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"Buildings need to breathe," says Linda Stetzenbach, director of the microbiology division at the Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "Moisture will come into a building, and buildings need to give off that excess moisture. But if you are using a product that traps the moisture either in the building envelope or in the rooms themselves, that moisture will soak in and lead to mold growth. Very few buildings anymore have natural ventilation where you can open a window and let out the moisture. The windows are sealed more tightly, and moisture gets trapped inside the buildings." Stetzenbach lists a myriad of building and engineering defects that also lead to moisture retention in buildings, from a net negatively air pressured air-conditioning system that sucks moisture in through the foundation to insulation that faces the wrong way. "And maintenance issues are a real problem," Stetzenbach says. "This happens in school districts where money is tight, and people want it to go straight to education or administration. Things that don't seem to be a big problem at first, like a slow leak, can result in a major problem later." |
| UPDATE | 02.04 |
| AUTHOR | Linda Stetzenbach, director of the microbiology division at the Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas |
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