ABSTRACT
Building structures, decorations and contents (including foodstuffs), are affected by fungal infestations, which may adversely affect the health of the occupants. Deterioration is a widespread and very familiar phenomenon which affects most organic materials and even some inorganic ones. Most buildings are made from materials that will deteriorate, decay and eventually disintegrate. The rates of decay of the parts of a building are not uniform. The structural elements may have a long life, operating at low stress, and even if damaged or decayed may have sufficient redundancy to continue to give an adequate performance. Factors which accelerate the rate of deterioration are: excessive light, pollution, insects, fungi and other biological agents, the wrong humidity and bad maintenance management. The materials used in buildings are subject to different types of chemical, physical and biological attack; however, the most important factor is the environment created by the building itself, associated services, and the uses to which the building is put. Thorough investigations of the building ecology, including the microenvironments in and around the material, are necessary to minimize the use of potentially hazardous chemicals. Although a home is the largest single investment most families make, this investment is too often inadequately cared for and periodic inspections or preventive maintenance are seldom performed (Verral and Amburgey, 1977).
