A Fungus Among Us - Mold Displaces MO Family
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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