Mold! The Link Between Winter Rains, Moisture, and Mold

Excessive winter rains produce excess moisture. Moisture can cause mold to grow when mold spores are present. Mold spores occur naturally in the outdoors and easily enter a home – we cannot eliminate them. Mold spores need one thing only for mold to grow: moisture! Once mold spores make contact with a damp surface, mold grows easily. 

If you observe mold, or even detect moldy or musty odors, address the source of the moisture first. A few ideas: 

• Keep the surfaces in your home dry 
• Increase ventilation: always use fans and open windows while cooking and bathing 
• Check for leaks under the sink 
• Report all leaks to the property owner if you rent your home 

💡Helpful hint: It’s not necessary to remove mold with chlorine bleach. Try hot, soapy water and be prepared to DRY THE AREA THOROUGHLY. If you do not dry the affected area, the mold will most likely grow back if the surface is still wet and there is moisture in the air. 

Rooms and closets need to breathe too! A few more considerations: 

• Leave at least 6 inches between furniture and the wall. 
• Look behind and under cardboard boxes, which attract moisture and pose conditions for mold growth, mainly due to lack of ventilation and the organic material they are made from. 
• Boxes that are stacked, pushed up against a wall, or stored in a closet inhibit air circulation. 
• Replace cardboard boxes with plastic containers. 
• Any item that makes contact with the wall or floor could trap moisture, potentially causing mold. 
• If you observe mold on the ceiling, address potential leak, gutter, or downspout issues; rainwater must drain away from the building. 

Bathrooms require ventilation. If your bathroom walls stay damp, dry them regularly.  

When you see moisture on a surface like a window, dry it! 

Check our healthy homes resources, as well as California Department of Public Health’s highly informative mold reduction and prevention resources. 

Eat Smart and Safe—Healthy Recipes for the Safest Sport-Caught Fish Found in the Bay

Did you know that not all sport-caught fish are safe for all ages and sexes to eat? Some fish have higher levels of toxins in their bodies due to where they live and how fast they grow. Because of this, some fish are not safe for children or younger women to eat, especially if these women are pregnant or breastfeeding.  

Luckily, San Mateo County Environmental Health Services’ Fish Smart Program has you covered! We have resources for the safest sport-caught fish to eat in the area, as well as signs posted at favorite local fishing spots to help you identify who can eat your catch-of-the-day.  

Two fish that are safe for all age groups and sexes to eat are American Shad and many surfperches. Keep in mind that not all surfperches are safe for all ages and sexes, refer to the Bay Area Safe-to-Eat Guide for details. Below we’ve included two recipes to inspire you to cook your sport-caught fish with your family’s health in mind.  

The Healthy Table has a simple and delicious Baked Ocean Perch Recipe to try the next time you catch surfperch on your day out at the ocean.  

The Food Network has a tasty and healthy recipe for Sauteed Shad Fillet with Lemon that’s perfect for the whole family.  

For more information about the Fish Smart Program and safe-to-eat fish in the San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean, visit smchealth.org/fishsmart. 

Mark Your Calendars, Then Clear it Out!

Household Hazardous Waste does not belong at home – find a drop-off event near you. 

Spring is here and it’s time to clear out old products that are potential hazards to your family and home. The 2024 household hazardous waste (HHW) drop-off events schedule features weekly events in San Mateo and periodic events in Redwood City, Daly City, Menlo Park, South San Francisco, and Pacifica. All who live in San Mateo County are encouraged to participate! Make a free appointment at an event near you. Pedir una cita en la ciudad más cercana suya. 

Interested in reducing the use of hazardous products? Check out the safer cleaning video and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBPeZ5_yRSYsafer cleaning products! 

Got Paint, Household Batteries, or Fluorescent Lights? 

Neighborhood retail partners make it easy to safely dispose of paint, batteries, and fluorescent lights. They increase opportunities to clear our homes of hazardous waste because this waste does not belong in homes! If you have paint, household batteries, or fluorescent lights only, check out these convenient neighborhood and retail take back locations.  

Used Motor Oil & Filters Need Recycling Too!  

Three Easy and Free Ways to Recycle Used Motor Oil and Filters 

Do you or someone you know change their vehicle’s motor oil? If you’re a DIYer, read on to find out about your recycling options.  

1. Recycle at a collection center – Over 50 drop-off options to choose from.  

2. Recycle at the curb – Never leave home.  

3. Recycle through the County’s Household Hazardous Waste Program – Clean out your garage and safely get rid of all your hazardous products that are expired or unwanted at the same time – bring your used oil too!   

Thanks for reading. Now enjoy a Used Motor Oil and Filter Recycling video! 
 

⚠ Reminder! Used motor oil mixed with anything else can’t be recycled and must be managed through the County’s Household Hazardous Waste Program. If you have contaminated oil, make a free appointment for safe disposal.http://www.smchealth.org/hhw-appt. See the drop-off event schedule above! 
 

Did We Say Giveaway? Yes! 

Many items collected at San Mateo County’s household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection facility are in good, usable condition. Products may include home and heavy-duty cleaners, solvents, auto supplies, pesticides, fertilizers, adhesives, paint, and stains. The Product Give Away Program redistributes these products for free each Thursday, Friday, and most Saturdays from 2-3 p.m. at the San Mateo County HHW Facility. Stop in to see what treasures you find so they don’t become trash.  

Introducing My EHS: Environmental Health Services’ New Online Portal

Environmental Health Services (EHS) is transitioning to My EHS, a new online portal to streamline services for the public and regulated businesses.  

San Mateo County residents can: 

• ✏ File a complaint 
• ↗ Track a complaint  
• 📄 Request public records  

 EHS regulated business can:  

• 💳 Pay their invoice online 
• Additional portal features are rolling out later in 2024 including managing existing permits and applying for new permits  

San Mateo County’s Mussel Sampling Program

Recreational shellfish harvesting is a hobby and livelihood for some in San Mateo County, but it can pose serious health risks if not done responsibly.  

Approximately every two weeks, Environmental Health Services (EHS) staff collect mussel and phytoplankton samples along San Mateo County’s coast. These samples are sent to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and tested for unsafe levels of biotoxins. Certain species of algae naturally produce biotoxins that can become too abundant in shellfish, like mussels. Biotoxins are dangerous and can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) and domoic acid poisoning. Mussels are at higher risk of having these toxins present in their flesh than other shellfish because they more readily store these biotoxins.   

💡 Tips for staying safe:  

✅ Dos	🚫 Don’ts
Do call the biotoxin information hotline 1-800-553-4133 for the latest quarantine and health advisory updates from CDPH.	Do not harvest mussels during the annual quarantine from May 1st – October 31st due to the dangerous levels of biotoxins present. The quarantine only applies to recreationally-harvested mussels.
Know the symptoms of PSP – early symptoms include tingling of the lips and tongue with progression to tingling of the fingers and toes and then loss of control of arms and legs, followed by difficulty in breathing.	Do not assume recreationally harvested mussels are safe to eat at any time of the year. The annual mussel quarantine is a safety precaution, but the quarantine may be extended or take effect at any time of the year.
Know the symptoms of domoic acid poisoning – symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, and abdominal cramps within 24 hours of ingestion. More serious symptoms may develop within 48 hours including headache, dizziness, confusion, disorientation, loss of short-term memory, seizures, and breathing difficulty.
If you suspect you have eaten toxic mussels, get immediate emergency medical care at a hospital or call 911.

• 🔗 More Information  
• Visit smchealth.org/shellfish for more information on the Mussel Sampling Program.  
• Do you enjoy fishing in San Mateo County? Learn which fish are safe-to-eat at home from the San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean at smchealth.org/fishsmart 
• If you swim or surf, visit smchealth.org/beaches for weekly beach monitoring updates based on bacteria samples.  

Environmental Health Services Program Spotlight: Household Hazardous Waste Team

Spring cleaning🌷is just around the corner, here’s how San Mateo County’s  Environmental Health Services’ (EHS) Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Team can help you this season and all year-round 📆.  

First, let’s define household hazardous waste. Many people already know that batteries🔋, paint 🎨, pesticides 🐜, chemicals ⛽, and fluorescent bulbs 💡 are HHW, but many other household cleaners and personal products also fall under this category like nail polish 💅 and remover, soap 🛁, toothpaste 👄, lotion ✋, and almost anything else you purchase at a drug store 🏥or home supply store 🔨.  

The aforementioned items cannot be disposed of curbside or in the regular waste stream, so San Mateo County’s HHW Team is here to help you safely dispose of these items. Here’s how:  

• 📦Safe Collection: San Mateo County Environmental Health Services collects household hazardous waste year-round at their permanent location in San Mateo as well as at temporary events around the county. Make a free appointment at the most-convenient location and time for your schedule. SMC collects HHW on Thursdays, Fridays, and most Saturdays with the exception of some holidays. Please note, there is a 50-pound OR 10-gallon limit and a limit of 10 fluorescent bulbs per appointment.  
• 🏪Visit a Partner Location: San Mateo partners with local businesses and agencies to offer collection of some of the most-common HHW items (paint, bulbs, and batteries) with no appointment needed for these drop off locations.  
• 🔄Safely Dispose of and Reuse Items: The collected items are safely disposed through state-approved agencies and usable items are saved and given away for free through our Free Product Give Away Program.  

You don’t have to be part of the EHS team to help reduce HHW in our community! 

• 🌱Switch to Less Toxic Products. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has great resources for identifying and switching to more “green” cleaning.  
• 🦄Get Creative: Cleaning recipes with items you already have in your home, product descriptions, and more are found on our safer cleaning website.  
• 📒Educate: Sign up for a San Mateo County employee to be a guest speaker in your middle school or high school class to teach students about HHW and how to safely dispose of, and reduce, HHW waste in homes.  

Interested in a career that protects people 👪 and the environment 🌄? Explore San Mateo County Environmental Health Services careers here. Want to learn more about our HHW Team? Visit the HHW website at smchealth.org/hhw. 

Spring cleaning is around the corner!

Ready to deep-clean? Reduce your exposure to cleaning chemicals by opting for basic ingredients found in your pantry, such as white vinegar, baking soda, and liquid soap. Try a few safer cleaning products and share your experience with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram @smchealth or leave a comment on this blog!

Demonstration on how to make a creamy cleanser

Look for mold! Deep cleaning following our heavy winter rainstorms helps you find mold that may have grown, but you do not see. For example, look behind and under cardboard boxes, which attract moisture and pose conditions for mold growth, mainly due to lack of ventilation and the organic material they are made from (tree pulp). Boxes that are stacked, pushed up against a wall, or stored in a closet inhibit air circulation.

💡 Helpful hint: It’s not necessary to clean mold with chlorine bleach. Try hot, soapy water and be prepared to DRY THE AREA THOROUGHLY. If you do not dry the area, the mold may return due to existing moisture in the air.

Attention! Mold spores occur naturally in the outdoors, and easily enter a home (not through the front door alone). Once mold spores make contact with a damp surface, mold can easily grow.

Some conditions that promote mold growth:

• Moisture in the air from cooking, bathing, and even breathing.
• Lack of ventilation or air circulation in all rooms, including, and especially in, closets. Use ventilation fans and open windows when cooking and bathing.
• Lack of air circulation and clutter, combined with moisture that enters from the outside. Many apartment buildings were not built with insulation, which can protect your home from some amount of moisture intrusion. Mold is common below windows and exterior walls (walls not shared with an adjacent room or apartment unit) so be sure to move furniture at least 6 inches away from the wall to allow for air circulation.

Check our healthy homes resources, as well as California Department of Public Health’s highly informative mold reduction and prevention resources.

Carpets? Consider a vacuum with a HEPA filter to safely remove allergens, dust, and residue from shoes that accumulate over time in throw rugs and carpets.

More safer cleaning resources:

🌎Women’s Voices for the Earth demonstrates how to make safer cleaning products at home!
🧼 Our 3 Steps to a Healthy Home also highlights less toxic pest and mold control.
🧽 Environmental Working Group (EWG)-Verified Cleaning Products
🌎 The Safer Choice Label for safer cleaning, car care, laundry, dish detergent, degreasers, and other consumer products for the home that contain the least toxic ingredients.

Making the switch? Have you decided to opt for less toxic products and would like to donate your existing cleaning products? Make an appointment for an upcoming collection event near you. The Product Give Away Program at the San Mateo County Household Hazardous Waste Facility will donate partially or unused products.

School Share Tables

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Addressing Food Waste and Insecurity in Post-Pandemic Times

While COVID-19 has deeply affected all of us, some of the hardest-hit places during the pandemic were schools. Many families in San Mateo County who experience food insecurity rely on school breakfasts and lunches to keep their children fed. While schools were closed and classes were held remotely, many families struggled to put food on their tables. With
schools returning to in-person instruction for the 2021-2022 school year, San Mateo County
is working hard to make sure school share tables are a safe, healthy resource to reduce hunger and food waste in accordance with California Retail Food Code and COVID-19 safety standards.

A school share table allows students who don’t finish their school lunches to put their unopened or unbitten food on a table where other students, who may still be hungry, can have extra helpings. By monitoring the school share table during meal times and strictly adhering to food handling laws and COVID-19 safety protocols, food left on the share table at the end of a lunch period can be used for another school meal or donated to a non-profit and distributed to other people in the community. The School Share Table Program is just one way San Mateo County is curtailing climate change and safely serving the diverse needs of its people during the pandemic.
“Our overarching goal is to meet the needs of the environment while also meeting the needs of San Mateo County’s residents,” states Emilie Dirck, San Mateo County’s School Share Table program coordinator. “Safety is at the forefront of our Share Table Program and we are striving to keep all children and school staff healthy by incorporating COVID-19 protocols into school meal routines.”
If you are a family member, teacher, or school administrator interested in establishing a share table at your school, please contact San Mateo County Environmental Health Services at (650) 464-7079 or visit smchealth.org/sharetable for more information. Together we can end hunger and combat climate change.

Household Hazardous Waste Program – We’re Back!

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Is your closet, garage or carport planning a revolt unless you free up some space?
San Mateo County’s convenient household hazardous waste (HHW) recycling opportunities help you safely free up space and help you breathe easier. Less HHW means a healthier home.

HHW is waste from your home that is toxic, corrosive, flammable, or reactive based on its chemical properties. Products such as batteries, paint and paint thinner, pesticides and fertilizers, and poisons are considered hazardous waste. It’s illegal and unsafe to dump HHW in the trash or down the drain.

One-Day Collection Events Have Resumed!

Visit smchealth.org/hhw to make a drop-off appointment, find a list of alternative, safe management options for hard-to-recycle special items, and find local recycling and disposal options for paint, electronics, fluorescent lights, medicines, and more.

Ready to go to your HHW drop-off appointment? Do not package HHW in plastic bags! Boxes or containers are safer for you and the HHW event staff.

Moving? Things to Know Before You Go

If you have HHW you no longer need or do not want to move, make sure you don’t leave them behind.
Homeowners and tenants are legally responsible for the safe management of any HHW in the home. That means your realtor or landlord cannot move or legally transport your HHW – HHW can only legally be transported by the person or persons who generated that waste.
If you’re moving out make sure to properly dispose of your HHW, and if you’re moving in—confirm that you’re not stuck with the leftovers. Visit smchealth.org/moving for more information. If you have questions, contact us at hhw@smcgov.org or (650) 372-6200.

Upcoming 2021 HHW Collection Events

September
Daly City
Saturday, September 11
Redwood City
Saturday, September 25
San Mateo
Weekly, Thursday-Saturday

October
South San Francisco Saturday, October 2
Portola Valley
Saturday, October 23
San Mateo
Weekly, Thursday-Saturday

November
South San Francisco Saturday, November 6
Redwood City
Saturday, November 13
San Mateo
Weekly, Thursday-Saturday

December
South San Francisco Saturday, December 4
Daly City
Saturday, December 11
San Mateo
Weekly, Thursday-Saturday

Make an appointment at smchealth.org/hhw today.

School Share Tables Save Food, Feed Children

A simple solution to reduce food waste and address child hunger

In 2018, San Mateo County Environmental Health Services started the Food Share Table Program and in only a year we’ve come a long way!

To date we’ve partnered with Rethink Waste, and the Office of Sustainability to successfully introduce a program that teaches students and school staff how to safely share food during meal time at 11 schools in the County. That’s approximately 5,000 students now saving an average of 16,000 pieces of food per school during the school year with a share table in place.

The Program is helping to divert hundreds of tons of food from being thrown in our landfills daily, which prevents methane generation, a greenhouse gas emission causing climate change.

The amazing part is, 16,000 pieces of food previously feeding the landfill are
now providing an extra serving of edible food to elementary school students whose only meal of the day may be in the school cafeteria.

How Does the Program Work?

Environmental Health Services train teachers and school employees on how to share food safely using a Share Table Guide developed by food safety staff and provide schools with color code food grade bins. They are also educated on how to safely donate surplus food to other organizations at the end of the lunch period.

Students get an overview of how the table works and a game is played to help teach them what food goes where and why the share table is important. During lunch, students can place food in and take food out of the colorful share table bins which are separated by hot food, cold food, packaged shelf stable food, and utensils and condiments.

Only unopened, unbitten cafeteria food is allowed on the table, no food from home is allowed. School staff monitor the table and manage the remaining food according to food safety rules.

How Can I Support Starting a Share Table at My Child’s School?

Establishing a share table at your child’s school is a team effort. It requires the support of the school district, the principal, school staff, and Environmental Health Services to make it a success and ensure food safety is maintained. If you would like to see a share table at your child’s school, please contact us at (650) 372-6252, and visit smchealth.org/sharetable for more information.