Our home is sometimes referred to as our "third skin" (with clothing being the 2nd). It shelters and protects us and is also integral to our health.  There is such a strong relationship between our health and environment, our homes are essentially an extension of us and our bodies

 The goal is to have as healthy house as possible. This may be either through building a new house and getting , or improving the health of our exisiting homes.

 While our actual skin is self healing, this doesnt happen with our houses. We need to maintain houses so the barriers (roof/cladding/gutters etc) stay functional, clean them to remove dust and dirt, and any water damage or mould growth needs to be dealt with properly.

 I am health practitioner by training, but got interested in the building process as we built Tiny homes on our property. It was a steep learning curve, but we also got tips from friends in the industry. You can check out our building exerience here (first tiny home) and here (2nd tiny home). I also helped a friend build a new house and learnt a lot with that. I was even tempted to start a building apprenticeship but decided to start The Mould Project instead and learn more about the building design side of things.

I have since started studying with the  Building Biology and Ecology online certification course. While it is designed for those in the building industry (builders, architects etc) I thought that the information they teach would be valuable for helping those with mould-related health problems to create healthier homes.

 THE NZ HEALTHY HOMES STANDARD- IS IT ENOUGH?

 The Health Homes Standard was implemted in 2020 by the Ministry of Urban Housing and Development

 The Residential Tenancies (Healthy Homes Standards) Regulations 2019 commenced on 1 July 2019, with the aim of addressing issues with cold, damp, drainage and draughts in rental properties.  

The regulations include minimum standards for:  

• heating 
• insulation 
• ventilation 
• moisture ingress (dampness) and drainage 
• draught stopping. 

 From <https://www.hud.govt.nz/our-work/healthy-homes-standards>

"The healthy homes standards aim to close the quality gap between rental properties and owner-occupied homes, so the nearly 600,000 households that rent in New Zealand have warmer, dryer places to call home"

From <https://www.hud.govt.nz/our-work/healthy-homes-standards>

IS IT ENOUGH?

 This is definitely a worthy goal, and a step in the right direction. But is just making a house warmer and dryer enough to call it a healthy home?

 The answer to that is - it depends

If the house hasnt had any water damage of significant mould growth (not common) then implementing these steps will help prevent any future issues.

However if the house has had water damage and mould growth, then implementing these changes may help prevent future mould growth but it won't take care of these existing problems. Now if we are talking about a small amount of superficial mould in the bathroom, then that can be cleaned and then installing adequate extraction and ventilation will help. But if the house has had major water damage, and hasn't been adequately remediated then this will continue to be a problem despite meeting the Healthy Home Standards.

 To make a house truly healthy, these areas need to be identified and dealt with properly.  Even if mould has dried it can still be a problem. Dried mould becomes dormant (not dead) and this can become brittle and break into millions of mould fragments, which can enter the breathing space.

HOW DO YOU PROPERLY DEAL WITH MOULD? (CLUE: ITS NOT SPRAY & WALK AWAY!)

The international  guidelines for mould remediation have been set by the IICRC (Institute of Inspection  Cleaning and Restoration). In the IICRC S520 they set the minimum requirements for removal of mould, containment of areas, PPE, use of negative air units etc. There is quite a lot to it but these steps protect both the occupant and the person completing the work.

 These are the 5 key principles from the IICRC

1. Mold remediation professionals and anyone entering the affected property must adhere to safety protocols to prevent inhaling or coming into direct, unprotected contact with toxic mold.
2. A qualified expert should assess the extent of damage before starting remediation. The property owner must receive a detailed, written plan outlining the steps of the remediation process.
3. Containment is the top priority. Before removing mold, measures must be taken to prevent the spread of mold spores through air circulation or other pathways.
4. Mold must be fully removed, not just isolated or treated superficially. Cosmetic cleaning or using household products like chlorine bleach is ineffective and inadequate.
5. Post-remediation, steps should be taken to prevent re-contamination. This includes identifying and addressing sources of chronic indoor moisture.

If you are a home owner, tenant or landlord you are probably looking at this thinking its a bit OTT. Most builders who come across mould don't wear PPE or  set up containments and many will spray the mould rather than physically remove it. Thats exactly what I would have done before learning about mould. But the truth is that mould, mycotoxins and the other microbes associated with water damage are very harmful to human health and should be treated with respect. In my opinion, it is a lot worse than asbestos yet none of the protective measures are taken that are with asbestos.

 There are some good companies who have trained with the IICRC and implement their standards. However there are some companies out there who may have the training but don't follow the guidelines. This may because of the extra cost and time to do it properly, but if it isnt done properly then it can have a much bigger cost from a health perspective done the track.

 While these recommendations are the ideal situation, I realise that not everyone will have access to good remediation companies in their area, or they may not have the budget to access to do it properly. I In these cases, if you are either doing it DIY regardless, or hiring a builder to the job, I would familirise yourself (or builder) with the IICRC and implement their guidelines as much as possible.

These include

• Wearing adequate PPE
• Containment of the area using plastic sheets ( so mould doesnt spread through the house)
• Use of negative air machines (can hire in some places)
• Physically removing mould (removing, wire brushing, sanding, planing etc)
• HEPA vacuuming and cleaning of area, and house afterwards

 If you are someone who is mould sensitive, I would 100% recommend against doing this yourself and urge you to get someone who is qualified to do the work.

 There are often more steps to take if you are mould sensitive but what is stated here should be the mimimum standards to create truly healthy homes in NZ

 For more information I recommend checking out Change The Air Foundations 10 part series on mould remediation.  There is some great free information about performing a successful remediation from mould experts in the USA

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