9 Tips for Battling Mold in Your Home

Spring showers were here early, but they brought more than expected … a record rain fall, with power outages and hurricane force winds. Now, the sun is out and we are all relieved that historic rains and flooding are over. However, even though the water dried up, there may be a funny smell in your basement. Is this what everyone fears…MOLD? Before you pack up the family and leave, you have other options.

First a little background, often folks forget that mold occurs naturally in the environment. In some cases, the fungus mold, can be beneficial, such as in foods like bread made with yeast, some of your favorite cheeses -- and, don’t forget penicillin. What we should remember is that there are many types of mold -- some are fine, but some types may be harmful. Then, there is the amount of Mold present. Mom always said that “too much of a good thing can be bad.” All this holds true for mold in homes and buildings. Mold is fine outside these structures, but when a “growth that appears to be mold” begins inside a building, like in our homes, the process of this growth can result in a “mildew” smell. This is an indicator that your home, office or structure is becoming unhealthy.

High humidity, standing water or high moisture levels, all resulting from flood water being held in the structure of a home, such as inside our sheetrock, can cause mold spores to grow and multiply. Organic materials found in homes and buildings such as wood, paper, drywall, insulation and carpet provide food sources for mold to grow. This increase in the level of mold spores can result in health issues and concerns in a relatively short time.

What are the signs or factors to watch for? Here are some rules of thumb to identify a potential mold growth issue, especially if there was a flood, even for a short time or small quantities of water your home, or business:

• Visible mold that can be any color (brown, green, black, etc.)
• Strong musty odors
• Excessive humidity after the water is gone

What to do?
In most cases, there is no need for panic, but here are some actions that you can explore:

• Bleach is not your friend. While the visible mold may be gone, the air may still be humid and contain mold spores that can enable mold to grow again.
• Fresh air is great! Open windows and doors during nice, cool, dry days to lower humidity levels in the affected space.
• Central air can spread the spores to the whole structure through your duct system and may not help to alleviate the issue. Try to keep vents closed and the system off, if there is any growth suspected, until a professional can use a fungicide to stop the growth.
• Explore services that can help you remediate a visible or potential mold issue. An independent Indoor Air Quality/Environmental professional has the expertise to inspect a home or building and call it a “mold growth” as well as detailing the best course of action.
• Hire a reputable and established company that is ‘trained’ in mold remediation. Some general contractors may not be trained or know the proper process’ to alleviate a mold situation, and make sure that your home and family are safe again.
• While any work is being done, anyone with respiratory concerns or immune deficiencies should not be present or enter an affected room. Plus, ensure that the workers have contained any rooms with plastic or other barriers during the process, keeping the spores out of the rest of the house.

Overall, this was a difficult spring for many local residents, but everyone has pulled together to get through it. Hopefully, the worst weather is over and we all can begin to enjoy the spring sunshine!

This article was written by Amanda Cohen and Hillary Sheperd from Servpro of Scarsdale/ Mount Vernon, with trained service professionals who can safely clean and restore your home or business.