<div dir="ltr"><div><div><div><div><div><div>David, <br></div>You're correct, there was no mention of water damage. The house is fine from that perspective, as far as anyone knows. As I said to James in my response to him, the issue is probably the Humboldt climate well known for dampness, especially along the coast where we are. He is a musician, records, gigs, and uses the piano frequently, though as he is more a wind player and guitarist, and associates are more likely to use the piano than he in actual rehearsals and so forth.<br>
</div>All your suggestions are useful, but I suspect moving the piano to a different local in the house probably isn't going to fly, since I suspect he's decided that the piano will either be treated in some tried and proven way, or be rebuilt or replaced. No one has any idea whether the piano is even infected; they just want to cover all the bases in <br>
the most direct way possible. I'm getting the feeling--as others have suggested--that the simplest thing is to replace it, period. <br></div>I'm going to check in with this guy very soon about what I'm learning here. <br>
<br></div>I'm not familiar with the ozone tent Andrew speaks of. Any idea what it is/does? Andrew?<br><br></div>Thanks very much for everyone's help!<br></div>Greg<br><div><div><div><div><br></div></div></div></div>
</div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Jan 10, 2013 at 9:52 AM, David Skolnik <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:davidskolnik@optonline.net" target="_blank">davidskolnik@optonline.net</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div>
Greg, James -<br>
Without getting into technical details beyond my immediate knowledge, the
data seems somewhat incomplete. I may have missed something, but I
don't understand the basis for James assumption that the piano suffered
water damage. It would be interesting to know the suspected cause
of the mold, i.e. a water leak, flooding, Humbolt climate? Does he
use the piano? Can the piano be moved to a part of the house that
he doesn't frequent, to see if that makes a difference? If his
condition suddenly improves, that would narrow it down a bit. I
would be wary of going immediately the off-site 'expert evaluation'
route, partly for the initial expense (it can't be cheap, unless the wife
does it herself or knows someone), and then question of what to do, based
upon the assessment results. I suppose you could move it off-site
to do a thorough cleaning (or take it out in the back on a sunny day -
whenever that might be- and blow it out). <br><br>
It would be interesting to see (photo) how the house has been cleansed
without eliminating all elements of comfort.<br><br>
David Skolnik<div><div class="h5"><br><br>
At 11:32 AM 1/10/2013, you wrote:<br>
</div></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div class="h5">Greg,<br>
Of all the things that are be almost impossible to remove
from a piano without rebuilding, mildew and mold are at the top of the
list. It is more difficult then smoke and smoke odor There simply
is not a way to clean it out without removing and replacing parts. You
have a living organism that is not just sitting there, is is
growing If I were in your place I wold first have the piano removed
to a water damage restoration specialist and let is sit in an
uncontaminated area for evaluation and then decide the next step from
there. Most of the time you can see it but not always.
Getting the input from some folks that deal with it on a regular basis is
helpful.<br>
Yours<br>
James Schmitt<br>
On Jan 9, 2013, at 8:57 AM, Gregory J. Granoff wrote:<br><br>
<blockquote type="cite">David,<br>
I'm not sure what the story is on discovery there, but his wife is a long
time professional allergist, and they have come quite a distance already
in getting rid of all furniture and permeable surfaces in the house
(carpeting, etc.), cleaning, painting, etc., with no turning back.
I'm not going to say anything about finding what you tend to look for, if
you know what I mean; but he did develop some pretty unpleasant symptoms
when he's in his house--difficulty regulating body temp, feelings of mild
atrophy in extremities, and mental cloudiness, among others, according to
him.<br>
The question really is now: what do with the piano. He's
aware--assuming that all this other stuff is correct-- that the piano
might need to be replaced entirely, so it isn't a question of that being
do-able if necessary. <br>
He just wants to know if that route is the only choice, and if it isn't,
what are the realistic options for the existing piano?<br>
Thanks,<br>
Greg<br><br>
<br>
On Wed, Jan 9, 2013 at 5:08 AM, David Skolnik
<<a href="mailto:davidskolnik@optonline.net" target="_blank">
davidskolnik@optonline.net</a>> wrote:<br>
<dl>
<dd>Greg -<br>
</dd><dd>How was the original mold assessment made? How is the rest of
his house being treated? Did a reliable expert locate the primary
source, and reason for its presence? <br><br>
</dd><dd>David Skolnik<br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
</dd><dd>At 12:26 PM 1/8/2013, you wrote:<br>
<blockquote type="cite">
<dd>Hello list,<br>
</dd><dd>I'm looking for info regarding a customer who has been diagnosed with
a serious allergy to poisonous mold spores that have apparently infected
his house. He asked me whether there was any way to treat permeable
surfaces such as felt, unfinished wood, etc. in pianos for the spores
which can lodge there that didn't involve replacing everything. I
have no experience with this issue at all. Anybody know?<br><br>
</dd><dd>Thanks so much in advance for any advice and knowledge!<br><br>
</dd><dd>Greg Granoff<br>
</dd><dd>Humboldt State University<br><br>
</dd><dd>No virus found in this message.<br>
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</dd><dd>Version: 2013.0.2805 / Virus Database: 2637/6016 - Release Date:
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</div></div></blockquote><br>
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</blockquote></div><br></div>