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The Only NO-Mold Limited Warranty in the Industry

Visits

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Today we inspected a one year old condo with mold problems in which radon was mitigated with an Energy Recovery Ventilator ERV. We will be performing an investigation next week to determine the cause of the mold problem. A report will follow.

Monday September 4, 2006

We viewed a condo unit which had been radon mitigated in 2001 and was used as a real estate sales office. Because the radon system was noisy, it had been turned off since 2001. Current radon testing showed radon levels of 11 picoCuries per liter, nearly 3 times the "not to exceed level," approximately equivalent to smoking one cigarette per hour 24 hours per day. Quaere: If an employee develops lung cancer while working in an office that presents elevated radon levels, will the employer's workers' compensation insurance pay all medical bills and disability payments or death benefits?

Monday, July 23, 2006

The past week, I performed advanced testing on two properties, one located near Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, PA, and the other, an oceanfront property in Ocean City, NJ. I was surprised that earlier testing performed by a learned, skilled and trained home inspector failed to identify one home's serious potential to deliver carbon monoxide to the home's occupants. Nowhere in his sophisticated report did he address the possibility of building depressurization to reverse exhaust flow from four combustion appliances allowing combustion products to enter the breathing zone. Other than risk of fire, I cannot imagine a more significant risk being overlooked. The home had no carbon monoxide alarms. He did not recommend the installation of them despite the presence of two gas furnaces, a gas water heater and a gas dryer in the closed basement with no provision for combustion air. Carbon monoxide kills entire families in their beds while they are sleeping. Major warning indications for low levels of carbon monoxide are headaches and just plain feeling bad upon awakening. Carbon monoxide detector/warning devices are reliable, inexpensive and very easy to install.

June 26, 2006

RadonMan announces the availability of a Phoenix SafeAire^tm retrofit kit upgrade for radon system homeowners and landlords experiencing mold, moisture, odor, comfort and sick occupant issues; the retrofit provides:

1. HEPA filtration of all ventilation air to remove 99.97% of all outdoor particles above 0.3 microns, including mold spores, pollen, chemical particles, soot, smoke, dust, dirt and particulate matter.
2. Automatic radon system off and on control in order to avoid mold issues created by systems that must be turned on and off manually. Our competitors' systems must be manually turned off when the home is vacant. If overlooked or forgotten, mold risk greatly increases during owner's absence.
3. Automatic humidity control to prevent mold and bacteria-favorable indoor moisture levels.
4. Redundant fail-safe features to prevent mold issues from occurring from radon system operation.

Unfiltered, uncontrolled radon systems deliver mold spores, mold food and moisture into air conditioning ductwork and a home's breathing zone. A radon-mitigated homeowner should not be surprised if some of  his home's occupants are becoming ill from exposure to mold and bacteria growth following radon system installation. It may take several months and even years for the buildup of spores, mold food and moisture to occur.* The growth will most likely occur inside the ductwork where it cannot be seen. But it can be smelled. Funky, earthy odors are generated both by mold and bacteria infestations. Such odors are red flags regarding health risk and rapid property deterioration.

If you have moisture, mold, odor or comfort problems, they may be the result of moisture increases due to radon system operation.

Call RadonMan. We can stop such problems by installing a Phoenix SafeAire^tm retrofit kit.

* RadonMan has seen cases where it has taken as few as 60 days and as many as 45 months after competitors' radon system installations for serious mold problems to occur. Air conditioning systems are not designed to take an additional 50 to 100 pounds of water a day from radon system operation, but that is exactly what many radon systems deliver. A home may soak up an additional 5,000 to 7,000 pounds of water from radon system operation before mold and bacteria growth is inevitable. Air conditioning systems only remove moisture when they are operating. When they are not operating, moisture builds up much more quickly. (fall, winter, spring) Another simple building science principle that many radon mitigators are  unaware of or simply ignore. As a matter of fact, in hot, humid climates, the worst mold months are November and December, when the air conditioners are not often operating. Surprised?

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Last modified: 01/28/08