Possible mold after a water loss

11/20/2019 (Permalink)

This is how mold can spread after a water loss. It can spread fast in the proper environment.

When you find mold growing in your home, It’s imperative you get rid of it as soon as possible. Delay can mean extensive and costly remediation and repairs. On average, professional mold remediation costs $500 to $15,000 but the price can run well into the tens of thousands if the problem is severe.If you find mold growing on drywall, trim, unfinished wood surfaces, or carpets, and especially if the affected area is more than 10 square feet, hire a mold investigator to discover the root and extent of the problem. Not every mold issue requires Testing. If you can see mold, testing is necessary only if you must identify the actual mold species for medical or legal reasons. However, if you think mold is present but can’t actually see it, samples can confirm your suspicions. Sampling typically is used after cleanup to verify successful removal. Do not try to diagnose your mold problems with a home testing kit. They don’t work as well as profession testing. They’ll probably reveal some mold, but only because spores are always flying through the air. These kits can’t:

• Confirm the presence of dead mold spores (which also cause health problems).
• Determine baseline levels of mold in your home in order to compare results with other non-mold-infected areas.

Mold remediation companies will clean up your mold in a few days if just some washing and removing carpetisinvolved, or in a few weeks if demolition and rebuildingisrequired.

SERVPRO’s cleanup process entails:

• Removing water-damaged, mold-infested materials.
• Cleaning and disinfecting walls, carpet, and personal items.
• Removing drywall and studs if mold damage is extensive.
• Vacuuming with HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filtration.

If mold infestation is severe and you are mold-sensitive, you may have to live elsewhere during cleanup. Remediation costs vary depending on how much and where mold exists. To remove mold from ducts, crawl spaces, walls and attics, can range upwards from $500 to $20,000, which is why it’s important to act right away to prevent mold from spreading.

If your house has been in a flood there's a good chance you will end up with a mold problem. However there are steps you can take to try to prevent mold growing in your home after it's been flooded.
After a flood the best thing you can do is contact a mold remediation company or water mitigation company such as SERVPRO to come access any damages and possibility of mold growth.
This way you can be sure that all mold problems will be properly taken care of. You will also have the peace of mind of knowing that your home will be completely safe to continue living in after it's been professionally remediated.

Mold can start to grow after just a day or two so it's important to act as quickly as possible if your home has been flooded. Make sure you only enter your home once it's safe though. If you're going to perform the flood clean up yourself then you should begin my moving things outside that didn't get wet. This is to protect them while you clean up the rest of the house.

SIGNS YOU MAY HAVE MOLD: If you are having a problem with allergies then there's a good chance there could be mold growing somewhere in your home. Common allergic reactions to mold include sneezing, sore eyes and a runny nose or nasal congestion. Do you notice your allergic reactions are worse when you're at home but you feel better when you go out? If so then it's especially likely you could have mold. When you have mold growing that may not be visible often a moldy smell will be the only clue that it's there. Don't ignore mold odors if you can't see any mold. You should thoroughly inspect your home before any mold problems get worse

Visible mold growth might seem like an obvious sign of mold. However many people don't notice small amounts of mold growth or they think it's just soot or dirt. Sometimes people simply ignore visible mold in their house, they don’t think its that important.

If you can see mold growth, even if it's only small, you should take action immediately. Small mold patches can spread and the fact that there is any mold shows that the conditions in your home are right for mold to grow.

If you don't take care of mold it will soon become a bigger problem. Visible mold growth could also be a sign that there is a much larger mold colony growing hidden away from view.

Sometimes you might not realize there is mold in your house, especially if it is unusual looking mold. Some mold growth looks white and thread-like. Other mold appears as clusters of small black spots. Mold can be black, gray-brown, gray-green or white in color. Mold growing behind wallpaper made of vinyl can even appear orange, pink or purple.