Residential Mold Services

Most of us have encountered mold at one time or another in our lives. Mold you see growing on old pieces of bread may be nothing to worry about, but when you begin to see it grow on the walls and other surfaces throughout your home you should be very concerned.

Mold often grows due to a moisture-rich environment or where water damage may have occurred. For many cases, any visible mold on a wall or a surface is only a small portion of the overall growth, as a much larger growth looms on the other side of the surface and penetrated through the wall.

When exposed to mold in your home, not only will there be a musty odor, but you are putting the health of your family, yourself, and even your pets in jeopardy. Mold can cause illnesses, breathing difficulties, and cause allergic reactions and asthma issues. If any mold growth is left unattended for a significant amount of time, it will breakdown any material and surface it resides on, from drywall, wooden beams, and even concrete structures.

Contact the professionals at ServiceMaster Today for mold remediation and removal services to make your home mold-free.

Typical Mold Remediation Process

1. Identify the source: Depending on the situation, the initial mold inspection may be performed by an industrial hygienist.

2. Identify the extent of the mold growth: It is important to identify the extent of the mold growth and water damage. Often this involves the use of moisture meters, thermal imaging and other specialized equipment. Air quality sampling can also be employed to identify the extent of the contamination.

3. Containment: During the mold removal and remediation process the mold spores will often become disturbed and aerosolized. This can lead to cross contamination and create a situation much worse than the original problem. We use specialized techniques to contain the area. This involves the use of HEPA filtration, plastic sheeting and negative air machines.

4. Removal: After containment is in place, the mold-damaged materials are removed. Often this includes the removal of porous materials such as sheetrock, upholstered furniture, carpeting, insulation and cabinets.

5. Decontamination:  Non-porous or semi-porous materials such as wood framing, metal, plastic and concrete can be cleaned in place. HEPA vacuuming, wire brushing, sanding and other cleaning techniques are utilized to remove all remaining mold spores from the contaminated area. Often, an antimicrobial solution is applied to the remaining materials as well.

6. Clearance Testing: Upon completion of the mold remediation and removal project a final clearance inspection is performed. ServiceMaster works with a third party inspection company (certified industrial hygienist) to verify that no mold is present through air sampling, surface sampling and other various tests.