Mold in Salem? (houses, construction, allergies)

[SunShine20192020]

Hey there!
I am thinking of moving to Salem from overseas. Right now, I am suffering from allergies to mold though and I heard many people say that there is a lot of mold on the western side of Oregon due to the humidity. However, I thought that humidity was more a problem on the East Coast? Have you made any experiences with that and could tell me if it would be safe for me or if I should think about it again?
Thank you and have a good day!

[oregonwoodsmoke]

It rains a lot. Rain=humidity, ie: water in the air.


Yes, there is a lot of mold west of the Cascades.


There are lots of other things to be allergic to in that area, too.

[Silverfall]

So I'm allergic to mold and I don't have issues in Salem. I don't know how severe your allergy is compared to mine though. I've reacted to mold while showing homes (I'm kind of like a canary in the coal mine that way), but not outside out and about. There are thousands of mold spores so it is hard to know if the mold you are reacting to there is the same kind of spore we have here.

Yes we have humidity here, but not like east coast/midwest humidity where you just start sweating when you walk outside. I grew up in the midwest and used to get hayfever in the fall and I haven't had that issue since I moved out to Oregon almost 30 years ago.

I know they have a PNW allergy panel which has our most common causes of allergies including some of the common molds here. Maybe see if your doctor could run the tests for the PNW allergens?

[leastprime]

western Oregon (valley) really very low humidity as compared to Seattle area, where I am now sweltering in low clouds, 70 degrees. My allergy in Seattle area is much worse than Salems. A lot of Maples here in Seattle that pollinate in early spring and the weather is OK. Salem has thousands of acres of Filbert's that pollinate in January, where it mostly gets washed way in the rain. I m still using eye drops, where as I use eye drops only for a couple months in Salem. see me crying

[SunShine20192020]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

It rains a lot. Rain=humidity, ie: water in the air.


Yes, there is a lot of mold west of the Cascades.


There are lots of other things to be allergic to in that area, too.

@oregonwoodsmoke Thanks for your Reply. Is it mostly outside mold or also inside the houses?

[SunShine20192020]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

So I'm allergic to mold and I don't have issues in Salem. I don't know how severe your allergy is compared to mine though. I've reacted to mold while showing homes (I'm kind of like a canary in the coal mine that way), but not outside out and about. There are thousands of mold spores so it is hard to know if the mold you are reacting to there is the same kind of spore we have here.

Yes we have humidity here, but not like east coast/midwest humidity where you just start sweating when you walk outside. I grew up in the midwest and used to get hayfever in the fall and I haven't had that issue since I moved out to Oregon almost 30 years ago.

I know they have a PNW allergy panel which has our most common causes of allergies including some of the common molds here. Maybe see if your doctor could run the tests for the PNW allergens?

@Silverfall thank you for the information. I would say that we are pretty similar allergy-wise as I also know the showing homes problem but outside I don´t have any problems. As I am from overseas, I am not sure if we have those special tests...however, I can say that as soon as there is any spores/moisture on the walls inside the home, I will have my allergy symptons. As long as it is only outside, it is okay....I am just worried that there is a lot of moisture and mold also inside or if it is common to take good control of the humidity inside the homes?

[SunShine20192020]

Originally Posted by leastprime

western Oregon (valley) really very low humidity as compared to Seattle area, where I am now sweltering in low clouds, 70 degrees. My allergy in Seattle area is much worse than Salems. A lot of Maples here in Seattle that pollinate in early spring and the weather is OK. Salem has thousands of acres of Filbert's that pollinate in January, where it mostly gets washed way in the rain. I m still using eye drops, where as I use eye drops only for a couple months in Salem. see me crying

oh no, I hope it gets better for you soon! For me, I luckily don´t react to Filbert´s etc. and also outside, I don´t have any trouble so it would only be inside the homes that makes me worry...

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by SunShine20192020

@Silverfall thank you for the information. I would say that we are pretty similar allergy-wise as I also know the showing homes problem but outside I don´t have any problems. As I am from overseas, I am not sure if we have those special tests...however, I can say that as soon as there is any spores/moisture on the walls inside the home, I will have my allergy symptons. As long as it is only outside, it is okay....I am just worried that there is a lot of moisture and mold also inside or if it is common to take good control of the humidity inside the homes?

Well, there are several issues here with homes and mold.

1) Older homes here were built to breathe and weren't insulated well. Often times homeowners put in vinyl windows, add floor, wall and ceiling insulation and then don't add venting. So they create a lot of heat in the attic so when the moisture rises it condenses when it hits the cold roof line and we see mold growing on the roof sheathing.

2) They didn't start venting out bathrooms, kitchens, laundry room fans to the outside of homes until the mid-1970's so they often vent into the attic (unless they have been corrected) and so there is often some mold growth by the vents for the same reason as #1. They also didn't use visqueen barriers under homes to prevent moisture from rising.

3) In the 1980's-1990's, they created really tight homes and they often have mold growth in the attic due to poor ventilation. I'd say a good 50% of those homes have some sort of mold growth until they get proper roof venting.

4) We don't have a lot of basements here, but most smell musty to me. We have a high water table here due to our rain so if you avoid homes with basements (which isn't hard), that will be a huge step in controlling mold spores.

5) Avoid homes with aluminum windows. The hot interior air hits the cold aluminum and causes mold to grow around those windows. You have to clean them weekly to keep it under control. Most people have replaced these windows, but they were popular in 1970's homes.

It isn't so much a humidity issue as an evaporation/condensation cycle issue here. If you control that process then you control the mold spores. There are many, many homes without mold issues and most don't have mold issues. When there is mold it is almost always easily alleviated. The keys are keeping water out of the crawlspace (so good gutters and downspouts that take water away from the home), not blocking the crawlspace vents in winter (unless we have that rare big freeze coming), keeping the visqueen barrier in good shape, and having proper venting for high moisture areas like bathrooms, and then making sure the roof venting is adequate. That takes care of 99% of the reasons why mold grows in a home.

[leastprime]

Avoid homes built in 2002-04 and again 2007-08. Economic recession slowed construction. Some houses in a very nice section of WS were started, floor framing went up, suspended in rain; floor insulation insta!led, sat in rain; floors installed, say in rain; wall and roof framing went up, sat in rain; roofing started but took them +7 days, in the rain; finally in late spring, they had a push to complete the house. Sealed in the damp pretty tight.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by leastprime

Avoid homes built in 2002-04 and again 2007-08. Economic recession slowed construction. Some houses in a very nice section of WS were started, floor framing went up, suspended in rain; floor insulation insta!led, sat in rain; floors installed, say in rain; wall and roof framing went up, sat in rain; roofing started but took them +7 days, in the rain; finally in late spring, they had a push to complete the house. Sealed in the damp pretty tight.

That issue is builder dependent. Code requires that the framing members be below 19% moisture before insulating and putting up sheetrock. Some builders are excellent at ensuring the homes were properly dried before doing the walls and others were terrible at it and didn't follow the code.