[CAUT] Mold spore damage

[Ken Zahringer]

Hey, Israel,

HEPA refers to the filter in the vacuum.  It stands for High Efficiency
Particulate Air filter.  The filter is tight enough to catch things like
mold spores.  They are becoming quite common on household vacuums, even
moderately priced ones.

Regards,
Ken Z.


On 10/14/07 8:55 PM, "Israel Stein" <custos3 at comcast.net> wrote:

> To the list,
> 
> I recently examined a Steinway L - nice instrument, recently restrung
> and refinished - that spent a couple days in premises that were
> flooded. There is no direct water damage to the piano - but it did
> spend some time in a very humid environment, standing on
> water-saturated floors in fairly warm weather before the owners were
> able to move it out of there to a storage facility. The most obvious
> damage is to the finish - it pretty much cracked apart (looks like
> semi-gloss water-based nitrocellusose) in long, parallel cracks.
> Other problems include some surface corrosion on the strings, and
> totally gummed up action centers.
> 
> They had flood damage technicians test air samples from the premises,
> and they found a high mold spore count (a particular mold specific to
> water damage). This requires that the premises and all contents be
> "hepa-vacuumed". Eventually I am going to see their report and
> perhaps even consult with them - but in the meantime, does anyone
> know anything about "hepa-Vacuuming", how it's done and what horrible
> things it might do to the poor piano (or not)?
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Israel Stein
> 
> 

-- 
Ken Zahringer, RPT
University of Missouri
School of Music