I owner of the house I have recently inspected has live in her house for over 35 years. She has started to experience respiratory difficulties and inflammation for last 4 years. She has been recently diagnoses with Hypersensitivity pneumonitis. In her working life she was a house wife and was not exposed to significant amount of chemical compounds or had hobbies which had potential of exposing her to biological or chemical contaminants. She reported that the conditions are worse during winter months and in the evenings. She has also noticed that the front kitchen/dinning – corridor areas of her house were the most strongly affected.
The house was a typical detached residential property with brick perimeter walls and pitched tiled roof constructed in 1930’s. The property consisted on the ground floor of entrance foyer with staircase to the upper floor, two reception rooms, kitchen, dining room, utility room and toilet. On the first floor the property consisted of master bedroom with en suite bathroom, two spare bedrooms, office, toilet, bathroom and boiler cupboard. The house had a crawlspace under the old part of the house and roof with a loft. The building has double leave cavity uninsulated cavity wall construction. Timber flooring to the old part of the house on both levels and brink walls.
Visual inspection of the property for the signs of water damage showed elevated moisture to the lower level of the internal partition wall between the lounge and the utility room. The moisture content in the partition wall rapidly decreased above 70cm suggesting rising damp. Furthermore a small area of water damage and staining was identified in the corner of the entrance corridor. Inspection of the bathroom showed small areas of dampness at the bottom of the bath due to over splash from the bathroom. It is not certain whether this small area of dampness is related to the corresponding area of ceiling on the ground floor.
Visual inspection for mould contamination revealed a small area of mould growth in the utility room to the back wall behind washing machine. The extent of the mould growth was approximately 1m2. Furthermore a small area of moth damage to wool carpeting was identified in the toilet and the dining room.
I have carried out measurements of dust particle concentration to identify any areas with significant elevated dust levels. Unfortunately the concentration of airborne particles (dust) in the indoor environment was similar to the existing background concentration and was relatively constant throughout the property.
Indoor concentration of mould spores in the air was lower than the comparative background sample. The indoor air quality with respect to mould contamination was good. The indoor mould spore count showed slightly increased concentration of Penicillium mould spores suggesting past or present water damage.
Based on the results of my investigation it was my opinion that the most likely reason for adverse health symptoms experienced by the occupants is combined sensitisation by fungal spores, insect detritus and organic and inorganic dust in the indoor environment. I have recommended carry out all necessary repairs to the existing water leaks in the property. To resolve the moth issue in the house all the carpeting should be thoroughly deep cleaned and sanitised with insecticide.
The crawl space of the property was unfortunately inaccessible for inspection. The presence of rising damp in some of the walls suggests that there might be greater problem in the crawl area of the house. The crawlspace could have become contaminated by mould and causing the adverse health effect on the occupants.
By Tomas Gabor
