Recent Mold Remediation Posts

Don't Be Surprised By Mold Growing In Your Durham Bathroom

2/26/2019 (Permalink)

Contact our 24-hour service line any day of the year, to talk to us about how we can help you remediate and prevent mold anywhere in your home.

Finding Hidden Mold Damage In Your Durham Area Home's Bathroom

Bathrooms see a lot of activity first thing in the morning as people in Durham get ready for work and school. Once gone for the day, many bathrooms sit empty until someone returns home hours later. During this time, any steam from earlier showers cools and condenses on surfaces.

While using the fan in your home's bathroom during the morning shower can remove the majority of the steam, mold damage in Durham can still happen in hidden areas. Because the bathroom typically contains materials that contain more than reasonable amounts of moisture because of their location, our infrared imaging cameras often do not give us new information.

To find hidden mold damage, we instead look for traces of discoloration on walls, including tiled areas or tub surrounds. While these materials often come clean with little elbow grease, mold can hide in cracks and along grout lines where most cleaning supplies fail to remove all traces of microbial activity.

When grout separates from walls, it can leave gaps that permit water and microbes to enter into the space behind the tile or surround's wall. As the mold's hyphae sink deeper and deeper into any materials, disintegration worsens. Deterioration happens to harder materials, too, including grout, not just to softer things like drywall. The process might take longer to see severe damage, but preventing it helps to protect your property immensely.

After we remove the mold growing in these locations, we can treat the area with an antimicrobial spray. Other areas, including along the corners where floors meet the tub or shower stall also succumb to mold regularly. We can clean this area up and treat it, also.

Carpets and rugs often become inundated with mold and show such signs as dry rotting and the loss of fibers, which can harm your vacuum. Replacing these with tile flooring often prevents this and can make your bathroom a cleaner, more sanitary environment. Laundering small rugs regularly can still give you that warm cozy feel when stepping out of the tub without the need for carpeting.

SERVPRO of North Durham can give you pointers on how to prevent mold damage from affecting your bathroom and make it easier for you to keep clean. Contact our 24-hour service line, (919) 467-0880, any day of the year, to talk to us about how we can help you remediate and prevent mold anywhere in your Weaver, Rougemont, or Chester home.

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Call The Experts At SERVPRO To Assist With Removing Mold From Your Home In Durham

1/8/2019 (Permalink)

SERVPRO's mold remediation specialists help families reduce microbial populations and regain control of their home's environment.

Helping Elderly Parents With Mold Cleanup In Their Durham Dwelling

Living away from your parents' home comes with your own set of responsibilities, including caring for your own apartment or house in Durham. Once you have done this for several years, you realize that many different aspects often require experts who charge a fee to perform the work.

One of these aspects that require assistance is mold damage in your Durham property. SERVPRO's mold remediation specialists help families reduce microbial populations and regain control of their home's environment. When visiting your parents, you might detect problems with their home that could cause health effects. Industry guidelines, as well as the CDC, recommend that mold growths larger than ten square feet receive professional remediation services.

At SERVPRO, our experts understand that you want to protect your parents from possible risks. We can work with you to discover the source of the mold's water source and then take the proper steps to eliminate it, so it no longer continues. This step can save your parents a small amount of money each month, as well as protect their home from other kinds of damage.

Many people who do not initiate contact with us may have apprehension or doubt as to our intentions, so we want to ensure you and your parents that we hold IICRC certificates in several different areas of home mitigation and remediation. We also keep our licensing current with local and state authorities, as required to provide such services to the public. You can always ask to see our insurance and bonding paperwork, as well. We strive to provide honest, ethical services with a professional attitude and treat our customers like family.

Our skilled technicians use the latest and most effective methods to ensure that the work progresses smoothly and quickly. These methods include containment methods that ensure that loose mold particles and recently released spores do not find their way to uncontaminated areas of your parents' home. Our machinery includes air scrubbers that trap airborne spores and dust, cleaning the air of the majority of contaminants. We finish things with a highly effective sealant that prohibits mold and mildew from regrowing.

SERVPRO of North Durham is always to partner with you in helping restore your parents' home with effective mold damage remediation techniques. Contact us at (919) 467-0880, which is available to you 24/7, 365 days a year.

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WOW!! Mold Can Cause All Kinds of Problems at Durham Homes--Be Smart and Call SERVPRO

10/15/2018 (Permalink)

Yikes!! Mold in My Beautiful Durham Home!! Better Call SERVPRO

Immediate Response Is Crucial to Your Durham Property during Mold Damage Remediation 

The degree of mold damage can vary from one site to the other, and there is a need to assess everything to determine the extent of the problem. The goal of the assessment is to help our team to come up with an appropriate site-specific remediation plan. If you notice some musty odor, discoloration in surfaces and staining on walls, then there are chances your property has a mold problem. Fuzzy or cotton growth of different colors may also sound a warning to any Durham resident.

Before our SERVPRO technicians start performing a mold damage assessment in your Durham home, we have to address the safety concerns of the building adequately. This is typically after a storm or other significant happenstance. If the load bearing walls shift, the roof can sag, cracks may develop, and the walls may not be straight. It is also the time when we check for severe wood rot and any form of deterioration that the moisture problem has caused to the structure. We check whether there is standing water in the structure, check for hidden mold behind wallpaper, under flooring, insulation, and carpet backing. An evaluation of attics and crawl spaces is part of the inspection. We communicate with the owner during the entire process.
 
A visual inspection may not be enough during the mold remediation process; our SERVPRO technicians use moisture meters to measure moisture levels of materials such as carpets, concrete, wallboard, plasters, and wood. A moisture meter has a probe, which we can insert into a surface to record direct readings. Some have sensors and pressing them against a wet surface is enough to take the readings. These devices can also play an important role when we are monitoring the drying progress of materials. A mold remediation has no value if there is an on-going source of moisture fueling the mold spores that are seated on an organic food supply.
 
We carefully inspect air conditioning units that are operating within the moldy structure and if possible clean or dispose of when we notice visible mold. With the help of a wet abrasive sponge and a disinfectant, we can clean wood furnishings and recommend a refinishing once dry. Through HEPA vacuuming, we can remove the mold that settles on surfaces when moving items or cleaning different parts of the structure. An antimicrobial spray is always part of the disinfecting process.
 
SERVPRO of North Durham offers an immediate expert response to ant storm, mold, water, and fire damage through the use of advanced cleaning and restoration equipment. Learn more about our operations and have your questions answered today by calling (919) 467-0880.

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The Mold Damage That Harms Your Durham Residence

7/31/2018 (Permalink)

Mold and mildew can grow almost anywhere in Durham properties.

Mold Damage In Your Residence

Mold and mildew can grow almost anywhere in Durham properties. These microbes often remain undiscovered until their colonies become quite large. They also come in different colors, with some sticky while other strains of microbes seem dusty, instead.

Your dwelling in Durham can contain mold damage from one or more of several strains of microbe. All microbial infestations covering an area larger than ten square feet require professional remediation to protect the home from current damage. SERVPRO's remediation services address this as well as the prevention of future problems, including the possibility of other colonies forming in other locations.

When we remediate a home, we make sure that the area we work on remains enclosed in a negative pressure containment system. We set these up to keep any free-floating microbes from passing into clean sections of your house. The way these systems catch microbes forces them either outside or into a HEPA filter. Both methods work well at removing these excess microbes.

We realize that many microbes might already exist in the air within your home, just waiting for the perfect spot. We counter this with different methods. We use air scrubbers in other areas of your home to remove any spores that already escaped. Mold can release spores at any time. We also treat mold-prone areas with antimicrobial sprays.

Microbes require the presence of moisture before they can begin growing. Your home's indoor climate should stay dry enough to prevent any overgrowth of microbes. Mold damage indicates that a leak or other source of moisture exists. We rely on our moisture sensors to locate these so we can eliminate them. Even slight elevations can cause mold problems, and any amount can lead to structures in your home becoming damaged from the water itself.

SERVPRO of North Durham is ready to help your family live in a freshly-remediated home that is now free of mold damage. Clean air keeps you from breathing in spores that might cause health effects. We are here to help you keep your home safe and healthy, and only a phone call away. Contact us at (919) 467-0880, so we can start remediation and restore your home “Like it never even happened.”

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Mold Damage Can Affect Damp Areas Of Your Durham Residence

6/28/2018 (Permalink)

You might not notice mildew or mold damage in its initial growth stages if it occurs in rarely visited areas of your home.

Mold Damage Can Affect Damp Areas Of Your Home

If your home in Durham has an attic, basement, or garage, moisture can accumulate in these areas easily during the colder winter months. Both showering and cooking produce large amounts of moisture that enters the air and can end up in these areas as condensation.

Durham residents might not notice mildew or mold damage in its initial growth stages if it occurs in rarely visited areas of the home. During the summer months, the need for sporting equipment or camping gear can reveal moldy boxes and equipment or areas on walls and ceilings.

SERVPRO can help you save time and money while also reducing the general aggravation of finding damaged belongings and structures in your home by performing mold remediation services for you. Because mold growth produces spores, this microorganism can cause health effects, especially in sensitive people.

The EPA recommends against homeowners removing mold from areas more massive than 10 square feet themselves and instead cautions the homeowner in general to seek professional remediation services. Our technicians hold certifications from the IICRC and have gained extensive experience from performing this work in both large and small jobs in both residential settings and businesses of all types.

SERVPRO's services include both remediation of your home's structure and also of any affected contents. We remove mold and its spores from your home so new colonies cannot start a new infestation. Our techniques include the use of air scrubbers, in conjunction with negative air pressure set-ups, that pull spores and mold particles, dust, and anything else in the air, out of your home and away from your residence.

Once we finish removing damaged materials and clean things up, we apply antimicrobial agents to keep mold from coming back. However, one of the first things our experts do before we begin remediation involves the use of moisture readers to determine where the moisture came from that allowed the problem of mold damage to start in the first place. Repairing any defects that permit water to enter through rarely occupied areas of your house minimizes the chances of the problem from arising again in the future.

SERVPRO of North Durham's technicians are always ready to help homeowners in Rougemont and Marcus Hook reclaim their dwellings from the destruction mold damage so easily causes. Contact us by calling our local emergency service line at (919) 467-0880. We are always available to answer your call.

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Durham’s Mold Damage Technicians Explain Air Scrubbing Machines

5/30/2018 (Permalink)

If mold ever develops inside your Durham townhome, it can spread into areas throughout the building.

Mold Damage Technicians Explain Air Scrubbing Machines

If mold ever develops inside your Durham townhome, it can spread into areas throughout the building. Once a fungus develops it forms structures called hyphae that release reproductive spores into the air. These spores are microscopic and can float long distances before settling onto wet, organic materials.

Since fungi can cause health effects with some people, extra measures get taken to remediate the problem and keep the contamination from spreading and negatively affecting air quality. Specialized equipment and techniques are always implemented when mitigating mold damage in Durham. After our SERVPRO technicians determine where the growth has taken place, they seal off the affected region with thick plastic and poles.

After the containment chamber is set up a hole gets cut into the side to allow for a machine that helps clean contaminated air. Our SERVPRO specialists attach an air scrubber to the side of the hole in the chamber so that the machine creates negative air pressure inside the contained section. The negative air pressure sucks up any spores and dust particles created by the restoration process. The machine also works to clean or scrub the air inside the contained region.

All of the air that is sucked into the air scrubber gets pulled through a specialized filter. These HEPA filters can trap microscopic particles. In many cases, these systems will stay set up throughout the work process to keep cleaning the air throughout the restoration. In some cases, the air being exhausted out by the air scrubber gets ran to an area that is wet and requires drying.

Plastic sheeting shaped like hoses can be run from the air scrubbers into a tight region such as an attic or crawl space. The air can also be directed into an air mover rapid drying circulation to help their efficiency. If needed, the plastic hoses can run from the air scrubber to the affected area that needs cleaning. This method comes in handy when the contaminated region is in a tight spot such as a closet, attic, or crawl space.

If the air scrubber was placed inside the contaminated region, then it gets HEPA vacuumed and cleaned off with anti-microbial chemicals before leaving the containment chamber. If you ever need assistance with a fungus, call SERVPRO of North Durham at (919) 467-0880 24 hours a day.

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Why Professional Mold Remediation is Needed for Your Durham Home

3/31/2018 (Permalink)

Some mold appears in plain sight and some hides behind walls and cabinets. Should you see or smell mold in your home, contact SERVPRO right away.

Team SERVPRO Has the Training, Certification, and Expertise to Remediate a Mold Infestation in Your Home

When people think of mold damage to Durham homes, they often attribute this occurrence with uncleanliness or a lack of upkeep with your house. The truth is, it is remarkably simple to have fungal and mold growth occur in your house, and it has no bearing on the cleanliness of your home or how apt you are to prevent it from happening.
 
The reality of mold damage in your Durham home is that most people have no idea that they could even have fungal growth until it is visible to the naked eye or happens to be strongly scented enough to alert you. Even with all of the damage and potential health effects that can get attributed to the presence of mold in your home, many homeowners deem this concern something they can manage on their own with conventional cleaning approaches. Unfortunately, without the appropriate tools and training, you are merely leaving the door open for future mold spore colonization.
 
Our SERVPRO professionals get specially trained in the most modern techniques for mold remediation and get certified by the high standards of the IICRC. Our expertise with all varieties of mold and the appropriate means of eradicating the present colonies makes us uniquely qualified to help you through the damage that your home faces.
 
Quarantining the affected area where mold is actively growing is a priority of our IICRC-certified remediation specialists at the moment we arrive at your home. This process prevents the spread of spores to new areas of your home while we work to sand down organic materials that house mold colonies and apply a chemical solution for deep penetration into the pores of these surfaces, ensuring that the entire hyphae gets eliminated by our efforts.
 
We have the knowledge and the tools to help you clean up the mess and work to prevent future instances of mold growth in your home. Our SERVPRO of North Durham mold remediation specialists cannot help you with a problem you never call about, however, so give our team a call today at (919) 467-0880.
 
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When You Find Mold Damage in Your Durham Home

2/25/2018 (Permalink)

Your basement conditions need to be controlled to prevent mold from forming and then spreading. Contact SERVPRO to discuss remediation.

Team SERVPRO Quickly Investigates the Cause and Extent of the Mold Infestation in Your Home

When you think about the basements that you have walked through in your life, you start to picture them all as dark and damp spaces underneath a house. Many homes rarely even use this area because of its often-high humid environment and the difficulty of keeping it as clean as you can other floors of the house. One of the problems with disregarding this area of your Durham home is the possibility that its moisture and higher heats through certain times of the year could allow for the growth of mold and fungi.
 
When it comes to mold damage in your Durham home, it is not a scenario that should get overlooked and left without remediation. The longer that fungal growths get permitted to grow without opposition, the more out of control and widespread they can become. It is common knowledge now that mold can cause health effects for you and your family once exposed to mold colonies growing in the house, so it is a scenario that demands your attention and should get rectified as quickly as you can.
 
Fortunately, our SERVPRO team gets expertly trained to the highest of professional standards set forth by the IICRC for mold remediation and removal of all types of fungal colonies that the team could encounter. It is with these high standards that we perform every aspect of mold remediation to your home, from preventative measures to keep the spores from spreading to the removal of present colonies in the affected areas.
 
When we arrive at your home, our assessment of the mold damage present gets underway immediately. Once we have determined the full extent, we can contain this area with the use of negative air chambers (to prevent the spread of spores) and through shutting down air circulation throughout your home through the remediation process. Our SERVPRO professionals can then utilize scrubbers to thoroughly clean surfaces and materials housing mold colonies until they have gotten entirely removed.
 
Our process gets completed when our team has remediated the mold damage to your home and remedied the present issue of moisture in the area to prevent this problem from recurring. When you find mold damage in your home, you can trust our IICRC certified remediation specialists at SERVPRO of North Durham. You can reach us anytime at (919) 467-0880.

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Rebuilding After Mold Damage in Durham

12/20/2017 (Permalink)

SERVPRO technicians have the training, experience, and special tools to remediate mold damage and restore your home to its original condition.

Rely on SERVPRO Technicians to Restore Your Home after Severe Mold Damage Takes its Toll on Walls and Flooring

Many homeowners in Durham and elsewhere in North Carolina, have a poor understanding of what causes mold. Many citizens have the idea that mold only shows up in homes where the owners are unclean or keep a dirty house. That idea is completely untrue.

SERVPRO understands that mold damage in Durham homes can happen at any time of year, regardless of housekeeping. Mold spores are harmless until they have enough water to expand and begin growing. The mold sends out hyphae to find food. These structures look like capillaries and serve a similar function, sending food and moisture to the growth to expand. When this mold colony goes undetected for too long, it can cause health effects for some people and destroy a home as surely as a fire or flood.

In extreme cases, after we remove the mold, we perform an additional inspection to determine the extent of the damage and what tools our restoration team needs. For abandoned or unoccupied homes, it is not unusual to bring in jacks and lifts to preserve structural integrity while our team replaces wall framing, load-bearing walls, columns, and other support structures.

With the walls not threatening to collapse on them, the team begins on the floor. We remove and dispose of every carpet, then examine the wood floor underneath. Unless the homeowner is insistent on preserving uncontaminated floorboards, it is cheaper for SERVPRO technicians to remove and dispose of it. If there is concrete underneath the carpet, we spray an anti-fungal agent on the pad and stretch new carpet after the cleaner dries.

Finally, we move to the roof. Since mold can grow in any direction, it is not unusual to find it went up walls and spread across the attic. In unoccupied homes, it can easily grow across roof panels and tiles. Depending on how extensive the damage is, demolishing and replacement can take from several days to a couple of weeks.

Mold can appear in any home, regardless if it has been occupied for generations or empty for a couple of years. To remove it and replace the damage is a process that requires training, special tools, and experience. For details on how we can preserve and rebuild your home, call SERVPRO of North Durham today at (919) 467-0880. We are here to help.

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Mold Damage Removal Services in Durham

9/30/2017 (Permalink)

Whether mold is visible or you just smell its prescence, you know it's time to call SERVPRO for remediation services.

Technicians From SERVPRO Begin the Mold Remediation Process by an Investigation to Deduce the Source of the Damage

Mold growth can become a serious problem in Durham in the presence of moisture. It can spread throughout your property in just 48 hours, leading to various health effects and structural damage to your home. Any visible mold growth above 10 SF (about 3' x 3') requires a certified mold remediation company to eliminate following IICRC standards and guidelines.
 
If you have a mold situation in your Durham home, SERVPRO can safely and effectively reverse the mold damage. As mold remediation professionals, we use industry-standard tools and equipment and apply systematic practices to eradicate mold growth on any surface. Once we locate the mold and treat it, we also perform a complete water damage remediation to prevent future growth when we leave.
 
Mold removal preserves the structural integrity of your home and protects the health of your family. The process also helps control the damp, musty smell that comes with mold. Since moisture is a vital part of mold growth, SERVPRO technicians assume the responsibility of cleaning up excess water in the house as well. Failure to fix the moisture problem could cause the mold to return again, even after cleaning the area thoroughly.
 
Given that mold is a living organism that deeply integrates into materials for survival, the best way to deal with porous items is disposing of them. For nonporous materials, SERVPRO mold remediation specialists can disinfect the surfaces using antimicrobial cleaners. We also have effective sealants that can make the areas more water resistant and, subsequently, more mold-proof. It is best to have your air conditioning and heating systems professionally cleaned too.
 
Safety is important in mold damage control. As such, SERVPRO professionals always wear waterproof gloves during the cleanup process and advise occupants not to touch moldy items with bare hands. We use respiratory protection in most mold remediation situations to avoid inhalation, which may cause certain health effects. The reconstruction process begins after removing all mold-contaminated materials and then replacing them with clean, non-contaminated ones.
 
Mold damage remediation requires trained and experienced personnel to ensure clean indoor air for your family. As a trusted and experienced restoration company in your community, SERVPRO of North Durham is already nearby and ready to respond to your emergency. We have an extensive stock of resources for dealing with large restoration projects. Call us today (919) 467-0880.

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Dealing With Mold Damage in Your Durham Home Properly

8/27/2017 (Permalink)

When your roof has been leaking for a long time, you could have water and mold damage. Contact SERVPRO quickly to assess and formulate a plan.

Trained SERVPRO Technicians Get a Quick Handle on Mold on Your Property

Mold can develop gradually over time, staying dormant, waiting for the right conditions to exist that make spreading throughout your Durham home easier. In every instance where mold grows out of hand, excessive moisture is the most likely culprit. Controlling moisture levels in your home controls the spread of mold, it is that simple.

When you have a roof leak, plumbing problem, flood, or storm damage that allows moisture access to unprotected areas of your home, mold damage in Durham develops soon after. Water is the final ingredient that mold needs to flourish, taking nourishment from the abundance of organic materials used to build your home. It enjoys sulking in dark, damp areas of your home such as your attic, basement, or tight hard to reach crawlspaces.

The signs of early mold growth include water stains or a dank, musty odor not unlike working with fresh potting soil or gardening after a day of rain. The odor becomes more identifiable as mold growth develops in your home. However, by the time you can see mold growth on your walls, ceiling, carpet, furniture, or bathroom fixtures, there often lurks a larger problem hidden elsewhere that takes a professional to control.
SERVPRO provides you with access to IICRC-industry certified technicians, well-versed in the mold remediation process. We use a variety of methods to control mold growth in your home, including containment protocols to prevent further spread and personal protective equipment to limit exposure. We carefully remove any saturated materials and treat each area individually.  

SERVPRO technicians help recover appliances, furniture, and personal items that receive mold damage. However, it is entirely possible that not all of your items are restorable, in cases like these, you determine what should happen. Technicians follow local, state, and federal guidelines, including those expressed by the EPA to properly transport and dispose of contaminated materials.  

SERVPRO teams work hard to return your home to a clean, healthy environment and even provide you with recommendations to prevent issues like this from developing in the future.  

Take the time to contact SERVPRO of North Durham at the first signs of mold growth in your home; we can help. (919) 467-0880

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North Durham DIY's Mold Remediation: A Recipe for Disaster

5/3/2017 (Permalink)

Mold could be an invisible guest in your North Durham home.

After the storm that hit the Triangle area on April 25, 2017 many homeowners decided to go the DIY route. While this is usually a source of pride, and a way to save cash, there are some projects that should be left for the professionals. Mold remediation can be a hazardous and costly project, especially if the work must be done more than once to fix prior mistakes. Weather absolutely plays a factor in mold growth, from excessive rain to flooding wherever there are moisture intrusions you can have the potential of a problem. If your home has a musty, damp, or mildew smell, you may be experiencing the first signs of secondary growth, commonly referred to as mold.

DIY Mold Recipe

Ingredients:

  • Mold spores
  • An organic material food source
  • Temperatures between 32 – 122 degrees Fahrenheit
  • Darkness
  • Warmth
  • Oxygen
  • Moisture
  • Time

 

Directions:

Mix a food source of your choosing (i.e. drywall, wood, upholstery) with mold spores, oxygen, and moisture. Keep a dark, damp area continuously warm for several days. Add humidity greater than 60% to feed the mold spores.

If you went the DIY route and are now experiencing a musty, damp smell, you may be experiencing the first signs of secondary growth, commonly referred to as mold. If your home or business has a mold problem, we can inspect and assess your property and use our specialized training, equipment, and expertise to remediate your mold infestation.

If you see signs of mold, call us today at: 919-790-1222.