From your partners at Tribal Healthy Homes Network…

Work with us to build a housing program that incorporates comprehensive mold and moisture strategies, including how to become certified in mold remediation. Learn about best practices dealing with mold and moisture, proactive investigations, and resident engagement to protect the health of your residents by minimizing mold in the home.

THHNW can coordinate a half-day on-site mold workshop for your housing staff (and other departments who may benefit from this knowledge – eg. community health workers, air quality staff). We bring a Certified Microbial Investigator and an Indoor Air Specialist to provide hands-on training:

• Accurately Identify Signs and Sources of Mold and Moisture Damage.
• Learn to Use Tools to Identify Evidence of Damage: Visual Inspections, Moisture Meters and Thermal Temperature Gun.
• Select and Install Ventilation Improvements to Minimize Future Property Damage and Health Effects.
• Obtain Materials for Educating Residents about Mold Prevention.

Costs for this workshop range $800-$1,200, depending on travel for the trainers. The training focus can be customized as needed. Contact Gillian Mittelstaedt (gmittelstaedt@thhnw.org) or Rachel Koller (rkoller@thhnw.org) at THHNW for more information.

Some relevant mold in housing resources:

• Mold Guidance for Tenants and Landlords from the Northwest Clean Air Agency. Many landlords and tenants do not understand why mold problems start and how to safely clean them up when they do. This document is designed to eliminate the confusion with simple guidance followed by detailed examples to help prevent the most common problems NW Clean Air Agency has observed responding to hundreds of complaints.
• Mold outreach activity: We all need reminding about where excess moisture comes from in our homes! Laminate this one-page mold flyer showing many ways residents can control moisture in a home. Place the flyer in every household, in a visible place such as the back of a kitchen cabinet door.

From your partners at US Environmental Protection Agency Region X…

• May is Asthma Awareness Month. This is a great time to connect with your clinic, air quality, or environmental health staff as they may be doing outreach to asthma patients this month – for example, educating them on how to reduce triggers like mold, dust, pests in their homes. For resident outreach materials, contact Erin McTigue at EPA (mctigue.erin@epa.gov).