Stucco Defects Leave Florida Homeowners Battling Water Damage and Mold

Recently, WBBH broadcasted a story about Florida homeowners dealing with stucco defects on their homes. The defects allowed moisture to seep into exterior walls causing rot and extensive mold growth in some circumstances.

According to the news report, an inspector performed mold testing in two of the homes being checked for stucco problems. Both came back positive for several types of mold, including Stachybotrys. Stachybotrys is a type of mold that has garnered widespread attention from the media over the past two decades due to health concerns associated with exposure. It often grows on wet materials with a high cellulose and low nitrogen content, such as fiberboard, gypsum board, paper, dust and even lint. 

In many circumstances where water damage has occurred, multiple types of mold are found. For example, Cladosporium, Penicillium, Aspergillus and Alternaria are all frequently associated with moldy indoor environments. Exposure to high levels of any type of mold in the air people breathe can cause people concern. Mold growth indicates that there is a problem with water or moisture. This is the first issue that needs to be addressed or mold will continue to be a problem. 

“For homeowners in Florida, there is little recourse against their builder after 10 years, so it’s important that people know if their home has defects that have resulted in water damage and mold growth before that amount of time has lapsed,” said Jason Dobranic, Ph.D., Vice President of Microbiology and Life Sciences at EMSL Analytical, Inc. “At EMSL, we have multiple laboratories and service centers across Florida that offer mold testing services, sampling supplies, test kits and even field instrumentation to identify water damage.”   

EMSL has also sponsored an educational video about Stachybotrys that can be seen at: https://youtu.be/PcTZSTiiq3c.

To learn more about mold or other microbial and indoor air quality testing services, please visit www.EMSL.com, call (800) 220-3675 or email  info@EMSL.com . For access to any of EMSL’s indoor environmental test kits, visit www.EMSLTestKits.com.

About EMSL Analytical, Inc.

EMSL Analytical is a nationally recognized and locally focused provider of environmental, indoor air quality, consumer product and materials testing services and products for professionals and the general public. The company has an extensive list of accreditations from leading organizations as well as state and federal regulating bodies. 

Contact Information

Joseph Frasca

Senior Vice President of Marketing

EMSL Analytical, Inc.

Contact via E-mail