic, just prudent and aware. Most importantly, stick to your personal plan of infection prevention.

If you have question regarding infection prevention or infection control please call ET&T’s infection prevention consultant today at 760-804-9400.

Written by Felix Neumann, CMC