Before

After

New Floor Installation Leads to Mold Damage Discovery in Seminole Home

The homeowner had the existing flooring in their Seminole property removed in anticipation of installing a new floor. Underneath, a large amount of mold damage revealed itself, mostly behind the baseboards. The homeowner immediately contacted SERVPRO to perform the needed mold remediation.

Locating the Mold Damage within the Walls

SERVPRO technicians arrived at the Seminole property and immediately used their moisture detection equipment to nail down the most likely areas of mold growth. Behind walls, mold colonies show up as bluish areas denoting a cooler temperature due to the colonies' elevated moisture need to sustain their growth. The use of other moisture meters validated this suspicion. The technicians drilled a single hole to put a camera through to confirm mold behind the walls. This is just one way that SERVPRO technicians avoid the removal of building materials unnecessarily. As shown in the Before Photo, the mold around the baseboard portion of the room is readily visible.

Removal of Building Materials Damaged by the Mold

Controlled demolition is an action that eliminates the potential for mold damage to continue to spread within a Seminole property. The technicians put up containment before beginning the remediation in the home as the barrier prevents airborne mold spores from infiltrating the ventilation system or floating into another part of the home and establishing colonies in that area.

The After Photo shows how cleanly the sheetrock portions with mold damage get removed by SERVPRO. The technicians gather the building materials and insulation for safe disposal. Because mold relies on humid conditions to sustain itself, the interior of the wall cavity needed exposure so it could get dried completely.

Drying the Exposed Mold Colonies

SERVPRO technicians rely on a combination of air movers and dehumidification to bring down the interior humidity rapidly. This leaves any remaining mold colonies on surfaces as dried residues. The techs use manual methods to remove stuck-on dried mold. In cases of widespread coverage of an extremely stubborn infestation on surfaces, the techs can turn to applications such as soda blasting for clean removal that does not harm surfaces.

Another part of the mold remediation process is the determination of why the infestation took hold in the Seminole property in the first place. SERVPRO technicians have the training to help property owners understand why the mold damage happened behind the baseboards in this home and the steps that can get taken to ensure it is not an issue again.

Once the technicians removed the mold-damaged portion of the wall and used air movers to remove any remaining moisture, the next phase of the mold damage remediation began. The use of professional-grade biocides, antimicrobial, and other cleaning agents ensure that opportunistic mold spores do not land on the surfaces and establish a home again. As a final proactive step, the techs can use antimicrobial sealant on the studs exposed by removing the lower portion of the wall to guard future mold damage again before the repairs get made.