Mold Infestation Recommendation Report

Dariana Miramontes
Introduction
The purpose of this report is to provide your business with a recommendation towards a solution
to the numerous employees who have complained about health problems and illness caused at
your company due to the black mold throughout the building.
One of my top recommendations is to get more office cleaners to prevent mold or any other
bacteria to grow in the building. With the more office cleaners, a new routine will be
implemented in order to keep the facility clean. Of course, adding more work to the office
cleaners should increase the pay they receive, whether that be a bonus or a higher salary.
This recommendation is important because it will reassure all of your employees that their help
problems are important to their employer and that you are actually doing something about it.
This will also make their work environment cleaner and safer to prevent any future health
problems in relation to the building.
The following will explain the methodology, provide the results of my research, explain the
results, and conclude with our recommendations and how they are related to the results.
Methodology
My approach to my research was figuring out how mold builds up and the health risks of it due
to the multiple complaints of the employees.
Some limitations to this research can include an employee blaming any other health issue on the
mold in your building along with not knowing if the mold started their health risks.
To figure out a solution for the mold issue I first had to into detail:

• How mold builds in buildings

• Relation to mold and health problems
• Effective ways to get rid of mold
• Ways to prevent mold growth
• Best cleaning products for mold removal
• How adding an incentive improves work
Phase one: How mold builds in buildings

Researching I found a couple of factors that cause mold to build which include mold spores
(being tiny amounts of mold that travels in the air), a place for the mold to build (including
wood, drywall, cotton etc.), dark and warm and moist areas.

Phase two: Relation to mold and health problems

Encountering black mold can
lead to different types of
health concerns. The most
common is mold poisoning.
Others include headaches,
aches and pain, nosebleeds and
memory loss. It is also shown
that contact with mold can
lead to allergies, irritations and
infection.

Phase three: Effective ways

to get rid of mold

The first things to do are clean

off as much mold visible with
a mold removal product or
something equivalent. Also try
to get rid of objects that can
absorb mold into it or have
traces of mold on them like
carpets, insulation, or
wallboard. If there is a huge
amount of mold growth I
would consider calling a
professional to clean and
remove it.

Phase four: Ways to prevent mold growth

The most important thing to avoid are humid or wet areas. These attract mold to build up faster
and stronger. If the air is too humid you can purchase a dehumidifier and might also want to get a
HEPA air filter to remove mold spores from the air.

Phase five: Best cleaning products for mold removal

The most effective cleaning product for mold removal is shown to be bleach. Other products that
can also be affective are borax, vinegar, ammonia, hydrogen peroxide etc. Bleach is shown to be
the top used product because it contains sodium hypochlorite which is the main ingredient in
mold removing products. One problem is that bleach is only good on hard products like tile
rather than carpets. The best way to go would be to use actual mold removing products since
they are designed specifically for that reason.

Phase six: How adding an incentive improves work

Adding incentives can help employees retain the motivation to work and can help them feel
appreciated. Some examples of an incentive can be a bonus added to their check, a raise on their
salary, a prize, or simply just recognition for the work they provide. Adding incentives have
shown that it can increase the work performance by 27%, but if it is a team incentive rather than
individual then it can increase by 47%.

Results

While looking at my research you can see how being aware of what attracts mold growth in
order to get rid and prevent it. If you know that there is mold in your building you can use the
results as extra precautions. For example, in phase four where adding ventilation and air
dehumidifiers. It also shows where to look for mold prevention like typical wet or moist areas or
places with holes like carpets or insulation. This can help you create a routine on getting rid of
the mold along with keeping your employers happy.

Discussion of Results

In order to fix a problem like mold infestation you will need a hardworking group to get rid of
the mess. I feel like adding more work to someone's usual routine with an incentive will make
the employee not mind the extra workload and do a good job at it.

I recommend getting more office cleaners to prevent mold or any other bacteria to grow in the
building. With the more office cleaners, a new routine will be implemented in order to keep the
facility clean. This routine can be always checking areas that can be wet like bathrooms, break
rooms etc.

Along with using the new cleaning products that have a higher rate of removing bacteria's like
things with bleach. Using these products can help reduce germs quicker and prevent them to pile
up.

Adding more work can cause employees to be upset or not try hard, that’s why adding an
incentive would be another recommendation because it can lead to employees working harder
and wanting to do the extra work. This can also be a way to get new office cleaners to want to
work longer and harder.
Conclusion

To conclude my recommendations, I think that using incentives will be the best way to improve
the cleaning in your building to prevent mold or other bacteria to grow and lead to health
problems in any employee.

Another recommendation is to create more steps into the office cleaner's routine targeted
specifically to prevent mold growth in the building. This being by checking wet areas before
leaving the building and using air dehumidifiers or filters to help keep the office clean from any
other germs.

One recommendation that can be effective towards your employee's feelings on the office being
toxic can be giving the people that have health problems due to the molding some sort of reward
like PTO or a bonus. This can help keep your workers happy but can cause a huge impact on
your finances which is why it is not one of my top recommendations.

Thank you for your time and for reading my recommendations regarding your company's
problem. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me at
dmiramontes@unm.edu.
 Works Cited
“3 Employee Incentives That Actually Improve Workplace Performance.” JustWork,
justworks.com/blog/employee-incentives-improve-workplace-performance.
“Black Mold Exposure: Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention.” Medical News Today,
MediLexicon International, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323419.
“Incentives, Motivation and Workplace Performance: Research and Best Practices.” Incentives,
Motivation and Workplace Performance: Research and Best Practices | Research | The
Incentive Research Foundation, theirf.org/research/incentives-motivation-and-workplace-
performance-research-and-best-practices/147/.
“Mold Removal and How to Kill Mold.” Mold Removal, How to Kill Mold with Bleach, Borax,
Vinegar, moldpedia.com/mold-removal.
“Symptoms of Toxic Black Mold Exposure.” StackPath, sanitred.com/symptoms-of-toxic-black-
mold-exposure/.