Mold

The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) has published several guidance documents and fact sheets that may aid you and your constituents in addressing residential mold issues. These documents as well as several other mold and moisture resources are available on the department's mold website: https://ct.gov/dph/mold

I Think I Have Mold in My Home, Should I Be Concerned? - This is a four-page fact sheet which provides homeowners and tenants with information on:

  • How to identify mold,
  • How to assess whether it could pose a health concern,
  • Clean-up and prevention tips.

It also addresses some commonly asked questions regarding mold and indoor environments, like, “What are possible health effects?” and “Are some molds more hazardous than others?”

Should I Test My Indoor Air? - This is a five-page document which:

  • Provides background information on mold
  • Explains the lack of enforceable health-based numerical standards
  • Describes the trouble with indoor air quality (IAQ) testing without careful consideration
  • Provides tips on creating a space with good IAQ that do not involve air testing
  • Offers considerations for when air testing may be useful,
  • Presents suggestions for when a consultant should be hired.

In short, this fact sheet explains why IAQ testing is not usually necessary, especially for mold, and provides helpful tips to ensure good indoor air quality.

Mold Assessment and Clean-Up: Helpful Tips for Homeowners and Tenants - This is a six-page document which provides guidelines and helpful tips for homeowners and tenants before they begin a mold clean-up project or hire a professional to evaluate or clean up mold in a home. Included in this document are:

  • Basic concepts about mold
  • Standard practices for mold assessment and clean-up
  • Advice about when to consider hiring a professional
  • How to find experienced professionals
  • Tips on how to ensure that mold clean-up is done safely and effectively.

At the end of this document, there is an extensive list of resources with links to many additional sources of information.

CT Guidelines for Mold Abatement Contractors - This nine-page updated guidance document provides important information regarding mold abatement for contractors and may be useful to other professionals and the general public who are interested in indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and mold abatement. This Guide also includes an extensive list of references at the end of the document.

Landlord Checklist for Preventing Mold in Apartments and Tenant Checklist for Preventing Mold in Apartments - Rental housing presents a unique challenge in that tenants often do not have direct agency over their dwellings. As such, in addition to the above, DPH saw fit to develop and publish new documents specific to mold in rental housing. One is targeted to landlords and the other to tenants. These documents provide detailed, but easy to understand action items for a collaborative approach between tenants and landlords for preventing and addressing mold in rental housing.
These documents as well as several other resources are available on the department's mold website:CT Mold documents