When discussing mold damage, it’s important to understand that it primarily affects two major categories of your life:

• The personal, physical health of yourself and your family
• The physical structure of your home
• Both, things you no doubt would like to protect at all cost!

Here is the good news. If detected and treated early, mold can typically be removed and/or remediated with few negative effects to yourself or your property. So, you should definitely contact a mold specialist as soon as you even suspect that you may have an infestation.

How Do I Know If I Have Mold?

Mold can grow just about anywhere, but it typically thrives in warm, humid or moist environments It can also sometimes be found in drier environments that have poor ventilation or air flow.

It is commonly found both indoors and outdoors – typically around places such as:

• Leaky roofs
• Air ducts
• Anywhere moisture is retained
• Leaky windows
• Air filters
• Anywhere there has been flooding or standing water
• Leaky pipes
• Ventilation systems

Mold Tends To Grow Well In/On The Following Surfaces:

• Wallpaper
• Insulation
• Drywall
• Carpet
• Cardboard
• Ceiling tiles
• Wood
• Paints
• Fabric
• Upholstery
• Dust

Even a non-expert can recognize a mold infestation by means of a simple “sniff test” or “visual evaluation”. Mold often presents itself as dark or different colored spots on a surface (don’t be fooled – not all mold is black). And, almost all mold has that characteristic “musty” smell.

Home Damage Due To Mold

If mold is detected and treated early enough, the damage to your home (and your pocketbook) may be minimized. The reason for this is because mold often begins to form on the structure’s surface. As time goes by it spreads and penetrates deeper into the surface.

Take a wall, or a floor, for example…

Mold may subtly start to form on your wallpaper or in your carpet, which can safely & easily be removed with non-invasive techniques. However, if left untreated, it can get into the supporting structures of your wall or floor such as the drywall, studs or subfloor – as the case may be. If this happens, the treatment of the mold infestation just went from a fairly inexpensive surface removal, to a more complex and expensive demolition and reconstruction project.

In this case, the extent and cost of the repairs can vary greatly!

For example, if the damage is limited to a small section of a non bearing wall – easy peasy – you just remove the infected section and replace it for aesthetics. You may be talking about hundreds of dollars for this type of work, but still relatively inexpensive in the grand scheme of things.

BUT, what if the damage is to a bearing wall or some other structurally important element of your home? Now, you could be talking about thousands or TENS of thousands of dollars to restore your dwelling to a safe, liveable environment.

Due to the potential threats to your health and home, we recommend you contact a trusted mold specialist at the earliest sign of mold infestation.

Why risk it? Have your home professionally inspected and treated today!