Living With Mold is Simple, Don't

2/7/2020 (Permalink)

February 7^th, 2020

Living with Mold is Simple……. Don’t

Suppose your house suffered some wind damage recently due to the high winds that came through back in October (2019). You patched the roof with plans to “fix it yourself” when the seasons change and the temps warm up. A temporary tarp or other covering it currently being utilized to minimize further water from leaking into your house. You assume everything will be fine, and come Spring, one weekend you and perhaps some friends and family will simply remove the temporary covering and patch the roof. Everything is then good to go…..right? Not exactly.

See the entire time you have had the temporary patch on the house, water could have leaked in. Not to mention, what happened to all the water that leaked in before? Did you simply mop up what you could find, spray a little Kilz or similar product on the roof in order to remove the visible reminder of your misfortune? Well, when the season warms, and your attic space heats up, mold will begin to form, if it hasn’t already.

The type of mold that forms will cause problems, but what those problems are is hard to tell. Every type of mold runs the potential to cause negative health effects. As the mold grows, spores are released into the air, eventually getting into your HVAC lines and negatively affecting your air quality. Since mold requires moisture to grow, the moisture it absorbs also absorbs into the wood, potentially causing wood rot. It should be noted that mold itself does not rot wood, but the moisture it attracts does. This is why it is very important to contact SERVPRO if you suffered water damage from any type of storm event in the past.

According to FEMA, using the residents of Hurricane IRENE as an example, once you see you have water damage, you should do everything you can to dry out immediately. If you do not have the proper tools and resources to do it, SERVPRO of LBL South does, and will respond to your call within four hours or less with the proper drying equipment. If you see mold, the general rule of thumb is DON’T DISTURB IT! Contact SERVPRO of LBL South and let us examine the mold, determine the type, and safely remove it from your home. Improperly disturbing/removing mold from your home could give it more moisture/room to grow. It is best to let professionals get rid of it the moment it is detected.

RESOURCE

Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2011, September 18th). Be safe, don't stay in a home infested with mold or mildew. Retrieved from Federal Emergency Management Association: https://www.fema.gov/news-release/2011/09/18/be-safe-dont-stay-home-infested-mold-or-mildew