Special Maintenance Considerations - Effective Building Maintenance: Protection of Capital Assets - page 120

State and Local Building Codes
ASTM Standard D6245-98, StandardGuideforUsingIndoorCarbon
DioxideConcentrationstoEvaluateIndoorAirQualityandVentilation
The ventilation rates established in these standards and codes are
based on normal building occupancy that contain the specified occupant
density and activities that can normally be expected to take place. When-
ever building materials, cleaning and maintenance materials, or special-
ized human activities introduce large quantities of specific contaminants
into the building atmosphere, there may be occupant complaints and spe-
cial ventilation measures should be considered to alleviate them.
Routinemaintenanceisrequiredtoensurethatproperlevelsofventilation
aremaintainedinthefacility.
MOISTURE INTRUSION AND MOLD INFESTATION
Inanybuilding,thekeytopreventingmoldinthebuildingboilsdownto
keepingwateroutandoperatingandmaintainingHVACsystemstodealwith
anywatervaporthatdoesmigrateinward . It is up to the owner to rapidly
respond to and correct any water intrusion problem that may arise, in-
cluding cleaning and drying any building materials that have become
wet (or replacing them if they cannot be dried). Water-damagedmateri-
alsmustbedriedorreplacedwithin24-48hourstopreventgerminationand
subsequentmoldgrowth! Once mold growth is established, most building
construction materials cannot be cleaned and replacement is the only
option.
Preventing mold growth in buildings is a prime example of the old
adage that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Preventing
mold from becoming a problem is fairly simple and cheap, while remedi-
ating a building where mold has become established is both complex and
expensive.
Molds are fungi, which are single-celled or multi-celled non-motile
organisms that cannot make their own food. They rely on other organ-
isms or their environments for nutrients. They will colonize any carbon-
based material that supplies appropriate nutrients and moisture.
In general, fungi actively growing indoors can exist as yeasts or
molds. Yeasts are single-celled organisms that reproduce by budding or
simple mitosis. Molds are more complex, developing large colonies (mats