Rank: Guest 
|
Posted By Phil
Could do with some advice.
We had a leaking toilet over last weekend which has meant the office below now has a nasty case of fungi growing at a pretty quick rate. The leak has been sorted and I have closed off the room until it has been sorted but I am wondering if I should shut the office as the smell has now reached the corridor and could run through to the other two office's next to it.
All thoughts gratefully recieved
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Guest
|
Posted By garyh
The fungi is probably a red herring - you can paint with antifungal stuff (also anti fungal paint). It is not likely at present to cause probs, and if you stop the damp this should help.
Sounds obvious, but have you consulted a plumber?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Guest
|
Posted By Phil
The leak was caused by an ex-employee doing something which cannot be described on here!!
My concern is that it's had 4 days to grow (office not used Mon or Tues) around a window, down a wall and possibly under the carpet and now smells foul to say the least. I know that depending on what the fungi grows from, it has a result on how dangerous the spores are but can't find anything on growth from human waste.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Guest
|
Posted By garyh
The fungi could not have grown that much in that time........in any case what you see are the fruiting bodies of fungus, which come out to produce spores. The main body is hidden inside rotting material etc. There must have been damp / fungus there already. Sounds like your smell is not a fungus smell!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Guest
|
Posted By Jeffrey Watt
Phil
The mycelium the thready substance pervading the bricks etc may be kept back and in control by application of simple wallpaper paste e.g. a thin pasting of PVA glue after the place has been throughly cleaned and dried. Mould growths can occur quite easily in north facing exterior walls due to the coolness allowing local condensation to form. This tends to be black mould Aspergillus niger, whose spores can affect asthma sufferers.
Fungi are great survivors and can grow in glass ruining optics and grow in aviation fuel, causing planes to crash during WW2. But like all organismms are limited by the available resources.
I would guess your ex colleague "leaked" some nutrients onto the area that had dormant/restricted mycelium/spores present . The applications of nutrient and water allowed a growth spurt.
A truffle pig may be of use in getting rid of the fruiting bodies that garyh describes.
Kind regards
Jeff
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Guest
|
Posted By Alex Ryding
Hi All,
Several species of fungi can cause irritation, the Aspergillus family being the major culprit (farmers lung). The other family to be careful of are the penicillium (the green one on bread), these can cause reaction in sensitive people.
To remove the furry visible growth, you'll need to use care not to spread the spores about, anti fungal cleaners will stop the growth and may kill the spores, but the allergens will not be affected.
A method we used, granted this was for identification of moulds, was adhesive tape. You place it over the mould and the spores stick to it (so you can ID them under a microscope). It may be possible to use packing tape to strip the spores off then scrub the remaining mycelium off, before drying and sealing the area.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Guest
|
Posted By Phil
Thanks everyone for your help. I decided to close the office as a precation and have someone coming in tomorrow to remove the fungus (fingers crossed), gonna have to replace the carpet and re-decorate as well so it looks expensive.
I guess next week can only get better.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum.
You cannot reply to topics in this forum.
You cannot delete your posts in this forum.
You cannot edit your posts in this forum.
You cannot create polls in this forum.
You cannot vote in polls in this forum.