More and more schools affected by mold across Canada and into the U.S

As we get deeper into the winter months we start to see higher Relative Humidity, (RH), levels rise outdoors and, due to forced air heating systems inside, RH levels drop indoors. This is a positive when it comes to controlling the spread of mold. But once Spring starts to appear we start to see that change. Spring brings with it more moisture as snow turns to rain and we see this start to be reflected indoors.

Now usually our residential systems are well maintained and deal with changes like these very easily. However, HVAC systems in schools are typically not in the greatest shape. They have been around, usually, since the opening of the school itself and maintenance funding is hard to come by.

This is, unfortunately, when we start to see mold problems arise in schols.

Such is the case in Union, New Jersey. In October of the last year, teachers and students faced a daunting problem…mold. In fact, both teachers and students had to be temporarily relocated to other schools while the school district addressed mold on vents, ceiling tiles and window curtains.

This issue was placed before the school board over 4 years earlier. But for some reason no action was taken. “I don’t know why there was no action taken for four years when there were numerous emails and photos regarding this issue”, one parent was quoted as saying. “We want to get our kids back in school learning.. and I think we’re going to be able to do that”, said another.

Once a new building operations manager was hired things began to turn around. Daily maintenance started to be addressed and an immediate decision to shut the school down and address the mold was made. Remote learning began again temporarily while the work takes place.

The new Building Operations Manager indicated the plan was to meet at the school and then assign buses to take children to various other schools everyday or provide remote learning opportunities until their school is reopened. The district school board is now awaiting remediation experts to review and confirm just how much of a problem they are facing. There will be no classes until the all clear is received once the remediation has been done and testing confirms that the building is safe for use.

Call 416-254-7256 to talk with us about your issue anytime.

Maple Leaf Mold Inc. is a certified  mold / asbestos / lead removal and environmental air analysis company located in Toronto that uses certified IICRC technicians for all testing and remediation projects.

We are a professionally licensed firm experienced in testing, verifying  and removing Mold / Asbestos / Lead and other environmental contaminants as well as providing disinfection services to control and kill biological contaminants.