The Consequences of Water Damage in Drywalls: SERVPRO of La Grange Park to the Rescue

3/7/2024 (Permalink)

One of the worst things that can happen to a homeowner is water damage, which can be expensive and time-consuming to fix. Water seeping into your drywall can lead to a number of issues, including the formation of mildew and structural deterioration. Fortunately, expert restoration services are available to help minimize water damage and restore your property to its pre-damage state. Since drywall is a porous material that readily absorbs moisture, water intrusion can result in a number of problems.

Water can first erode the drywall's structural integrity. As a result, the drywall becomes softer and more brittle due to structural weakening. This can lead to the drywall sagging or even collapsing if left unchecked.

The moisture that gets trapped in drywalls and creates the ideal conditions for mold growth is what causes mold growth. Within 24 to 48 hours, mold can develop rapidly and spread, endangering people's health and causing damage to the surrounding region. Water stains can be difficult to remove and harm the appearance of your walls. Musty smells can also be caused by odors and indoor air quality issues. Respiratory issues and allergies can be brought on by poor indoor air quality. What assistance with water damage can SERVPRO provide? SERVPRO's skilled experts will first attend to any emergency involving water damage promptly. After evaluating the damage, they will develop a special restoration strategy. Second, SERVPRO will remove water from the damaged drywalls using cutting-edge machinery. This will assist in preventing more damage and reduce the risk of further mold growth.

In order to stop more contamination, SERVPRO employs specialist techniques to eliminate and fix any mold growth that may have occurred. The team of skilled specialists at SERVPRO will repair the drywall to its pre-damage state. They will apply finishes that complement the current style and fix or replace any damaged areas. Why it's critical to work with a reputable restoration company: a. Expert restoration businesses have a great deal of experience with water damage. They are experts in mold removal, structural repair, and drying techniques.

At SERVPRO, we expedite the restoration process by utilizing state-of-the-art tools and industry-accepted techniques. Our tight collaboration with insurance carriers ensures that your rights are safeguarded throughout the claims procedure. Water-related damage to drywall can cause serious issues if not addressed quickly and professionally. By choosing professional restoration services, you can rest assured that your property will be restored to the way it was before the water damage.

Does Your Elmhurst Home Have A Mold Problem?

9/5/2023 (Permalink)

Microscopic mold spores naturally occur almost everywhere, both outdoors and indoors. This makes it impossible to remove all mold from a home or business. Therefore, mold remediation reduces the mold spore count back to its natural or baseline level. Some restoration businesses advertise “mold removal” and even guarantee to remove all mold, which is a fallacy. Consider the following mold facts:

• Mold is present almost everywhere, indoors and outdoors.
• Mold spores are microscopic and float along in the air and may enter your home through windows, doors, or AC/heating systems or even hitch a ride indoors on your clothing or a pet.
• Mold spores thrive on moisture. Mold spores can quickly grow into colonies when exposed to water. These colonies may produce health effects.
• Before mold remediation can begin, any sources of water or moisture must be addressed. Otherwise, the mold may return.
• Mold often produces a strong, musty odor and can lead you to possible mold problem areas.
• Even higher-than-normal indoor humidity can support mold growth. Keep indoor humidity below 45 percent.

If your home or business has a mold problem, we can inspect and assess your property and use our specialized training, equipment, and expertise to remediate your mold infestation.

If You See Signs of Mold, Call Us Today – (630) 758-1701

Why Does Household Mold Keep Coming Back?

9/26/2019 (Permalink)

Checking for moisture in a Schiller Park, IL home

If you’ve spotted mold in your Schiller Park, IL, home, you’ve probably taken the next step and tried to remove it. Unfortunately, mold is resilient and tends to return after it’s cleaned. Keep reading to find out why household mold, such as black mold, keeps coming back and what you can do about it.

What Is Mold and How Does It Grow?

To understand why mold is so persistent, it’s important to look at its nature. Did you know that thousands of mold species exist? Fortunately, most types of mold are harmless and you’ll never notice them. Molds are actually a group of fungi that reproduce by airborne spores. The following warm, moist areas in your home are perfect places for spores to thrive:

• Basements
  
• Showers
  
• Carpets
  
• Ventilation ducts
  
  

With basic mold cleanup, it’s actually impossible to remove every tiny spore. This is why mold will return over and over again. When it comes to infestations of more damaging types of mold such as black mold, this can lead to extensive property damage.

What Can You Do?

An effective way to combat mold growth is to remove moisture sources. You may be able to contain some small areas of mold growth by cleaning. However, if you clean up the mold but fail to remove the moisture source, the mold will come back. Promptly fixing leaky plumbing and drying out water-damaged areas should help prevent growth.

Mold may also grow where you can’t see it, especially if there are leaks in the plumbing in your wall. If you think you might have mold in your home, contact a professional to perform an inspection.

By understanding how mold grows, you’ll be better equipped to tackle it. Because of the nature of mold, a simple cleaning is not enough to keep it from coming back. If you suspect your property has damaging molds, such as black mold, contact a professional mold remediation service in Schiller Park, IL, to properly handle the situation.

3 Things You Should Know About Black Mold

7/5/2019 (Permalink)

If you believe you have fungus growing in your home in Elmhurst, IL, you should have a mold inspection done right away. Black mold, also known as Stachybotrys, is one of the more dangerous types you can encounter. You’ve probably heard the term but may not know that much about it. Here are some things you should know about Stachybotrys.

1. It Comes in Different Colors

You may be surprised to learn that black mold is not always black. It often appears as a dark green or even gray. It is usually slimy due to the moisture that causes it to grow. If it is Stachybotrys, you’ll probably notice a distinct smell. A mold inspection done by a remediation expert may tell you exactly what type of fungi it is though.

2. It Requires Moisture

Mold requires moisture to grow. This is why you were probably told not to leave wet towels on the floor; it can actually lead to spores growing in your bathroom. HVAC systems are often the cause of the problem, so it is important to have them checked regularly. You don’t have to have a leak for there to be growth though. Mold can form if your house is too humid, so keep an eye on the moisture level in your home.

3. It’s Not That Common

Stachybotrys is actually not a common type of house mold. Because it is one of the more dangerous types and many people have heard of it, it is believed to be more prevalent than it is. You are far more likely to find Cladosporium or Penicillium in your home, but a professional can tell you what type you are looking at.

Mold is not something you should be constantly stressing about, but it is important to stay informed and know what to look out for. Always deal with moisture problems right away and call a professional to do a mold inspection if you believe there is an issue in your home.

Dealing With Mold Damage at Home or Work

9/26/2017 (Permalink)

Mold on stairs

A smelly odor deodorization does nothing to mask, the presence of mildew or another fungus anywhere in the house, or even the smallest presence of mold in the home is bad news. A smelly odor that’s not cleared up with the help of deodorization or by taking out the trash might indicate another issue. When nothing else makes sense and that smelly odor doesn’t go away no matter how much deodorization is utilized, it’s time for homeowners to admit there might be mold damage somewhere in the home.

What is Mold Damage? Mold damage isn’t what it sounds like. This fungus doesn’t appear to have damaged anything when it’s easily wiped up. Mildew doesn’t seem like damage so much as it seems like someone neglected to clean the bathroom or kitchen or even the basement properly. Mold damage is damaging. It spreads quickly, it’s dangerous for the home, and it’s not good to live in a home with mold present. No amount of deodorization to mask the smelly odor that indicates mold in the home is enough to get rid of it, and it’s time to call a professional before it spreads and causes massive damage to the home.

Where is Mold Found? Mold is often present when mildew is present, but it’s a fungus that lives everywhere. It’s a fungus found in mold spores in the air. All it needs is a little moisture and a high level of humidity to grow quickly and spread rapidly. When this occurs, a problem is close at hand. Mold in the home is very common in places with high levels of humidity, but commercial mold damage is also a big problem. It’s easy to miss commercial mold damage more so than mold at home. Commercial mold damage in a large warehouse or building can go unnoticed for days or weeks. Commercial mold damage like this that goes unnoticed often spreads quickly and causes more problems for the business owner. Mold at home or at work requires remediation and mitigation.

Calling for Professional Mold Removal – SERVPRO of Elmhurst – 63-758-1701

Professional mold remediation and mitigation is imperative the moment this fungus is located. Professional mold removal services are equipped to better handle mold removal and remediation while also providing mitigation services. Handing this without the help of professional-grade equipment often results in an imperfect job where mold returns quickly.

Mold removal services use professional equipment that’s designed to clear out mold during the remediation and mitigation process. It helps dry moist areas, detect the source of moisture in the building, and this service provides mitigation for those who need to learn how to prevent mold from reoccurring. Mold removal is not for those who haven’t dealt with this problem before. It’s more expensive for a home or business owner to attempt mold removal on their own than it is to pay for a professional remediation and mitigation service from the start. When this job is done right the first time, home and business owners are able to learn how to prevent mold from occurring again in the future.

Mildew and mold aren't issues anyone should brush off at home or work. Both require the help of a service that helps remove the issue as well as educate the home or business owner about the importance of keeping moisture at bay and humidity levels low. Knowledge is power when it comes to mold remediation and prevention at home or work.

Visit http://www.SERVPROElmhurst.com for more information on mold removal and remediation.

DIY Mold Test

9/8/2017 (Permalink)

Mold on door

You can expect mold and mildew outside your home because of the natural damp conditions of the outdoors. Mold and mildew inside the home is a different problem, because the inside of your home shouldn't remain damp.

The presence of moisture is the biggest contributor to mold growth, and to fight the infestation you should conduct a room-by-room assessment of the house to identify problem areas. The moisture can come from condensation due to poor ventilation (attic), from a water leak (around bathrooms), or from outdoor intrusion (foundation walls).

Detection

Mold and mildew in a home is not always easy to detect if it exists within attics or is hidden within walls. If you suspect your indoor air quality is hindered by hidden mold, you can conduct your own DIY test to detect a problem.

The EHT staff recently conducted the Healthful Home 5-Minute Mold Test in a finished basement that had suffered some previous flooding problems. The air seemed fine in the room, but the old moisture issues suggested that if there were to be a mold problem in the house then it was likely to occur in this room.

The test is easy to accomplish. Simply use one of the cotton swabs included with the kit to sample surface dust in the room. Soak the swab tip in the "rinse buffer" liquid (included) and then drip five drops of the liquid onto the two test strips that come with the kit. One strip is labeled Asp/Pen (Aspergillus and/or Penicillium) and the other is labeled Stachybortrys.

Test results show in as little as 5 minutes, and much like a pregnancy test you'll either see one line (negative results) or two lines (positive).

Luckily, our home tested negative. If the test is positive, however, it does not necessarily mean you have a serious problem but that you should consider consulting a professional indoor air quality inspector or a remediation service professional SERVPRO of Elmhurst. You can also have an optional laboratory analysis of your test results conducted for an additional fee.

Fighting the Mold you Find

If you discover mold on the home's interior, the first step in solving the problem is to eliminate the source of moisture, whatever that may be. Otherwise, any mold or mildew you clean is likely to return.

For minor problems you may be able to clean the surface of the materials with an antimicrobial cleaner. For major problems, remove materials that cannot be thoroughly cleaned of mold and mildew, like insulation, carpeting or drywall. Use your antimicrobial cleaner to clean the surrounding area as well as the places where you actually see mold and mildew, to make sure you remove all traces of the substances.

Finally, replace the removed building materials with new, mold-free materials. For more information call SERVPRO of Elmhurst 630-758-1701.

Mold Remediation and Removal

9/5/2017 (Permalink)

Mold in basement

If you have mold anywhere inside of your residence or business, your home could be compromised. This microbial growth is a silent and many times undetected condition, but one in which you must be concerned about.

It can come in several different colors, and it looks like a fuzzy covering on surfaces that seems to come out of nowhere. It comes about from spores that travel through the air and when the spores land where conditions are just right, it will plant itself and grow.

It needs an area where it is dark, and where there is a moisture supply and where there is no moving air. If it finds these conditions, it can grow seemingly overnight and cover an entire wall in a matter of days. So areas such as basements, attics, closets, crawl spaces, and bathrooms are prime candidates.

Mildew and fungus are many times mistaken for mold, but they are not the same. Even though they have similar looks, they are very different types of organisms. Mildew and fungus are usually more greenish in color, whereas mold can be reddish, brown, green, blue, and black. The black kind of mold can be the most serious simply due to its growth rate, its hardiness, and difficulty in eradicating.

If you discover the microbial growth, you should contact an environmental hygienist to discover if it is fungus or mildew or not. An environmental hygienist is available with most cleanup organizations and companies who specialize in mold cleanup and mitigation. You should never attempt to clean up an area that is suspect yourself because that could be dangerous and ineffective. Mold cleanup should only be done by experts.

Most people who will attempt mold cleanup and mitigation by wiping it off will think that they have succeeded, but they will have only wiped off the top of the microbial growth. The organism itself has tentacles or roots that can penetrate and take hold in just about every substance there is except for glass. That is why you will see it growing on the surfaces of wood, cloth, shingles, walls, and even concrete.

The microbial growth will grow on the inside of walls too, so it may go undiscovered for quite some time before anything can be done about it. When the environmental hygienist diagnoses it as being the problem a process of mold removal and mitigation must begin as soon as possible. Workers who work at mold removal will wear special clothing and masks to protect themselves, so they will not be exposed any toxic effects.

Fungus and mildew will not cause harmful effects, but certain kinds of the microbial growth can even give off toxins, especially the black kind, so respiratory protection during its mitigation process is very important. The environmental hygienist will supervise and treat the area, so the mold cleanup process will assure that the substance will not easily reoccur. Need more information, call SERVPRO of Elmhurst at 630-758-1701.