Mold or Bacteria: Which is Worse?

4/8/2019 (Permalink)

E. coli and other bacteria can cause serious health concerns - according to the IICRC, it can even lead to death. E. coli is commonly found in sewage.

A trainer once told us, “It’s about the bacteria, stupid.”

A different trainer put it this way: “Mold can send you to the allergist. Bacteria can send you to the grave.”

We do a lot of mold remediation work in Miami Beach, Surfside, Miami Shores and Miami. And this is a good thing – many home and business occupants are operating in mold-contaminated environments.

That said, we are even more concerned about the health risks posed by bacterial contaminants. As our trainer said, elevated mold can cause fatigue, headaches, sore throats and respiratory discomfort. Bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella can literally send you to the hospital, or even the grave.

Recently we were called to the scene of a water damage, affecting a 4^th-floor condo on West Avenue in South Beach. The leak came from a toilet backup in the condo upstairs. We are duty-bound to notify customers of the dangers that can come with water damage.   “It’ll dry,” insisted the owner, who was renting the condo to tenants."I'm not worried about it."

Yes, eventually it would dry, we explained. But that's not the issue. It's about the contaminants inside that water, that are now embedded inside the drywall. Those contaminants will still be there if and when the walls dry. Those contaminants will pose a threat (and liability risk) now when it's wet, we said, and later when it dries. "I'm not worried about it," he repeated.

As luck would have it, the tenants -- who were worried about their health -- were environmental consultants. They worked with contractors every day who tested the water quality off our beaches, in Miami-Dade county. They knew a thing or two about bacterial contaminants. And guess what happened. They had their friends come and test the water that was coming out of their shower ceiling, which they caught in the bucket. Yes, it tested high for e.Coli.

We don't know what happened after that because the condo owner / landlord declined mitigation services. Maybe nothing happened. But what we do know is the property owner opened himself up to liability for failure to exercise due caution, and properly mitigate the damage. Hopefully it just dried and the contaminants did not affect occupants.