Mold Remediation in Joliet IL
Black mold is a serious problem that can cause respiratory and other health issues. Even if the occupants in a property can manage to live with it temporarily, the mold will become a serious problem one way or another as mold infestations will always come up on inspection reports.
A mold removal company in Joliet like J-Town Mold Remediation is uniquely designed to take care of mold in the most effective way. For homeowners trying to return their home back to normal or get their home listed on the market, mold removal and cleaning services are critically important. So, what exactly happens when you call a mold remediation company in Joliet to mitigate the mold in your home?
A mold removal company in Joliet like J-Town Mold Remediation is uniquely designed to take care of mold in the most effective way. For homeowners trying to return their home back to normal or get their home listed on the market, mold removal and cleaning services are critically important. So, what exactly happens when you call a mold remediation company in Joliet to mitigate the mold in your home?
What Happens During Mold Remediation
Before Remediation
Several days before our team arrives, move as much furniture and other items as possible that are unaffected by the mold to clear the way. If there’s even a small chance that an item has mold contamination, leave it. It’s not worth the risk to spread spores and make mold appear in other areas.
A few minutes before our arrival, place house pets in a closed off area or in the backyard. Also, move cars away from or to the far edge of the driveway or garage in order to clear a wide access area from the outside all the way to the mold area.
Preparation
We try to park our truck as close as possible to a doorway, lay down plastic sheeting, then run our hoses through the house directly to the contaminated area. If the mold affected area is easily accessible from the outside, such as in a crawlspace, we may be able to get access without going through your home. We will take precautions to keep your house clean and leave other areas undisturbed while we’re working.
Suiting-Up Process
Like with any other hazardous process, such as the removal of lead-based paint or asbestos, our mold removal team fully suits up for the job: head-to-toe suits, booties, goggles, and respirators are the main gear. Please note that this does not necessarily mean that we will be removing toxic mold just because we’re in suits. Many types of mold found in the home are not toxic. Instead, standard operating procedure for mitigating mold is to assume that all mold is hazardous even if it is not.
Removal of Items
Items that can be easily picked up are disposed of in a safe manner. Generally, porous items contaminated by the mold must always be thrown away; they cannot be cleaned. These may include items like drywall, clothing, carpets, textiles, and ceiling tiles.
Anything removed from the mold affected area is tightly bagged into air-tight, one to multiple layers of thick plastic bags. The bags are wiped down to remove any mold on the outside. Depending on local laws and regulations, we may dispose of items in the landfill, or we may need to dispose of them in another place that accepts biohazardous waste.
Spray Down
The first step of this multi-step cleanup process is to spray the mold area with a biocide, which is an EPA-approved liquid that kills mold. Please be advised that bleach is not approved by the EPA for killing mold, so never use it as a DIY mold removal treatment. Typically, this spray down step will take less time than the second step.
Wait Period
After the spray down, our team will leave so the biocide can get to work killing the mold spores. The wait period varies but will be considered complete once the mold is dead and spray has dried. Also, because paint or whitewash is often used for encapsulation, the affected surface must be dry before application.
Encapsulation
Our team will spray with a type of paint or whitewash that is designed to encapsulate the remaining mold spores. We make it a point to spray well beyond the mold-infested area to get any spores that raveled beyond the affected area and prevent regrowth of new spores. For example, if only a small part of an attic has obvious mold, we will still spray the entire attic out of an abundance of caution in most cases.
Check For Success
A mold remediation service is considered successful if no mold remains visible and if no smell of mold can be detected. Active mold left in encapsulated areas can regrow, so it is critical to kill all mold before painting or whitewashing.
Address Cause of Mold
As soon as all surfaces have dried after treatment, it's safe for a home’s occupants to move back into the area. If the initial cause of the mold has not been addressed already, it should be right after the remediation process has been completed. This could include leaks in the roof; high humidity levels in the bathroom or basement; leaky gutters, or drafty windows.
Several days before our team arrives, move as much furniture and other items as possible that are unaffected by the mold to clear the way. If there’s even a small chance that an item has mold contamination, leave it. It’s not worth the risk to spread spores and make mold appear in other areas.
A few minutes before our arrival, place house pets in a closed off area or in the backyard. Also, move cars away from or to the far edge of the driveway or garage in order to clear a wide access area from the outside all the way to the mold area.
Preparation
We try to park our truck as close as possible to a doorway, lay down plastic sheeting, then run our hoses through the house directly to the contaminated area. If the mold affected area is easily accessible from the outside, such as in a crawlspace, we may be able to get access without going through your home. We will take precautions to keep your house clean and leave other areas undisturbed while we’re working.
Suiting-Up Process
Like with any other hazardous process, such as the removal of lead-based paint or asbestos, our mold removal team fully suits up for the job: head-to-toe suits, booties, goggles, and respirators are the main gear. Please note that this does not necessarily mean that we will be removing toxic mold just because we’re in suits. Many types of mold found in the home are not toxic. Instead, standard operating procedure for mitigating mold is to assume that all mold is hazardous even if it is not.
Removal of Items
Items that can be easily picked up are disposed of in a safe manner. Generally, porous items contaminated by the mold must always be thrown away; they cannot be cleaned. These may include items like drywall, clothing, carpets, textiles, and ceiling tiles.
Anything removed from the mold affected area is tightly bagged into air-tight, one to multiple layers of thick plastic bags. The bags are wiped down to remove any mold on the outside. Depending on local laws and regulations, we may dispose of items in the landfill, or we may need to dispose of them in another place that accepts biohazardous waste.
Spray Down
The first step of this multi-step cleanup process is to spray the mold area with a biocide, which is an EPA-approved liquid that kills mold. Please be advised that bleach is not approved by the EPA for killing mold, so never use it as a DIY mold removal treatment. Typically, this spray down step will take less time than the second step.
Wait Period
After the spray down, our team will leave so the biocide can get to work killing the mold spores. The wait period varies but will be considered complete once the mold is dead and spray has dried. Also, because paint or whitewash is often used for encapsulation, the affected surface must be dry before application.
Encapsulation
Our team will spray with a type of paint or whitewash that is designed to encapsulate the remaining mold spores. We make it a point to spray well beyond the mold-infested area to get any spores that raveled beyond the affected area and prevent regrowth of new spores. For example, if only a small part of an attic has obvious mold, we will still spray the entire attic out of an abundance of caution in most cases.
Check For Success
A mold remediation service is considered successful if no mold remains visible and if no smell of mold can be detected. Active mold left in encapsulated areas can regrow, so it is critical to kill all mold before painting or whitewashing.
Address Cause of Mold
As soon as all surfaces have dried after treatment, it's safe for a home’s occupants to move back into the area. If the initial cause of the mold has not been addressed already, it should be right after the remediation process has been completed. This could include leaks in the roof; high humidity levels in the bathroom or basement; leaky gutters, or drafty windows.
Best Mold Removal in Joliet
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