Mold is the single most common and most dangerous byproduct of water related damage to your home or business, and the Williams family in Pleasant Valley, MO learned this first hand recently when they were forced out of their home due to out of control mold growth.
Laura Williams’ two month old son spent six days in the hospital, and the family discovered the black mold growth on the bedroom wall when they returned home. Laura says her landlord advised spraying the growth with vinegar to kill it.
A mold expert hired by the city examined the rental home where the Williams were staying and determined that the levels were the second highest he had ever found. The Williams’ landlord claims no knowledge of just how the mold infestation got to be so severe, but has promised to take appropriate steps to correct it. The landlord has initially refused a test for air quality.
Williams says the landlord acted on the problem only after the city got involved. Meanwhile she is packing up her family’s belongings and hopes to be completely moved out by the end of this week. She says she stopped paying rent two months ago due to a series of complaints that had gone unaddressed, but that the discovery of the mold, coupled with the landlord’s apparent unwillingness to do anything about it, was the final straw.
The Williams case demonstrates just how severe mold problems can be if not dealt with promptly. Mold can set in within 48 hours of a water damage event, and sooner if the water is sewage based. It brings with it any number of health hazards, ranging from mild allergic reactions such as stuffy noses, runny and watery eyes, or skin irritations, to breathing problems and more serious neurological disorders such as lung disease and in rare cases, even death.
Many people spend a lot of money to have their homes tested for mold. This isn’t really necessary. Mold presents itself as a fuzzy, greenish-black growth on walls and/or pipes, accompanied by a noxious odor. If you think you have mold, chances are you probably do.
Mold reproduces by way of microscopic spores, which are released into the air and float until they find a sufficiently moist area to set down, establish, and begin to grow. These spores occur naturally in nature, and we encounter them, and even inhale them, pretty much every day with no ill side effects whatsoever. It is when mold occurs within an enclosed space, such as a basement, and the spores are encountered in high concentrations, that it becomes a problem.
Mold cannot simply be cleaned. The environment has to be treated in order to make it unsuitable for the mold to return. This involves thoroughly drying, cleaning, and disinfecting the problem area, and them making improvements with regard to lighting and proper ventilation. Remember that the only prerequisite for mold to grow is the presence of moisture.
While many smaller mold growths may be successfully treated by the homeowner, more serious and established problems, such as the one faced by the Williams family, should be handled by a professional. The health risks are simply too great to risk doing it yourself.
Your local professional water damage restoration company will offer mold remediation as one of their many services, but you should make sure that the company you choose is properly licensed and certified by an industry leader such as the IICRC. Certification means that the company’s technicians have received proper training in mold removal, which assures that the job will be done right the first time. IICRC companies also guarantee all their work for a period of one year from date of completion, so that if you do have any subsequent issues, they will be taken care of promptly.
Mold is nothing to be sneezed at (no pun intended). Homes, businesses, and even entire city blocks have been condemned and demolished for no other reason than out of control mold growth. Stop the problem now before it has a chance to do real damage. Call your local IICRC professionals today for a free estimate or phone consultation.
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