What is it?
Yeasts are microorganisms of the fungal kingdom, distinct from moulds in their form of growth and their biological behaviour. They occur naturally in many environments and may be present in air, dust, water and food and on various surfaces.
In the field of healthy buildings, they are one of the biological factors that may form part of an indoor environment assessment when the scope of the study requires it.
Their presence does not necessarily mean there is a problem, so it must always be interpreted in the context of the building and the other environmental parameters assessed.
Where can it be found?
They can be found on damp surfaces, organic materials, heating and air-conditioning systems, areas with condensation, kitchens, bathrooms and other spaces where there are conditions favourable to their growth.
They can also be detected in accumulated dust and in certain materials when there is persistent excess moisture.
How is it assessed?
What the inspection looks at
The technical inspection identifies possible moisture problems and the environmental conditions of the building.
What is recorded for each measurement
Equipment, quantity, unit, location, date, measurement conditions and duration, together with the relevant limitations and the interpretation criterion applied.
How this factor is measured
When the assessment requires it, sampling of surfaces, dust or air may be carried out using specific methodologies.
Results are interpreted together with the other observations made during the inspection.
In assessments intended as expert evidence, appropriate procedures and, where applicable, calibrated instruments are used to ensure the reliability and traceability of the process.
Criteria
Interpretation is based on the information obtained during the inspection, on analytical results where available and on the relationship between the yeasts detected, the state of repair of the building and the moisture conditions present.
The assessment is always approached from an integrated healthy-building perspective.
This guide does not publish values or thresholds. Technical criteria, legal limits and recommendations are different things and are not presented as equivalent.
Improvement measures
Work always begins by understanding and, where possible, reducing the source, before acting on the path or on the space. Measures are prioritised by expected effect, feasibility and proportionality, and no products are recommended by default.
The action taken depends on the source identified during the assessment. Options that may be considered include:
- Eliminating the causes of moisture.
- Improving ventilation.
- Cleaning affected surfaces using appropriate procedures.
- Replacing deteriorated materials where necessary.
Recommendations are adapted to each building and to the results obtained.
How Cemprotecta helps
This factor is not assessed on its own. It is studied together with other microorganisms and the building’s moisture and ventilation conditions, because its presence can only be properly interpreted in that context.
What an assessment gives you is knowing what is there, where it is and what can be done about it, with an ordered sequence of measures rather than a list of problems.
- Inspection of the space and of moisture conditions.
- Sampling when the scope of the assessment requires it.
- Combined interpretation with the other factors assessed.
- A report identifying the possible causes and the applicable measures.
Request an assessment
If this factor concerns you in your home or workplace, tell us about your case. The prior inspection will determine whether it is worth measuring and what else should be assessed alongside it.