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Clean looking insulation that was moldyMold in Fiberglass in Insulation that Looks Clean

Fiberglass insulation can be mold-contaminated

  • POST a QUESTION or COMMENT about mold contamination in fiberglass insulation that looks "clean" - where can the mold trouble come from? How is it detected? What should be done about moldy insulation? Are all insulation materials equally prone to hosting mold growth?

Inspect building insulation for mold contamination:

Can clean-looking insulation be moldy? This document provides information about the occurrence of problematic toxic or allergenic mold growth in fiberglass insulation that appears, on visual inspection, to be clean in residential and light-commercial buildings.

A 720x micro-photograph provided in this article shows active fungal growth along the surface of a fiberglass insulation fiber collected the suspended ceiling of a building suffering wet conditions and moldy in-slab HVAC ducts.

Mold is often found in basement fiberglass insulation, crawl space fiberglass insulation, fiberglass wall insulation, heating or cooling duct fiberglass insulation, and attic or roof insulation in buildings which have either been wet or have been exposed to high levels of mold from other sources.

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Moldy building or duct insulation may look clean on visual inspection

insulation contaminated in a crawl space

The fiberglass insulation falling into a crawl space at the photo above is obviously suspect for having been wet and possibly contaminated by rodents, insects, or toxic or allergenic mold.

But what about the nice new clean looking fiberglass insulation in the above photo?

That clean-looking fiberglass insulation was located over a clean-looking basement of a home less than ten years old.

But a closer inspection of the home, its exterior, and its basement (as well as attic) found several clues suggesting that during one or more prior springs the basement had been quite wet.

Check our our Mold-Contaminated building insulation photo below.

Mold-Contaminated building insulation:

But testing the clean looking yellow fiberglass in the photo show n earlier on this page disclosed the remarkably mold contamination shown in our photograph at left.

Special vacuum and agitation methods are needed to sample and test this material and special care is needed in choosing the sample or test location when looking for mold in fiberglass or other building insulation.

What can be tricky in investigations of mold contamination in building insulation is that severely mold-contaminated fiberglass insulation may look pretty clean to the naked eye (photo below.

Clean looking insulation that was moldy

Yet when we examined samples taken from this building insulation under the microscope we found Aspergillus/Penicillium spores in spore chains - telling us that there was a nearby and significant source of mold that had put a very high concentration of these harmful mold spores in the insulation itself (photo below).

Photograph of mold spores of Aspergillus sp. found in crawl space fiberglass insulation.

Because Pen/Asp spores are "born" (produced by the conidiopore) in long spore chains which are quite fragile, these chains quickly break apart into individual spores when moving through air. So when we find these spores still attached in spore chains we know that a significant mold contamination source is close by.

Our next fiberglass insulation photo below shows clean looking insulation; in fact this is one of our baseline samples of clean fiberglass insulation fragments (taken from a sample of new fiberglass building insulation).

Photograph of clean fiberglass insulation fibers - low risk of mold contamination

In a significant contrast, the photo below shows dirty looking insulation from an older building.

This photo of a sample collected from fiberglass insulation in an older building exposed to moisture and leaks shows a high level of particulate debris, almost certainly including organic debris such as skin cells, animal hair (FIBER & HAIR IDENTIFICATION), and insect fragments which can form a base for mold growth.

But we didn't detect problematic mold in either of these cases. So insulation may be dirty, contaminated with allergens, insect fecals, insect fragments, etc. without being moldy. You won't know for sure what's in older building insulation without examining it.

Photograph of dirty fiberglass insulation fibers - higher risk of mold contamination

Of course a high level of insect fragments, mite fecals, or rodent fecal and urine-contaminants in any building insulation can result in indoor air quality complaints if air and dust move from that particle reservoir into the living area.

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Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above

Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.

Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

Question: can exposed fiberglass insulation be an indoor air quality issue or hazard

My family and I purchased a home in August 2013. During the home inspection mold was identified on the basement wall in the utility room as well as in the HVAC system.

A specialist came in and treated the areas prior to us moving in.

We recently had our air ducts cleaned and again mold was in the HVAC system in the utility room. The utility room does not have a drop down ceiling, it only has exposed fiberglass insulation.

Since we moved my children and I have experienced itchy red bumps, fungus on various parts of the body (hand & foot) and the kids are complaining about it feeling like insects are crawling all over them. Our house was built in 1992 and there is no knowledge of original owner having any issue.

Our house is professionally cleaned 3x a month and we maintain a clean house due to having small children. Could the effects from the exposed insulation be the issue? June 3, 2014 Jason

Reply:

Jason

Certainly fiberglass dust could cause the complaints you cite and irritating levels of fiberglass fragments might be present IF fiberglass insulation has been damaged, cut, stepped on, mechanically disturbed and is located in the living area.

Normal housecleaning vacuuming can increase airborne dust.

Try stapling up Tyvek or equivalent to cover the insulation, then clean by damp wipe then HEPA vacuuming the surfaces in and near your utility room or elsewhere in the home as your on-site environmental inspector can advise.

See details

at MOLD CLEANUP GUIDE to GET RID OF MOLD

Followup from Jason:

Thank you for your quick response...how do I safely enter/exit my house? I am worried for my children's health, if mold was present in HVAC(located in utility room) and mold in other spots in the utility room wouldn't there be a good chance its in the insulation as well? And should it be removed immediately?

Reply:

Normal cleaning including damp mopping and HEPA Vacuuming along with the suggestions I made earlier should help.


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