hawaiimold.com

Scanning through litereature (Theses, Disseration, studies Etc. ) beginning in about 1998-1999 (from what is readily available via the internet) many of the authors include isopleths ( an isoline on a graph showing the occurrence or frequency of a phenomenon as a function of two variables).   Most frequently germination, general growth, or hyphal growth (over time)  is plotted as a function of temperature and realtively humidity.  The handiest one,  I’ve found is shown below, I believe it was developed in a 1999 study (I am still attempting to confirm initial development).  It was recently displayed in an excellent document, ( by Roger Morse, AIA and Don Acker, PE , Morse Zehnter Associates ) hosted by the Whole Building Design Guide .

The reason this is so fantastic (I am aware it’s geeky to be excited over a visual representation of data), is that we can use it to determine a general window of opportunity for drying/water extraction following a water intrusion event, or less happily we can use it to gauge the potential severity of mold growth following a non-mitigated water intrusion.  Obviously local conditions may create massive variance and its not genera/or even speciies specific, but still it’s a useful tool

 For instance if a homeowner had a leaky-pipe that created saturation and only discovered it after a week, then it is likely there is both significant growth and colonization.  It’s also apparent that reducing relative humidity (or water activity) can greatly limit the growth rate.  For instance the use of dehumidifiers might be an affordable stop gap to minimize the formation of mold, until a full response effort can be initiated. 

 PS:  If you find links to Isopleth’s please forward I think they would make fun wallet reference cards

Tags:   Germination Isopleth · Isopleths · Mold · Mold GerminationNo Comments