Tips for Dealing with Mold in Your Home
Mold spores are just about everywhere. All they need is moisture to grow and proliferate. If you’re lucky, you can just wipe mold and mildew away with a sponge (while wearing gloves and a mask, of course), but the problem isn’t always visible. There may be no obvious signs, except for a musty odor. Water damage will surely lead to a mold problem, but protect indoor air quality and your health by quickly cleaning up or hiring a professional mold removal or water damage service.
What Is Mold?
What we call mold is a type of fungus. It’s in the same category of organisms as yeasts and mushrooms. Made up of multicellular filaments, mold thrives in moist, humid conditions, which is why mold removal jobs often include fixing leaky roofs, washing machines, drywall, etc. While mold spores do the reproducing and rapid spreading, the enzymes in these microscopic organisms digest and decompose organic material, the paper backing of drywall, carpet bonding glue, and even dust.
Ridding Your Home of Mold
Completely fixing the problem yourself is difficult, because mold can remain dormant even in dry conditions. There are two ways to approach the issue:
- Try to Eliminate the Mold Yourself.
Some people try bleach, but it can only slow them down, not kill mold spores. Cleaning solutions aren’t thorough enough to clean the interiors of contaminated materials, and paint only masks the problem. However, a fungicide spray can work, but only on the visible areas of mold you see. If an area larger than a bathroom corner is affected, consider hiring a mold cleaning professional.
- Choose Professional Mold Cleaning.
Professional mold removal services can find all sources of the problem, including HVAC ductwork, behind drywall, and in basement crawlspaces. Not only are professionals able to do a thorough assessment, companies like KIWI® Services are equipped to remove mold from wood, walls, moist windows, and other common mold breeding grounds, and they will protect their workers with goggles, respiratory masks, and gloves.
Containing the area to prevent further contamination, a mold removal professional will remove water-damaged, mold-infested materials; replace severely damaged drywall; and clean/disinfect carpets, furniture, and other affected areas. A professional is also able to provide services such as:
- Air conditioning system cleaning
- Water extraction
- Humidity control
- Contaminated waste disposal
- Repair of damaged furniture, floors, and walls
A thorough clean-up often isn’t enough because it doesn’t get to the source of the problem. Duct sealing, cement backer board for drywall, bathroom fans, and waterproofing for concrete basement walls help prevent future moisture entry. Re-grading yard soil to slope away from the house is effective. Calking windows and fixing leaky roof shingles is as well.1 Unless you’re an expert handyman, it’s best to leave these removal and preventative tasks to the professionals.
Mold removal can cost several hundred to several thousand dollars. The longer you wait, the higher the cost of repairing the damage.
Suspect mold in your home? Call KIWI® Services at 888-570-7814 today to get a quote and schedule a visit by a qualified professional.
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I didn’t know that bleach can only slow down and not kill spores. I’ve been trying to bleach the stuff growing on the walls in my basement, but it just seems to come back within a few weeks. Maybe I should hire a professional mold remediation service that can take care of the problem permanently.
It’s great that you mentioned how professional mold removal services can find the source and hidden problems that cause the molds appearing. That’s perfect since I’ve found a few molds clustering in the basement when I went down yesterday. I would hate to have my family’s health endangered, thus I’ll have a mold remediation service ASAP. Thanks for the informative read on how to deal with molds at home!
I liked that you had mentioned that hiring a professional to handle the mold remediation can be helpful because they’ll be able to find all sources and find all problem areas. My wife thinks she might have found mold on one of our walls and I haven’t looked at it just yet but if it is that could be a problem. I’ll have to start looking around for a professional that will be able to handle the remediation so that we can feel fully comfortable that it will be gone.
I talked to my partner about having a home inspection before the start of summer months as we want to remove the mold infestation in our home. I like your tip on eliminating the mold by ourselves, but not with cleaning solutions as these aren’t thorough enough to clean the interiors of contaminated materials. I’ll be sure to try using a fungicide spray to visible areas of mold. Much appreciated!
I couldn’t agree more when you mentioned hiring professional mold services to address the mold problem in your home. If you have already exhausted all your efforts to remove these stubborn molds to no avail, it is best to contact a professional to do the work for you. They have all the necessary tools and equipment to eradicate these pests. Plus, it’s hassle-free on your part. If I were in the same predicament, I would definitely consider doing the same. Thanks.
That’s cool that professionals are able to get all of the mold in your house like those in crawlspaces, drywall, and HVAC ductwork. I’m not entirely sure where all of the mold in my house is, but my kids and I are struggling to breathe from our mold allergies. We’d like to get it fixed. I’ll have to find someone who can come out and remove it for me.
My brother was talking about how he wanted to find a way to get rid of the mold growing in his old barn. It helped a lot when you mentioned how bleach is not a permanent solution to mold. I can see how anyone looking into this would want to take the time to look for a professional and make sure they know how to work with the type of mold you have.
Good blog post. I want to thank you for interesting and helpful information and I like your point of view. Thank you!- I love to read this type of material Good and attractive information I take from it.. Thank you for posting such a good article.
I find this blog confusing. You mention to try to eliminate mold yourself and “hire professional mold removal services”. Which of the two options is the better option?
I like the tip you gave to make sure that you hire a professional mold restoration crew, so you will be positive that all of the mold will be gone from your home. I noticed some moisture and mold In one of the corners of my basement, so I want to make sure that it is properly restored.
Hiring a professional mold removal service really is the best choice if you don’t know the source of your problem. As the article points out, they know how to find mold in places like ductwork, basements, and even behind drywall. This kind of detective work is essential for making sure that all of the mold is properly removed from your house.
I would say you need to remove the drywall higher than 1 foot, depending on how long the water was sitting. If it was over 1 week go for 1 1/2 foot above the water line. Also, do not forget the door jams. Many miss the jams themselves or the molding in the area or the window sills. It can get into those areas very quickly. Plus, it can get into cracks and show up in other places.
I like how you mentioned how professional mold removal services can find the source and hidden problems that cause the appearance of mold, and can effectively get rid of it. Recently, I’ve been finding mold in my shower, and I have no idea how to get rid of it. After reading your article, I will definitely take your advice and hire a professional mold removal service to help make my shower clean of bacteria.
Thanks for mentioning that professionals can identify all sources of the mold problem. My husband and I have had a reoccuring issue with mold growing on our bathroom walls for the past few months, and we can’t seem to figure out how to mitigate the issue. We’ll have to look for a great mold remediation service in our area so they can help identify the origin of the problem.