Is Removing Mold Dangerous For Manhattan Homeowners?

Finding water damage in your home should trigger many concerns. Mold growth in your home is a major worry and must be handled quickly before an even bigger issue develops. While household mold is always present in the house, in the yard, and in nature, some types of mold can flourish in your water damaged home.  Some strains of mold are known as “Black Mold” and can greatly reduce the indoor air quality of your living environment and even cause health problems.

Mold Removal in Manhattan,KS

When you discover a mold infestation, call Lamunyon for professional mold removal.  Don’t try to DIY it– removing black mold yourself can spread the spores and put your family at risk.

Safety Concerns 

Special precautions need to be taken when addressing various types of  mold in the home. Few homeowners have the tools, safety equipment and knowledge needed to ensure that they stay safe during the process. Even minimal exposure to black mold is known to contribute to:

• Chronic coughing and sneezing
• Respiratory irritation
• Skin disorders, including rashes
• Chronic fatigue
• Headaches

In the most extreme cases, an allergic reaction to some types of mold spores can cause vomiting, nausea, and bleeding within the lungs and nose. With the potential effects of exposure, it isn’t worth it to take the risk of handling the problem without professional assistance.

Realizing the Scope of Potential Danger

Not all household mold is toxic but professionals follow a protocol to assess the risk. Number one is to find the source of moisture and remove all traces. Then, based upon the amount of mold growth and other factors such as building materials, building occupants, etc. the remediation scope can be determined. The EPA has put together the following list of questions to help calculate the danger:

• Are there existing moisture problems in the building?
• Have building materials been wet more than 48 hours?
• Are there hidden sources of water or is the humidity too high (high enough to cause condensation)?
• Are there musty or moldy odors?
• Are building occupants reporting health problems?
  Are building materials or furnishings visibly damaged?
• Has maintenance been delayed or the maintenance plan been altered?
• Has the building been recently remodeled or has the building use changed?
• Is consultation with medical or health professionals indicated?

Advantages to Hiring a Professional

Black mold releases spores, which can spread if not properly contained during removal. This can cause the mold to appear in other areas of your home, making a small problem a much larger issue. Professionals like Lamunyon will wear safety equipment, seal off other rooms, and properly dispose of any debris in order to contain the spores. Obviously, they will remove the visible  mold growth,  but also will probe further to identify any hidden areas. 

Mold removal specialists also have access to a variety of high-tech equipment to handle toxic mold:  personal protection gear, air filters,  containment systems, and other heavy-duty products. 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends hiring a mold cleanup specialist if:

• The moldy area is more than 10 square feet
• If your HVAC system has mold in it
• If the mold growth is on the walls, floors, or ceiling
• If you have health issues that could be aggravated by more exposure to mold

To clean small areas of mold, you may be able to use the same process as you would clean up mildew. For larger areas, the CDC advises that you use a “solution of no more than 1 cup of household laundry bleach per 1 gallon of water.” If you don’t want to mess with the hassle of bleach, or the job feels like just “too much”, you should call Manhattan’s mold removal specialists- Lamunyon. Whenever moisture invades your home, you have the potential for mold. If you suspect mold, you will need a professional, competent team to safely remove it. Only a team with proper training and equipment will be able to safely dispose of all the debris without spreading it into other areas of your home.