What Mold Remediation Really Means | SERVPRO® of Kingston/New Paltz
7/31/2019 (Permalink)
If you are learning about mold and what problems it can cause in your home, you might be confused about what mold removal and mold remediation really mean.
While "mold removal" is an often-advertised service, its name is a bit misleading—making mold remediation the more accurate term. Read on to learn what mold remediation really means:
Mold Removal vs. Mold Remediation
In nature, mold serves a useful purpose by helping to break down decaying matter and do its part in the circle of life, but mold growing in your house is not quite as useful to the ecosystem.
Not only is it unsightly, but mold can also lead to a variety of health issues for people and pets. Due to the functional nature of mold, it exists nearly everywhere, waiting to find a spot to land and carry out its job.
Mold spores are microscopic and ever-present, both inside and outside and during every season. They are airborne and can travel through the air, HVAC units, ducts or even hitch a ride on pets or clothing.
Because of the characteristics of mold, “mold removal” is a misnomer—it is impossible to remove all mold from any home or business. Therefore, be wary of companies advertising full mold removal guarantees, as there is no way to stop nature from its process.
What Encourages Mold to Grow?
It might sound like mold should be growing everywhere all of the time because of how prevalent it is, but thankfully it needs specific conditions to begin to grow.
Most importantly, mold thrives on moisture—a single spore can quickly form a colony when there is water present. Even excessive indoor humidity can create an ideal environment for mold, so experts recommend to keep indoor humidity below 50%.
The Mold Remediation Process
Even if you have not seen mold, if you have noticed a musty odor in a damp area of the home, you may have a mold issue on your hands. If you think it’s time to call in the professionals, here is what you can expect from the mold remediation process:
- Get in touch with SERVPRO of Kingston/New Paltz, they have mold remediation experts on staff.
- The trained and certified techs from SERVPRO will perform a full assessment of the extent of the damage.
- In some cases, due to the amount of mold present, there are additional assessments that might be recommended.
- The restoration team will contain the mold.
- Air is filtered to reduce the number of spores.
- Mold and mold-infiltrated materials are removed.
- Structures and belongings are cleaned.
If you think you may have mold in your house, give us a call and we will send our team of mold remediation experts out to do a full inspection. Learn more about our mold remediation process, and get in touch with us today.