As Western North Carolina residents start repairing storm damage to their homes, mold should definitely be top of mind.
Mold can be extremely harmful to your health. Some types, such as black mold, can produce toxins that can lead to headaches, dizziness, or even neurological symptoms. Mold can lead to fungal infections, and mold spores can trigger fungal infections, allergic reactions, and respiratory problems.
The stakes are high in remediating this issue in a home that has had water damage, so it’s important to know some dos and don’ts for mold remediation.
With this in mind, LOTSAR hosted a well-attended presentation November 25, with organizational help from Thrive Asheville and the Builders Association of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Speakers Stephanie Maresca of Green Home Solutions, Evan McIntosh of Ducky Ducts, and Rick Bayless of A Healthier Home passed along facts and answered questions.
Here are six points of interest from the event:
- Mold isn’t always obvious to the eye, so it’s important to inspect your home closely.
It’s important to take the time to spot the signs of the “microscopic critters,” as Rick Bayless called them. Using a flashlight for an up-close inspection is important – mold can be whitish or darkish, and once it’s visible it has to be removed.
- Make sure proper equipment is being used when remediation is being done.
Step one is for those doing the work to use proper respirators. Also, use tape and plastic to create barriers that contain the space where the work is occurring. Remember that things get stirred up when you remediate.
- Even if an area isn’t wet, it might still have mold behind it.
Check behind baseboards and in your crawl space. It’s also important to use a moisture meter, which is readily available at home improvement stores. The meter will tell you if an area is wet even if it isn’t visually obvious. Also, as you remove affected wall areas, go at least 6 inches above the water line or any mold you find.
- Kilz and bleach aren’t good solutions to a mold issue.
Painting with Kilz is fine for painting after the remediation is done, but paint products like Kilz don’t remediate mold. Similarly, bleach is not an answer – remember that bleach is mostly water, so you are just making a wet area wetter and could be making the problem worse.
- Yes, mold can be removed from clothes.
Washing clothes twice can do the trick, and consider using an ozonator to treat the water in the washer. An ozonator is a device that generates ozone gas to remove contaminants in water.
- There are any number of reasons to hire an experienced professional for an assessment and the remediation work.
If you are uncertain about the level of mold in your home, if there are concerns mold may be spreading, or if someone in the home has a weakened immune system or mold allergies, it’s time to call a professional. The professional can do a thorough inspection and do the proper testing before and after work is completed.
Certainly, the experts said, it’s important to do mold remediation as soon as possible. But no matter when it’s done, it’s important to do it right, so you can be confident the home is safe for you and your family going forward.
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