Combating the Challenges in Bellmore Homes Affected by Mold Damage

9/6/2022 (Permalink)

Moisture, including humidity, can lead to mold growth. SERVPRO can locate hidden moisture sources and remediate mold damage in your Bellmore home.

SERVPRO Finds Easier Ways to Execute Bellmore Mold Remediation Procedures

If a property has mold, it is wise to take remedial action quickly. Otherwise, the problem keeps worsening, leading to unnecessary costs. Unresolved mold contamination can even affect the future price of the home if you decide to sell it. Mold remediation may seem daunting, especially when you realize you have to teardown structural materials or spend days doing intense cleaning. Unique approaches and specialized equipment help simplify mold remediation.

When Bellmore homes have mold damage, how the restoration is planned influences both the outcome and the ease of handling the repair - planning is easier when you understand how mold develops. That is why SERVPRO offers certified Applied Microbial Remediation Technicians to oversee the restoration of your premises. 

Mold Growth Stages

• Sporulation
• Germination
• Vegetative growth
• Reproduction

To the average person, mold is either present or not. The most common signs of mold are dark patches or discoloration of surfaces. The problem with the layman outlook is the likelihood of taking the wrong action or failing to take action, thus worsening the situation. Therefore, a professional understands the problem and acts with a restorative or preventive outlook. For example, our SERVPRO technicians avoid introducing moisture unnecessarily, even on mold-free surfaces. We understand that settled mold spores would immediately enter the germination stage if supplied with water, thus increasing the restoration work needed.

Apart from controlling moisture, containing the spread of moldy residues is also essential in limiting the restoration work. Directional cleaning of mold residues is a straightforward way to restrict residue spread. Our SERVPRO technicians start cleaning surfaces from the top moving towards the bottom when removing mold residues because spores settle downwards. We also clean towards the direction of airflow in the house. When selecting a cleaning method, we mostly choose one based on the levels of aggressiveness regarding residue spread. For example, using air to agitate moldy surfaces is ideal. However, vacuuming is better than blowing surfaces with compressed air. Damp-wiping the surfaces after vacuuming helps remove any stubborn residues. 

Controlling the Advancement of Mold Damage

During the vegetative growth phase, mold produces hyphae that spread across surfaces and penetrate organic materials. At this phase, the mold irreversibly damages porous and semi-porous materials as its root-like hyphae penetrate deep into materials extracting nutrients. Removing heavily infested porous materials helps contain the problem. Our SERVPRO technicians can also use aggressive cleaning techniques like sanding and wire brushing on semi-porous surfaces to remove the embedded mold colonies. 

Other alternatives include soda or dry ice blasting. The two methods are similar since they rely on compressed air for cleaning. However, they use distinct cleaning mediums. With soda blasting, aerosolized sodium bicarbonate particles are driven against a surface. When the soda particles shatter on impacting the surfaces, they strip away moldy residues. Dry ice blasting works almost similarly. However, when its pellets strike the surface, they cause the moldy masses to shrink, detaching from the surface. The two methods have the unique advantages of leaving the underlying material intact, thus requiring minimal refinishing and shortening the cleaning time by up to 80%.

A Sound Mold Remediation Plan Requires

• Scoping
• Estimating
• Cleaning
• Refinishing

SERVPRO of Bellmore / Wantagh goes the extra mile when called to deal with mold damage in any property, managing it “Like it never even happened.” Call us at (516) 809-9600.