Our previous article explained why you should consider a mold inspection when you purchase a home. The purpose of this article is to outline why you need to hire a professional when you do find mold that needs to be removed.
DO NOT Hire Your Friend, The Contractor, To Remove Mold from Your Home!
One of the biggest concerns that most home owners have pertains to the cost of mold removal.
Because of the expense that mold removal poses, the human tendency is to try to find the best deal. However, be wary of contractors or friends that offer to remove your mold, particularly if they have no training or experience.
Do not fall for the sales pitch or claims that mold can be remediated with ozone or other types of machines that kill mold.
Another potential claim made by some removal companies is that they can just fog your home or spray a bunch of chemicals and the mold will magically disappear.
Contractors that offer these types of solutions are not professionals because they are just trying to kill the mold, which as we explained in a previous article, is not a proper method for long term mold removal.
Educate Yourself About Mold!
One of the reasons we post articles about mold is to educate our readers; an informed consumer is able to make better choices.
Moisture Is The Key!
Before addressing any mold problem, the most important concern is to first find the moisture problem that is causing the mold to grow in the first place.
Mold needs three ingredients.
First, a food source. Most homes present an ample food source for mold because they are made of dead material that mold loves to eat: high cellulose materials such as paper and wood, drywall, wallpaper, carpet, ceiling tiles, dust, and dirt.
Second, the right climate: mold flourishes when the temperature ranges from 41 degrees fahrenheit up to 100 degrees fahrenheit.
Third, and most importantly, a moisture source. Without moisture, mold can not thrive and grow. If you smell or see mold, then you have a problem because there is a moisture source in your home. Moisture is usually caused by leaks in pipes and/or the roof, sewer backups, flooding, condensation, etc.
There Is No Easy Fix For Mold Removal!
Any contractor that says there is an easy fix for mold removal, does not understand the biology of mold and does not realize that mold is designed to consume dead organic material and is an active part of our eco-system.
Unfortunately, the good that mold does by recycling dead material in our environment can cause significant harm when it grows indoors. First, mold can make you sick, causing asthma, sinusitis, and other health conditions. Second, as the mold eats away at your property, it will cause the wood to rot and eventually lead to structural integrity issues, ultimately reducing the value of the home.
When you encounter mold in your home, do not hire contractors that just want to tear out the contaminated materials and spray chemicals, particularly if their whole procedure involves killing the mold. It is not just about killing mold because dead mold spores can be just as harmful as live ones.
Mold is everywhere because it is a living fungi. The survival mechanism of mold is to disperse spores and find more areas to grow on and populate itself. When you have mold inside of your home, understand that the number one concern of mold remediation professionals is to prevent the mold from spreading, ie. to contain it and prevent cross-contamination. Then, once the containment is set up, the process of addressing the mold problem can begin.
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