Reasons Durham Homes Require Professional Mold Damage Remediation

3/28/2023 (Permalink)

Found or smell mold? Our SERVPRO team in Durham can root out the cause and remediate the mold damage on your property.

SERVPRO Conveniently Resolves Durham Mold Damage Issues

On discovering mold contamination, it may seem like a benign problem. The signs that alert you of trouble in your Durham home can be a mild musty smell or slight discoloration and bubbling of surface finishes. Therefore, a DIY approach to resolving the mold damage may seem appropriate since it does not seem like much work. You might also want to save costs by doing things yourself, especially when you think the problem might recur. However, several reasons necessitate a professional intervention.

From a casual look at your Durham home, severe mold damage might seem trivial because the bulk of the contamination is hidden out of sight in wall cavities, ceiling spaces, or behind fixtures such as sinks and bathtubs. The true extent of the burden you face is only revealed after opening up the concealment. A professional like SERVPRO has excellent inspection resources, so it is easier to confirm whether the problem is superficial without opening up concealed areas.

Tools for non-invasive mold inspection:

• Thermal cameras
• Borescopes
• Inspection cameras

Even when the extent of mold contamination is not hidden, decision-making can still be a challenge. However, if you consider the superior actions a professional team can take, you can change your outlook. For example, you may not know how to clear heavy mold residues from unfinished structural supports such as trusses or surfaces in an area like the attic. A professional team like SERVPRO can readily tackle such a challenging task through blast cleaning. Superior resources help throughout every stage of the remediation.

Mold restoration stages:

• Establishing containment
• Removing contamination
• Cleaning settled materials
• Drying and deodorization

Various types of containment are necessary for a mold damaged property. You probably know about installing plastic sheeting to cover large openings such as doors and hallways. Professionals like SERVPRO do a comprehensive containment by sealing HVAC vents and creating separate containment sections such as decontamination areas and clean rooms. Containment also involves setting up equipment to establish negative air pressure.

Removing Unwanted Materials

Microbial growth processes contribute to unwanted materials in many ways. The mass of colonies left on surfaces is one such category, while the deterioration of organic materials in contents and structural areas is another category. Procedural removal is necessary to present spreading soiling or exposure to hazardous materials. Our SERVPRO crews clean surfaces from top to bottom to rid them of settled spores. We also consider airflow direction, especially when setting a negative air pressure system.

Removing heavily contaminated materials deemed unsalvageable may also be necessary. Our crews remove porous materials such as drywall, insulation, and carpeting since mold hyphae penetrate them. We also inspect solid semi-porous materials like structural wood to determine the level of deterioration. Removal is necessary when rotting compromises the structural integrity of such materials.

Mold remediation is not over without doing some finishing touches. Drying and deodorization are the main finishing processes necessary. Unlike other property damage, mold limits your choices during the finishing stage. For instance, misting water-based deodorizers in the property can be counterproductive since moisture promotes mold growth. Regular drying involving air movers to boost evaporation can also spread residues. A professional restoration team has access to superior equipment such as hydroxyl generators for deodorization and desiccant dehumidifiers for drying.

SERVPRO of North Durham offers convenient services to eliminate worries about managing mold damage. Call us at (919) 467-0880 when you need assistance. We’re Faster To Any Size Disaster.