How to Keep Your Home Mold Free After Water Damage

In the last several months, extreme weather has led to massive storms and flooding across Southern Ontario, leaving many residents with damp basements and attics.  The problem with water in your home is that it quite often leads to mold growth — which means that in a few short weeks, you’ll find yourself needing mold removal in Vaughan as well as water damage repairs. MoldTech has helped thousands of families with mold testing after water damage from floods, leaks, and burst pipes, helping people catch and eliminate mold before it becomes a huge issue. 

The Link Between Water Damage and Mold

Moisture is the critical factor in every mold infestation. Excess moisture in the home can come from a variety of sources, but for most homeowners, it comes from water damage caused by leaks, drips, spills, and floods. 

Without moisture, mold spores can stay dormant for a long time, but as soon as they’re activated by water, infestations can take off within 48 hours. Floods and other unexpected water events are ideal for triggering mold growth — they provide a great deal of water in a short period that saturates wood, drywall, textiles, and other porous, organic materials that mold thrives on. 

The Signs of Mold Growth

It’s not always easy to know if your water damage has sparked a mold infestation — while visible mold growth is a clear sign, many infestations may hide behind walls or in dark areas, producing little to no detectable symptoms. However, the vast majority of mold infestations do create visual and experiential evidence that can alert you to its presence. Some of the most common ones that MoldTech finds are: 

• Discolouration or staining. 
• Soft or spongey walls, floors, or ceilings. 
• A musty odour. 
• Unusual paint or wallpaper peeling. 
• Health effects like sneezing, coughing, itchy eyes, and headaches. 

How to Locate Mold Growth

If any of these signs sound familiar or if you’ve had a recent flood or water damage, our recommendation is to book mold testing to ensure that your home is mold-free. The symptoms of mold growth are the same as many other common household issues, like allergies, age, as well as regular wear and tear, and comprehensive testing can help you better understand what’s happening. 

Mold testing is a straightforward and non-invasive procedure. For the MoldTech team, it involves several steps, such as exterior and interior visual inspections, sampling (air and physical samples, if necessary), and air and temperature measurements to get baseline readings on factors like humidity. With state-of-the-art tools like infrared cameras, we can look behind walls and get into hard-to-reach places without worrying about damaging or disturbing your home. 

A third-party lab processes any samples to ensure our results are impartial and accurately assessed. After the results are in, we’ll help you understand what the numbers mean for your home and what to do to prevent or eliminate a mold infestation. 

What To Do After Water Damage

If you’ve had water damage, the most critical step you can take is to stop the flow. Even if it’s a single slow drip from a pipe, trace amounts of moisture are all mould needs to take hold, so fixing leaks, shutting off the water, or taking proactive steps to stop it from coming in have a huge long-term effect. 

If the water’s already entered your home, the next best thing is to dry it up as soon as possible. Often, opening windows is the most straightforward way to increase airflow and ventilation, but we usually recommend a fan or air mover, too — the more airflow, the better. Move furniture away from the walls and dry carpets or objects outside if possible. The less moisture in your home, the better! 

After the water is dried up, MoldTech recommends mold testing in the following weeks to ensure that nothing is growing. And if you do find mold growth, don’t panic — mold removal in Vaughan is the safest and most effective way to eliminate mold infestations for good. 

Mold is an easily preventable problem, but surprise leaks and extreme weather create unpredictable situations that can affect anyone. Don’t let mold wreck your home and affect your family’s health — call MoldTech to book mold testing or mold remediation today. 

CALL NOW!