Black Mold Removal after Water Damage

If you’ve ever had a flood or a water leak at home, you’ll know it’s key to have black mold removal after water damage as quickly as possible. Drying out and working to mitigate the damage that water can cause is the most important thing you can do to prevent damage and ongoing mold problems - mold can begin to grow quickly after a water event, and can cause negative health effects and thousands of dollars of damage to your home.

A professional black mold removal after water damage can prevent these problems.

If you’ve had a leak, removing mold can keep you and your family healthy and safe. The following steps will help you make a decision on what to do after water damage strikes.

How Long Does It Take for Mold to Grow?

With thousands of different strains of mold out there, it’s difficult to answer this question with any precision. That’s because mold growth is dependant on a lot of different things - temperature, materials, humidity, and other conditions may make it more or less likely you’ll need a black mold removal after water damage sooner rather than later.

The 3 reasons for mold growth are:

• water
• temperature
• food

Without a source of an organic material, mold can’t grow. That’s why mold is so commonly found on drywall, wood, paper, textiles, and other natural materials - they provide enough food to grow. Like a plant (though it’s a fungus), mold needs water to begin to grow, and a stable temperature or humidity to thrive. That’s what makes mold such a common problem in parts of your home like the basement or attic.

Identifying Mold

There are two ways that you can identify mold growth in your home: by visual inspection and from the health effects.

Visually identifying mold is a clear sign there’s a problem. Mold can be any number of colours (black, brown, green, and white are most common) and can be fuzzy, flat, or slick. It may not look how you expect. If you find a patch of mold or a stain you might think is mold, call a professional immediately to prevent it from spreading.

Sometimes mold grows behind walls or away from the commonly trafficked parts of your home. When this is happening, you may not see any visual evidence, but you may be experiencing an allergic reaction to mold. Common symptoms of mold exposure closely mimic those of the common cold or flu, so pay attention to when they happen - do they disappear when you leave home and reappear when you come back? Are they worse when you’re in one room or on a particular floor?

Is Mold From Water Damage Harmful?

Any mold growth in your home is potentially dangerous for you and your family, and a black mold removal after water damage is an essential part of ensuring that you deal with the problem before it gets out of hand.

Mold allergies can mimic the common cold and flu in that it most frequently causes:

• Sneezing
• Itchy, red eyes
• Running or congested nose
• Headaches

But some types of mold - like black mold - may cause more serious affects over the short and long term, like:

• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Brain fog
• Anxiety
• Skin inflammation

If anyone in your family has asthma, mold can be a dangerous trigger that can increase the frequency or severity of attacks. For those who have compromised health or chronic conditions (especially lung related conditions like bronchitis, COPD, or emphysema), the exposure to mold spores can result in more frequent hospital visits and a worsening of conditions. The long term effects of mold exposure are still largely unknown - so it’s difficult to predict how it may affect you in the future.

How Do You Get Rid of Mold From Water Damage?

The key to a black mold removal after water damage is hiring a professional. At MoldTech, we understand why people want to do it themselves, but the toxic nature of black mold and the ease at which it could spread throughout your home is the single most important reason to hire a professional team to remove any mold in your home.

Mold reproduces by putting out microscopic airborne spores - as soon as it’s disturbed, it releases these spores, which will drift through your home and create new colonies elsewhere. These spores are hardy and can survive a long time - but as soon as there’s water, new mold will begin to grow.

At MoldTech, the first step in any black mold removal after water damage is containment. We seal the environment we’re working in to prevent any mold spores from escaping during remediation. We have commercial HEPA air filtration systems that scrub the air, and our teams thoroughly clean and test the space before we leave - nothing less than 100% is acceptable.

After a decade of experience in and around the GTA, MoldTech is one of the most trusted mold experts in the province. With any mold remediation, we’re happy to walk you through our complete process and outline the steps we’ll take to safely and thoroughly remediate your home. We’ve worked with landlords, insurance companies, builders, and in commercial spaces too, and have options for mold problems big and small.

If you have any questions or concerns about mold in your home, get in touch - there’s more information about mold remediation, dry ice, contents remediation and attic mold removal on our website. Our technicians would be happy to answer any questions that you may have. Black mold removal after water damage doesn’t have to be mystery - call us at 1-866-684-7684 to learn more about what we can do for you.