Lehigh Acres, Florida Mold Remediation

Musty smell when he was putting holiday decorations away

A condominium owner in Lehigh Acres Florida noticed a musty smell when he was putting holiday decorations away in a hall closet. He sprayed some Lysol in the closet and manually turned on the Air conditioning to get rid of the smell. The next weekend he decided to change the air conditioning filters and noticed that something was growing on the dust on the filter. So he decided to look around and found that the guest bedroom, near the hall closet, had Lehigh Acres Florida mold growing on the wall below and to either side of the window. He called his association’s management company and they recommended a trusted Lehigh Acres Florida water damage and mold remediation company. Further investigation by the Lehigh Acres Florida mold remediation company found that the irrigation sprinkler head outside the guest bedroom window was mis-directed and had been spraying water on the stucco wall for months. This water had infiltrated the bedroom wall and wet the paper on the back of the drywall in the bedroom allowing Lehigh Acres Florida mold to grow. Because the homeowners rarely went into the guest bedroom they did not notice until the musty odor alerted them.

The Lehigh Acres Florida mold remediation company inspector also noticed the beginnings of surface mold growth in the master bath on the wall and under the sink in the kitchen. Could these three occurrences of Lehigh Acres Florida mold growth be connected?

The Lehigh Acres Florida mold remediation company inspector explained that when mold begins to grow inside your home because of a water intrusion it produces mold spores that are released into your indoor air. The return air register in the bedroom transported the Lehigh Acres Florida mold spores through the Air Conditioning system to the rest of the home. The Lehigh Acres Florida mold spores settled out of the air and landed on many surfaces. Surfaces that were wet and had a food source supplied the necessary ingredients to allow the mold spores to grow into a mold colony.

The master bathroom had a high humidity level every time the owners used the shower. Even though the Master bath dried out after each shower use the Lehigh Acres Florida mold spores had enough moisture to begin to grow, not in the wall but on the surface. And each time the humidity went up the growth continued.

The kitchen sink area got wet every day and was wiped dry. The problem occurred because the cold water supply line to the sink fixture had a slight drip. This drip wet the cabinet floor. The cabinet is made of wood which is a food sources for mold.

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The air conditioning unit kept the humidity low enough in the rest of the house to discourage any Lehigh Acres Florida mold growth. So… what is required to fix this problem and prevent it from happening again?

Of course the first thing is to correct the direction of the sprinkler head. Then cover the return air register with poly. Next, containment should be built in the guest bedroom, from 6 mil poly, to prevent further spread of Lehigh Acres Florida mold spores. This containment will enclose an “air scrubber” which will both filter the Lehigh Acres Florida mold spores out of the air and create a negative pressure within the containment to prevent Lehigh Acres Florida mold spores from escaping when workers enter. The workers, wearing personal protection equipment, will carefully cut out the affected drywall and other affected materials, bag it up inside the containment and remove it from the property. The wall cavity will be HEPA vacuumed and wiped down. Lehigh Acres Florida Mold growth on any structural member will be sanded and encapsulated. The walls in the guest bedroom will be wiped down and/or HEPA vacuumed. Simultaneously the growth in the Master Bath and under the kitchen sink will be wiped down and treated.

Walls and surfaces in other areas may need a wipe down based on a visual inspection. Once the Lehigh Acres Florida Mold remediation is completed air sampling by a third party, CIE Certified Indoor Environmentalist, is recommended. This test will verify that the inside source of Lehigh Acres Florida mold spores has been removed. After this “clearance test” has been performed the rebuild of the walls can be accomplished. It is also recommended that your air conditioning duct system be cleaned and treated after a Lehigh Acres Florida mold remediation. Depending on your insurance coverage, most or all of this work will be paid by your home owners insurance.

As you can see a proper plan to remediate Lehigh Acres Florida mold growth from a home can be complicated and very technical. An effective Lehigh Acres Florida mold remediation requires a company with experience, technical knowledge, specialized equipment and a commitment to meticulous application of procedures. The proof is in the clearance test. This test demonstrates that at the time of the testing all indoor sources of Lehigh Acres Florida mold spores have been removed from your home.

The best Lehigh Acres Florida remediation company in your area will be able and ready to verbally walk you through the procedures and explain why and how each step is necessary to correct and prevent future Lehigh Acres Florida mold growth inside your home. Insist that your Lehigh Acres Florida water damage and mold remediation contractor follow IICRC, Institute of Cleaning and Restoration Certification, procedures and that technicians be trained and certified by IICRC and IAQA, Indoor Air Quality Association. Lehigh Acres Florida Water damage and mold growth can both damage your property and cause health issues for you and your family. Choose carefully.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 5th, 2012 at 4:04 pm and is filed under Lehigh Acres News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.