Humidity and its side effect, Mold

[ronrca]

Keeping fish is always an enjoyment for all age groups and the majority of hobbyists keep at least one tank if not more in their homes. Many commercially bought packages include lids that help keep in water from evaporating and not causing the humidity to rise. However, there are many hobbyists that see lids as a nuisance when performing maintenance on a regular basis. In some cases, bedrooms are made into ‘fish rooms’ where a large number of aquariums are located. When the humidity rises, mold will start to grow. Mold is very dangerous to your health. Mold can grow anywhere and everywhere. It does not need light or air to reproduce and is harmful even when dormant. Therefore unless steps are taken to reduce the humidity, you may be risking you and your families health. Keeping the relative humidity below 50% will help keep mold from growing.

Please read the following link particularly the column on the very right hand side:
www.mold.ph

For your information, read this page under the heading Mold Basics:
http://www.moldinspector.com/ohsa-mold-guidelines.htm

What to do to reduce humidity:
-First is get a humidity meter
-Get a dehumidifier
-Vent the room where the most humidity is present by installing a fan venting to the outside
-opening windows and doors allowing the air inside to be released to the outside
-wiping up water spills and leaks that so commonly occur when cleaning tanks
-using covers on all the tanks


There are many more resources available on the web to educate yourself about mold, its effects and how to reduce it. I hope that this short article will inform and warn of the possible side affects of having aquariums in their homes.

[henryD]

Great service announcement and info!!!

[jeep]

Good post Ron!

I live on a hill and my neighbors ILLEGALLY re-graded their back yard in an attempt to "direct the water to it's natural flow". Unfortunately for me, the natural flow is right into my crawl space. The first time it rained hard, it cost me a new furnace and created a nasty mold problem that has taken a long time to get rid of.

Brian

[lauris]

jeep, one word: litigation.

[jeep]

I forgot to say I care for these people like they were my grandparents

[Ardan]

Nice Job Ron! 8) 8)
Humidity can really damage a home, especially in the homes of today that are so airtight for energy savings.

Very informative posting, Ron. Many people forget about the hidden causes of gases (molds, carbon monoxide, etc.). Now that winter is heading towards us all we mustn't forget about the dangers of hidden gases and CO is a known deadly gas that can kill in an instant with any appliances using gas and/or oil and other chemical combustions. Please folks always keep an open window somewhere in your home for oxygen to enter and dilute these deadly gases in a home, car, boat and anywhere enclosed with a burning appliance (using gas and/or oil).

Brian (Jeep): very kind of you but let's hope they are kind to recognize your ordeal now that you had to fork up some funds for a new furnace. Best wishes to you.

Peace, Love, Flowers & Discus to ya!
**Angie**

[ronrca]

Angie,
You mention carbon dioxide though isnt it carbon monoxide, the silent killer?

Then there is natural gas and propane build up also from leaky connections and such! Natural gas is bad if you have a leak in the basement because it is heavier than 02 therefore if you were to enter the basement full of natural gas, you dont have much chance of breathing.

Oh, gee... Sorry guys & dolls!! I goofed at recalling which is which... It is indeed, Ron, Monoxide. Yipes ;D ;D

People: It's Carbon Monoxide (CO) the killer.

Thanks again Ron!

**Angie**

[JDS]

there is a plus side to high humidity in the house. I heat my house with a hot air and I don't have a static cling problem anymore.

[Haywire]

Carbon Monoxide (CO) is prodiced from incomplete combustion, get your furnaces tuned.
It's not just CO you have to worry about a buildup of carbon dioxide (CO2) is also health risk.

Get a good quality detector and place it in the recommended locations i.e., to the garage (if one's attached to the house) and near your gas burning appliances. A cheap tool that may save your life.

Venting: Leaving a window open in my nexk of the woods would freeze my water in the fish tanks. Really, c'mon, most new houses although they are less drafty, are NOT air tight. Placing a bathroom fan vented to the outside on a timer is also a good way to vent moist air outside. In fact that might be next months project as I've noticed I loose about a 2 gallons of water a day to evapouration.

[Kap]

Ron,
Thanks for the information, and for the mold links. We all need to read it for the sake of our families' health!

--kap

[aloha_discus]

Aloha Ron, this info you have past on is right on time. I have already battled mold when I first constucted my fishroom. My new fishroom will have an air exchanger and a dehumidifier. I plan on having at least 100+ tanks when done.

Mahalo, Ike ;D

[wildthing]

I recently moved house & to prevent a humidity problem I purchased the air-exchanger from Jehmco.
Until it was set up the humidity was around 85%-90%, windows, doors & all cool surfaces were constantly wet.
This machine uses only a max of 1 amp of power ( Vs 15-20 amps for de-humidifier). I can control the humidity in a 1200 sq' fish basement to within 5%, with a minimum level of around 35%, this is a lot less than the ambient humidity. My fish room is so comfortable to be in now.
This thing cost around $900, it is a piece of cake to install, you just hang it & vent it, most of the damp goes out with cold air, condensation inside the machine is minimal & piped away into a drain .
For anyone worried about damp & damage to their house, or mould & health, this is way less $$$s than the health or repair bills will be. Heat loss is minimal, it is very cheap to run. Anyone who has problems should get this. It can also be plumbed into forced-air systems or boilers etc & do the whole house, tho I have mine on a dedicated system.
It is one of the best gadgets I have invested in.

hth

David

[ronrca]

Thanks David for that info! Id have to agree, my dehumifer runs at 6Amps and is on for around 90% of the day! One thing it does good though is raise the temp in the fishroom so my heaters dont come on. So I guess Im not really using more power! I will check into the air exchange since I will b moving my fish room downstairs into a bigger area!