Experiencing Water Damage? Here's How to Arrange For Mold Inspection

Immediate things to do when there is water damage

• Stop the flow of water - that means locating the main water valve and turning it off immediately if a pipe is leaking or there is other clean water damage.
• Turn off the electricity - if any of the standing water is about to reach or has already reached appliances, turn off the electricity immediately. If you find you can't reach the circuit breaker without wading through the water, then call in the experts for assistance. Don't walk through the water - it's dangerous and can cause electrical shock.
• Evacuate if necessary - if the problem looks severe such as a burst pipe that you can't stop; get everyone away from the affected area before starting with your recovery process.

Before your mold inspection and testing

• Inspect and prepare rooms in which you suspect mold to show them to the inspector.
• Move furniture around so the technicians can do their inspection smoothly and without hindrances.
• If mold is caused by water damage, remove wet carpets, floor coverings, soft furnishings and arrange for a water cleanup service.
• Pull out appliances that might have hidden mold behind them, e.g. refrigerator.
• Clear away things in the way where the inspector should check, like underneath the sinks. The inspector will search for any visible mold spores and evaluate areas that have high humidity. He will probably want to check areas that have a mold-mildew type of smell. He will evaluate the areas for potential water sources that contribute to mold growth and do mold air testing to determine if there are mold spores present - these aren't visible to the naked eye. Professional mold inspectors may test again post-remediation to verify that spore counts have decreased since treatment.

Important tips about mold

• Contact your insurance company, take pictures of your property, and all the items that have been affected by the flooding. House mold inspection and remediation might be included in your homeowner insurance plans - you need to check it out.
• If materials have been wet for longer than 24 hours, you must start treating them immediately. Choose a professional water damage restoration and mold remediation business for this. Mold spores can be dispersed in the air and just removing wet materials will not help to stop overall mold growth. If the mold spores spread to other areas, you can expect the mold growth to increase. That also means the scope of any remediation to remove the mold will also be increased. You want to dry out materials with as little disturbance as possible.
• A mold inspection is important for everyone's health. Mold can cause serious medical problems. Bet you don't like the sound of these: asthma, respiratory distress, increased allergies. And molds aren't all the same - there is even dangerous toxic black mold. Exposure to black mold could cause symptoms like chronic coughing, fatigue, sneezing, rashes, and headaches. Quick remediation is needed here, and special equipment is needed to remove it.
• Mold inspectors will perform a professional test to confirm if there is any mold present in the office or home and then propose what their remediation strategies are. They will take samples and then have them laboratory tested.
• DIY-mold testing kits do not reveal the type of mold present in your home, where the mold is located, the source of the moisture in your home, and what can be done to rid your home of mold. A mold inspection specialist pinpoints moisture control problems, suggests a plan, and offers advice on how to stop future mold growth.
• Mold inspection services can take at least an hour for smaller properties, and even longer, the bigger the premises.

Why you need to get good mold inspectors

The US Government EPA says, "Inspection & sampling for mold should be conducted by professionals who have specific experience in designing mold-sampling & remediation protocols, sampling methods, and interpreting results." This is not the only, but one of the most important reasons why you should contact the O2 Mold Testing. We offer professional mold inspection and a full range of mold testing services with certified laboratory reports to document the problem.

Call us now at 888-202-1680 - we would be happy to help you!