Normal background levels of air and surface mould reserve in English residential building stock: a preliminary study towards benchmarks based on NAHA measurements.

This paper reports results obtained from a surface (both visually clean and dirty/dusty surfaces) and active (aggressive or activated) air testing scheme on 140 residential rooms in England, without visible water damage or mould growth, along with a few rooms with visible mould growth/water damage tested for comparison purposes. The aim was to establish normal background levels of mould in non-water-damaged interiors to benchmark a 'normal' indoor environment, and in turn when there is a need for further investigation, and, possibly, remediation. Air and surface mould was quantified based on the activity of β-N-acetylhexosaminidase (EC 3.

Surface and passive/active air mould sampling: A testing exercise in a North London housing estate.

Despite indoor mould being one of the most common problems in residential properties in the UK, there are not any widely accepted methodologies for its measurement. This paper focusses on this problem of measurement and reports on the findings from a rigorous testing scheme carried out to quantify air and surface mould concentrations and particle counts within 71 rooms from 64 properties in North London, some with and some without visible mould. The aim was to investigate the potential of passive and active air sampling strategies (sampling from still and actively mixed air, respectively) to explain visible mould, and understand how home/room characteristics correlate with the obtained readings.

Indoor mould testing in a historic building: Blickling Hall.

Indoor mould growth is a growing concern for all stakeholders of built environment, including residents, builders, insurance and building remediation industry as well as custodians of heritage buildings. The National Trust has reported this problem in a number of buildings under their ownership, and developed solutions and fine-tuned their maintenance programme so as to minimise indoor and surface mould growth risk. This paper reports findings from an extensive mould-testing scheme in Blickling Hall, a National Trust property in Norfolk, England, for an appraisal of airborne and surface mould levels within a total of eight rooms, including the famous Long Gallery.