Tag: mold remediation

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Mold Blog

What is Mold Remediation – Process & Cost

Mold Remediation Services in Tampa FL
Close up of a female worker of cleaning service removes mold from wall using spray bottle with mold remediation chemicals, mold removal products.

Mold in your home is almost always bad news. Mold is a fungus designed to digest dead trees into forest soil, but it can’t tell the difference between a house and a tree. It likes to grow in any material that is saturated with moisture, and it only has to be soaked once for the mold to start a colony. From there, it will try to live off the moisture in the air and any nutrients it can eat from the new home. Mold likes to grow in drywall after a leak, furniture after a flood, and can take hold in the carpet with just a spill that dries slowly. It can eat away at structural beams and cause roofs to sag.

If your home has ever flooded, leaked, or sustained a high humidity, mold may be growing somewhere – like a dark, undisturbed place that is rarely seen. If you find signs of mold or have recently experienced a leak or flood, mold remediation is the best way to eradicate mold from your house to keep your family and home materials safe.

What Is Mold Remediation?

Mold remediation is the process of preventing or recovering from a mold infestation. If your home has just flooded. Mold remediation teams specialize in drying operations that can prevent mold from taking hold. If you have found signs of mold in your house, a mold remediation team can help you hunt down the mold, remove it, and repair any damage it has caused.

Signs of Mold in Your Home

  • Allergy symptoms at home or overnight
  • Musty or sour smells in the house
  • Speckled or fuzzy discoloration on any surface or furniture
  • Drywall or timbers that are spongy to the touch
  • Circular or splotchy discoloration
  • Any recent leaks or flooding

The Mold Remediation Process

The mold remediation process involves identifying, removing, and recovering from a mold infestation. Mold prevention involves rapid drying and anti-mold treatments after a flood or leak.

  1. Test and Identify Mold Locations

    • Visual inspection of most likely mold locations
    • Test surfaces for mold
    • Test air for mold spore concentration

  2. Remove Mold

    • Treat with powerful anti-fungal agents
    • Bag and remove mold-ruined materials
    • Clean and sanitize the area

  3. Recover from Mold Damage

    • Remove mold stains from surviving materials
    • Restore moldy furniture and personal items
    • Rebuild and remodel if the home structure was damaged

How Much Does Mold Remediation Cost?

The cost of mold remediation varies quite widely depending on the extent of your mold. Minor mold treatment can cost between $200 – $500, while large-scale mold remediation involving infested drywall and carpet removal can run above $6,000. If you count the home renovations that are sometimes necessary after mold-softened walls and beams are removed, the number can potentially go much higher.

The national average for a mold remediation job, however, is about $2,300.

Mold Inspection – Discovering Mold vs Looking for Mold

Every kind of inspector has a relationship with mold. Even electricians and plumbers find themselves faced with mold-backed drywall regularly. If you are buying a home or maintaining your home, mold may be found during a home inspection. However, if you are worried about signs of mold, you may hire a mold inspector to specifically track it down.

What Does a Mold Inspector Do?

A mold inspector looks for mold instead of just watching out for it. They can take both air and material samples to determine exactly where and how much mold is lurking in your house. A mold inspector can also give advice on how to approach mold remediation for the mold that they find.

What Happens if Mold is Found in a Home Inspection?

If mold is identified during a home inspection, the first step is to determine how bad it is. A few small patches in hidden places can be killed and cleaned away more easily than pests because it is just a plant. However, extensive mold should cause you to think twice about living in such a property (or asking anyone else to) until full mold remediation can be completed.

What to Do After the Mold Remediation Process

Once the mold remediation is complete, make an effort to prevent mold in the future. If you need to install new drywall, use green board, which is mold resistant, and seek mold-proof insulation. Then have your roof, plumbing, and basement inspected, as these are the top three sources of moisture that can result in mold.

Some mold remediation services also offer home restoration to fully rebuild your home after removing the mold. If so, you will not need to arrange remodeling services and can transition directly back to enjoying a safe, mold-free home.

Mold Remediation With Lightning Restoration

If you have recently experienced a flood, or leak, or suspect signs of mold in your house, call Lightning Restoration. Our skilled Tampa mold remediation teams will find any mold that lurks and have it removed before your family takes further health damage or your walls lose any further structural integrity. We will also work with you to rebuild any part of your home that was damaged so that it is identical or even better than before the mold was found.

To book a mold inspection or consultation, contact us today.

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Mold Blog

What to Do When You Find Mold in Your Home

Mold Remediation Services Tampa Fl
Mold remediation

Mold contamination can have serious implications for your health and your family members. A health report shows mold can cause red eyes, allergic reactions, skin rash, and a runny nose. Those with weak immune systems, children, seniors, and those with chronic illnesses are at a high risk of mold complications. Throughout the nation and here in Tampa, mold remediation is essential. If you find mold in your home, you should remove it and prevent further growth. Here is a guide to mold remediation and measures to ensure mold does not return to your home.

How Does Mold Look Like?

Knowing what mold looks like is the first step toward discovering what to do when you find mold in your home. Mold can appear in spots with different colors and be smelly and musty. It mostly appears in places with a lot of moisture and may sometimes be challenging to know when there is mold in your home.

How to Remove Mold From Your Home

Locate the Mold in Your Home

The first step to mold remediation is identifying all areas with mold in your home. Look for discoloration spots, especially in high moisture areas. The easiest way to identify mold is by using mold-testing kits. However, it is worth noting that these kits are not always accurate, and you may get incorrect and misleading results. You can get accurate results if you let a professional test the mold for you because they have the right tools and expertise.

Identify the Cause of the Mold

Knowing what causes mold growth in your house will help you take measures after cleaning and avoid having similar experiences in the future. For instance, if there are leaky roofs and pipes, ensure they get fixed after removing the mold. This can reduce the humidity levels and discourage the growth of mold in the home in the future. You do not want mold to return after barely a few days or weeks of cleaning.

Remove Moldy Materials

Many items in your home, such as carpets, cardboards, drywall, wallpaper, and insulation materials, commonly support mold growth and accumulation. It is important to remove these materials and place them outside before you do anything else. Removing the materials will make your work easier.

Clean the Affected Areas

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bleach and other cleaning products can remove mold from surfaces. Without the right tools and cleaning supplies, you may get frustrated at the end of your cleaning if you do not apply the appropriate measures. Here is a guide to cleaning the mold.

  • Get a bleaching agent and soap
  • Open windows and doors before you start cleaning
  • Wear protective goggles, boots, and rubber gloves
  • Clean the affected areas using soap, water, and bleach
  • Clean all the affected materials before bringing them back into the house
  • Seal all leaking areas to prevent mold from growing again
  • Keep humidity levels lower in your home

Avoid mixing bleach with other cleaning products because it will produce poisonous gas that may cause health complications. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions on using bleach and other cleaning supplies. You should be careful to avoid spreading mold in other parts of the mold when removing it because it can quickly spread and grow in other areas.

Hire a Professional for Mold Remediation

Knowing what to do when you find mold in your home can help keep your home free from mold. Don’t try to handle the mold situation in your home. If you are looking for mold remediation in Tampa, Lighting Restoration is here for you. Contact us, and let s help clean the mold in your home.

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Mold Blog

How Do I Prevent Mold Growth?

If you have a water leak, it’s important to clean and dry the area immediately to prevent mold growth. Porous materials, such as drywall and wood wall cavity wood framing can appear dry, but still hold a significant amount of moisture that will cause mold damage. Under the right conditions, mold can begin to grow in as little as 24-48 hours. 

As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Some Quick Ways to Help Prevent Mold Growth

Keep your eyes open.  Identify and controlling water problems is the first step in discouraging mold growth.  Here are a few quick tips.

  • Every month, when you change your AC filters, also look at all of your ceilings and under cabinets.  Look for signs of moisture. 
  • Monitor the humidity in your home.  Keep humidity in the low 50’s or less. 
  • Regularly maintain your HVAC system.  A poorly running HVAC system will not sufficiently process the humidity in your home, which could lead to a Mold Bloom. 
  • Properly ventilate your clothes dryer and clean the lint exhaust regularly
  • Use tile, not carpet or wood, in moisture-prone areas.  In Florida, it is common to find older homes that have elevated moisture in the concrete slab due to the high-water table. 
  • Employ dehumidifiers in the home if humidity is regularly elevated.
  • Insulate cold surfaces like walls, floors and windows.
  • Use exhaust fans in bathrooms and kitchens and let them run long enough that you don’t see condensation on mirrors or walls.
  • Improve circulation in the home by using ceiling fans.
  • Above all else, mitigate water damage immediately.  Mold cannot grow without moisture. 

If you suspect water or mold damage in your home, call Lightning Restoration for a free mold evaluation & estimate.  Stay safe and healthy Tampa Bay.

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Property Damage

Will My Property Damage Claim Be Covered by Insurance?

This is the most common question that we get at Lightning Restoration. The truth of the matter is that we wish that we had the Magic 8-Ball that would give us that answer every time, but we don’t.  There are a lot of factors that come into play when a carrier is deciding whether to cover your property damage claim. 

What Factors into My Property Damage Claim?

What is stated in your policy?

This is the most important factor: what coverage did you purchase with your policy?  Insurance policies are more difficult to read than stereo instructions.  If you don’t fully understand your coverages, call your Insurance Agent and request a review.  Know what you are buying and don’t try to save a few bucks by limiting essential coverages, like water damage.

What is the source of the damage? 

You may have $10k in mold coverage, but if that policy doesn’t cover the source of the mold, then it won’t cover the mold.  An example would be ground water intrusion from pooling water on the side of the house.  Standard Homeowners Policies do not cover ground water at all, and Flood Policies will not cover ground water intrusion unless there is storm flooding.  This is defined as when two or more adjacent properties are flooded.  If it is flood water, mold remediation may still not be covered since flood policies typically only pay for the water remediation & repair.

Did you mitigate the damages? 

Every insurance policy requires the policy holder to mitigate the damages. In essence, this means that you have to act to stop the damages from getting worse.  The policy also requires that the loss be “sudden & accidental”. We have found property owners who were aware of water damage to the home for months but failed to act.  Now there is a mold problem and there is an urgency to remediate and file a claim.  However, since they failed to mitigate the water damages, the carrier can deny the claim.  There is an unwritten 14-day rule that is quite common in the state of Florida.  This refers to the situation where the carrier feels like the loss has been going on for more than 2 weeks.  It is not “sudden and accidental” and they will deny the claim. 

Failure to maintain the property

If the property owner is not taking care of general maintenance, the carrier can deny the claim for that very reason.  This is commonly seen in roof leaks, where the roof is past its lifespan. 

Construction or Manufacturer Defects

An insurance carrier can deny a claim if the manufacturer of a structural material, appliance or fixture fails from defect.  This is also the case with a contractor that performs work that causes damages.  However, in most cases, we find that the carrier will go ahead and pay the claim and later subrogate back to that manufacturer or contractor.  Our recommendation is to always attempt to file a claim directly with a manufacturer or contractor before contacting your own insurance carrier.  This will save you from having a claim that will cost you a deductible and possibly increased rates upon renewal. 

  • Most appliance and fixture manufacturers have their own claims department.  Research the manufacturer’s claims department online to get the contact info. 
  • To avoid an ugly confrontation, always request a Certificate of Insurance (COI) from your contractor up front.  You can also request to be added as an Additional Insured to the policy.  When going this route, get that COI before any work begins.  Getting the COI when they want to get the job is easy.  Getting insurance information out of a contractor when damages are in dispute is always a difficult task that often gets very contentious. 

Your Claim Could be Denied for Multiple Reasons

These are a handful of reasons why a carrier could deny your property damage claim.  However, the truth is that each carrier, and each adjuster for that matter, is different and may interpret the policy differently.  By state law, if a claim is denied that you feel should be covered, you do have other recourse.  With each denial, the carrier is required to supply you with the information about how to file for mediation.  The state requires that the carrier pay for the mediation.  It is quite common for carriers to overturn denials in mediation if the policy holder can show a reasonable explanation of expected coverage. 

Lightning Restoration are experts in working with every insurance carrier in the state.  Do not hesitate to contact our office when you have Water, Mold or Fire damage.  We will walk you through the process and get the insurance carrier everything that they need to accurately assess the claim.  If a carrier has denied your claim, we offer discounted services and financing for our clients paying without insurance assistance.

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