What Should You Do When Mold Appears?
Things To Understand About Mold
Mold is more than just a nuisance in the home; it can have serious health implications and damage property if not properly managed. Whether you’ve noticed a musty smell or visible mold growth, understanding how to address mold issues is crucial for maintaining a healthy living environment.
Mold will typically grow in areas which have high humidity, water damage, poor ventilation, or a lot of condensation. Mold is a type of fungus that thrives in environments where moisture, warmth, and organic material are present. It reproduces through tiny spores that are released into the air, where they can settle on surfaces and start new colonies if conditions are favorable.
Once airborne, these spores can travel easily through the home, potentially causing respiratory problems, allergic reactions, and even triggering asthma attacks in sensitive individuals. Prolonged exposure to mold, particularly toxic varieties such as Stachybotrys chartarum (one of the ones commonly referred to as black mold), can lead to more severe health issues, including neurological problems and chronic respiratory conditions. Mold is particularly harmful to people with compromised immune systems, infants, and the elderly.
In addition to health risks, mold can cause structural damage to buildings by breaking down organic materials like wood, drywall, and insulation. Left unchecked, mold growth can weaken the integrity of walls, ceilings, and floors, leading to costly repairs. Because mold can grow in hidden areas, such as behind walls or under flooring, it often goes unnoticed until damage becomes extensive. Preventing mold requires regular inspections, controlling humidity levels, ensuring proper ventilation, and promptly addressing any water leaks or spills.
Despite the concerns surrounding mold, it’s important to note that not all mold is harmful or damaging. In fact, mold spores are a natural part of the environment, and some level of mold will always exist in every home. The key is to identify what type of mold is present and how much of it is growing. While some molds are relatively harmless, allowing mold growth of any kind to persist can deteriorate building materials and compromise the structure. Therefore, any mold growth should be addressed promptly to prevent damage and to maintain a safe, healthy living space.”
Where To Start – Do I Need Testing?
To begin, you may want to decide if you need a mold inspection. Not every job requires the expense of testing, but if you are going to need testing, you need to make that determination before you hire a company to handle the mold remediation. In order to have a valid test post-remediation, you would need to also have pretesting done. We recommend you hire separate contractors to handle the testing and the remediation, to best guarantee the integrity of the results and figure out where you can find mold remediation near me.
Can I handle it myself?
While it is tempting to save some money and try to address the issue yourself, many of the calls we receive involve more extensive damage than necessary due to unreliable advice someone may have found on the internet. Like anything else, the internet has a lot of information and can be a good tool for many things, but the question is, do you have enough hours to do all of the research necessary to fully vet and test out every theory for your scenario and guarantee that it wont backfire or return a larger problem? A quick courtesy inspection might help point you in the right direction as to which fix will be the most affordable and yet truly address the issue. Most restoration companies are happy to offer you a free inspection and better peace of mind. If you find yourself in one of the following situations, be sure to give us a call:
- An air test came back which abnormally high levels of a particular mold spore, and need to be addressed
- You see any sort of mold, mildew, or other microbial or “fuzzy” growth on any building surfaces, on the inside or outside of the building itself
- Obvious staining coming through drywall that indicates the presences of some sort of moisture behind that wall – before you open it up or simply paint over it, get it checked out
- Musty smells that aren’t around any pipes or drain lines, and don’t have a clear explanation (IE they’re in a clean home environment and shouldn’t be present)
Why Premier?
The mold remediation technicians at Premier Restoration are experts in high-quality mold removal and cleanup. Our professional team will arrive on scene, advise on the scope of the issue, remove and treat mold found throughout the property, and leave the areas unaffected and free of active mold spores. Safety is our primary concern and we take extra measures to make sure the mold spores do not spread during the remediation process.
We work with you if there is an active source of moisture that is encouraging mold growth, to know what direction to turn for addressing the source (I.e. a plumber for plumbing leaks, foundation repairs for water intrusion, exterior and sidings crews for gutter, roofing, and siding leaks, etc.).
Premier Restoration is built on firm ethics and strong morals. Our team sets itself apart by being committed to providing excellent service that services our community throughout the years. We train our staff to avoid using unethical scare techniques to get people to use our services. When our experts assess the situation, we will make sure that you are fully informed and that you have the knowledge you need to decide how you want to handle the situation. Our goal, even above being your choice for your remediation needs, is that after meeting with one of our team, you will be more educated on the issue that you face, and better equipped for making a decision to resolve it.
