Mold May Meet Its Match in New Building Products

Residential builders have not capitalized on these products, Perry said, "since [they] are afraid of being first and don't want to be known as higher-cost producers."

"They are not going there. They don't want to be cutting-edge. They want to do it the way they have always done it because that's the way they always have done it."

Taking an opposing view is Gary G. Schaal, director of sales and marketing for Paparone Homes of New Jersey.

"Builders are concerned about health and litigation issues, so the construction techniques and materials we use are designed to deter mold growth," Schaal said.

"Some builders put dehumidifiers in houses if they know the buyers will be finishing the basement at some point," he said. "They coat the exterior basement walls with waterproofing systems such as Tuff-N-Dri, and in most cases, the residential industry has shifted from porous concrete block to less porous poured concrete, to prevent moisture intrusion."

In townhouse construction, Schaal said, "if the builder uses Sheetrock between the units instead of block walls, the procedure is to spray the sheets with a bleach product to kill anything that could have grown if they were exposed to moisture."

In existing homes, said Jim Mellon, president of Mellon Certified Restoration in Yeadon, Pa., "the sources of the mold have to be located, the areas have to be contained, material removed under controlled circumstances, then vacuumed, washed and vacuumed again."

Drywall is porous, and if there's mold, it will spread, Mellon said. Mold can be cleaned from hard furniture such as tables, but soft furniture such as couches must be discarded.

Residential mold doesn't get quite the same attention now that it got a few years ago, but that doesn't mean the issue has gone away, Perry and others said.

"If the house smells, it is a problem that must be dealt with," said Michael McCann, an associate broker at Prudential Fox & Roach's Center City Philadelphia office. "Even if testing doesn't find mold, sellers have to disclose any and all moisture problems, because if they don't disclose, there's always the chance of a lawsuit by the buyers."

Still, McCann said, buyers haven't requested mold testing in any of the houses he's sold in the past six months to a year.

"If there is no odor involved but the home inspector notices it, he'll tell the buyer to have someone check it out."