Any home or business premise can quickly become a safe haven for mold if there’s a plumbing problem. In fact, mold has been known to quickly spread within a span of 48-72 hours, taking charge of the whole area. As a result, they produce irritants or allergens that drastically affect the health of those living within the affected area.

If you believe or know that your home/property has a mold problem, you can have professionals inspecting and assessing your situation for mold testing. If mold is found to be present in your property, the professionals have the right equipment and knowledge to deal with the menace.

Understanding mold

Mold spores are microscopic, and they exist everywhere, thereby making it even harder to completely get rid of them. Because of their nature, it is advised that one should have a clear understanding of the nature of mold so they can have the right professional solving their problem. The following are points worth noting:

(a) Mold can be present anywhere, including indoors and outdoors

(b) Tiny mold spores float in the air, and thus can enter your home through windows, doors, air conditioning systems, and any other opening. They can also hide on clothing.

(c) When exposed to moist conditions, mold will quickly grow into colonies.

(d) Mold infestation produces a strong and musty odor.

(e) High indoor humidity levels can support the growth of mold colonies, unless humidity is kept below 45%

Is it possible to get rid of mold on your own?

You can never eliminate mold and mold spores completely, especially if they exist indoors. That’s because some mold spores will float in the air and also hide in dust. However, mold spores won’t grow if moisture is not present. Therefore, the first step to conducting a successful mold property damage restoration is to control indoor moisture to prevent the spores from growing further. If there are any plumbing problems, they must be fixed so leaks don’t occur. That is the first step to preventing the spread of mold, though it will not finish any existing mold.

The difference between mold removal and remediation

Because tiny mold spores exist everywhere, it’s impossible to get rid of them completely. However, mold levels can be brought down to acceptable levels that is not harmful to human health.

It is common for some property restoration businesses to advertise that they remove mold. However, this might not be very accurate due to the nature of mold. Instead, what can be done is to re-mediate the problem so it’s not a problem anymore. With proper training and handy equipment, mold can be brought down to natural levels.

Again, every mold problem is unique, and may require a different solution. However, the general mold remediation procedures will still remain the same.

The 3 types of mold testing

So far, there are 3 types of testing that will be conducted. These are air testing, surface testing and bulk testing. These procedures are often used together since each one of them have strengths and weaknesses. Air testing focuses on the concentration of mold spores in the air. The samples are taken from the air in your home and examined under microscope.

Air testing is efficient because it can tell when you have mold in your home even if there are no visible signs yet. However, the quantity of pores in the air keep changing drastically, and may never give accurate results at all time.

On the other hand, surface testing aims at finding out the level of mold infestations on surfaces around your home. Samples can be collected by tape lifting, swabbing and other methods. Because mold quantity or saturation varies across surfaces, it’s hard to rely upon this method alone. Also, consider the fact that mold keeps multiplying so fast that samples collected today will not necessarily reflect tomorrow’s quantity of mold.

Finally, bulk testing is concerned with collecting different items from your home so they can be presented for testing in a lab. This mold testing gives a rough idea of the quantity of mold that is present in your home or premises.

Final word

Mold testing helps homeowners find the type of species that is in their home. Some species are toxic compared to others, and this means extra care when removing them. A mold professional will identify the species in your home and offer a suitable solution to the problem.