How to Find Mold in Dallas Home

1/3/2018 (Permalink)

SERVPRO has a Texas Mold Remediation Contractor License and offers free mold inspections.

How to Find Mold in Dallas Home

Finding mold in your house is never a pleasant experience.  When homeowners or renters find mold, a lot of questions go through their mind.  Am I safe? Who do I call? How much will mold remediation cost? How long will the mold removal process take?

Being proactive about mold is the best policy.  Let’s talk about the common places mold grows and what you can do to prevent mold growth in the first place.

What Environment Does Mold Grow Best In?

First, let’s understand what kind of environment mold most loves to grow in.  Mold tends to grow in a place that is:

• Warm
• Dark
• Moist

These spots tend to go undisturbed in a house or apartment.  For this reason, we are not surprised to find mold growing under kitchen sinks or other places where there is a source of constant water like bathrooms or laundry rooms.

What is Mold?

Mold is a fungus that naturally grows in our environment.  It’s outdoors, indoors -- it’s everywhere. Getting rid of 100% of mold in a house or apartment is simply not possible, and any mold removal company that tries to sell you on that pitch won’t be able to fulfill their promise.  The best that a mold remediation company can do is remove enough mold to make your home a safe and healthy place to live in again.

Types of Mold

No one exactly knows how many types of mold exist out there.  There are some estimates in the hundreds of thousands! The best known kind of mold is black mold, which a quick search will show hundreds of articles talking about its toxicity.  Toxic black mold exists, but not every black colored mold is toxic. In fact, many molds are not harmful to human beings in small quantities.

Regardless of the type of mold you have in your home, an experienced and professional mold remediation company will treat every single type of mold with care.  Safety is always the top priority in mold cleanup, which is why our company treats all mold the same. Our mold remediation specialists will take all safety precautions to keep you and your family safe.

Mold Hot Spots

If you want to check out the most common places we find mold, inspect these portions of your home.  If you find mold in your home, give us a call.

Mold in Bathroom

Bathrooms are ideal places for mold to grow since they tend to be more humid than other rooms around the house.  Look around your tub or shower. Typically, you’ll see dark green or black spots on the caulking or wall joints.  Look also under and behind your sink, especially if you have a cabinet with pipes running inside of it and into the wall.  Also look at your exhaust vents. Mold spores are airborne and can very easily reach your fans and travel to other portions of your house if mold begins to grow in them.

Keep the humidity in your bathroom low to avoid mold.  You can do this by turning on the exhaust fans after a shower.  Also, leave your shower door open to let the water evaporate faster.

Mold on Carpet

This is common after a water damage that was not dried properly.  We see it all the time when someone tries to DIY their own water damage restoration.  This simply means that when the water absorbed into your carpet and pad, not all of it was dried quickly enough.  Depending on how long the mold has been in the carpet will determine whether we can save it or not. In almost all instances, the pad underneath the carpet will have to be replaced.

Mold starts to grow in as little as 72 hours.  This is why our business has a 24 hour emergency line to help people with water damages at any time of day, every day of the year.  We make sure to complete water extraction plus set professional drying equipment to avoid mold growth. If you have a water damage, call the professionals.  We’ll make sure your home is dried properly.

Mold on Walls

We see mold on walls when a pipe leak goes undetected for weeks or even months.  Sometimes a pipe leak is obvious because we see water coming out from under the baseboards.  But, other times, the leak is so small that it takes a while for any symptoms to show. Look for this mold problem behind walls where you know water pipes run through.

In this case, we have to cut through the wall to see what’s going on behind it.  The leak has to be fixed before we can move forward with mold remediation.

Mold on Clothes

There are a few different reasons we see mold on clothes.  One is that a water damage occurred but wasn’t cleaned up properly.  This is especially true in closets which are usually dark and warm. If you have carpet in your closet or if it's against a bathroom wall, check it out to make it's always dry and clean.  If there’s high humidity in there, mold may start to grow on your clothes.

Another common reason is that some clothing got wet, got put into a corner to be taken care of later.  Instead, it was forgotten about. When it’s found a week later, there is mold growing on top of it.

What do you do to remove mold from clothes?  Throwing it in with the rest of the laundry may not help since washing machines aren’t powerful enough to push mold spores out of fabrics.  Dry cleaners also can’t help you because they don’t have the tools or training to handle mold.

If you’re interested in trying to save your clothes, give us a call.  We are one of the few businesses in North Texas that is certified to handle mold infested clothing.  Our Esporta Wash System uses up to six special detergents and hydraulic pressure to literally push the spores out of all types of fabrics.  Best of all, we pick up and deliver your clothes back to your home.

Mold Behind Baseboards

This one won’t be easy to spot on your own.  Still, it’s important to know that if you are dealing with a water leak or have had a past water damage, finding mold behind a baseboard is common.  Usually, only a professional can help you find this.

Mold in HVAC

Mold spores fly up in the air when they’re disturbed, which is why they end up in our air ducts and HVAC system.  If you see mold growing on your vents or if you get a whiff of something musty every time the air conditioner turns on, it’s time to inspect your air ducts.  If you need help, give us a call. It’s important to take care of this quickly. If there really is mold in there, it could be spreading all throughout your house.

Mold in Attic

We usually find mold in the attic when there is roof damaged that has gone unnoticed.  After a big storm, head up to your attic and make sure everything is dry. If it’s not, call us quickly.  We’ll patch up the damaged portion of your roof and take care of your attic humidity. If you file an insurance claim, we’ll even work with your insurance company to permanently replace the damaged part of your roof.

Many folks call us when they see water spots on a ceiling.  This is often the first time they suspect something is wrong up there.  We come out for an inspection only to find out that their water heater has been leaking for a while and there’s now mold in the attic.  In this case, the mold remediation process will involve a few things: attic mold removal, beam replacement if the mold has damaged the wood, partial ceiling replacement, and water damage restoration services.

Mold Under Sink

Kitchens are popular places for mold growth because of their increased humidity level.  Look under your kitchen sink, especially if it's in a cabinet. Also, take a look behind your refrigerator and dishwasher.  If you’ve experienced a refrigerator or dishwasher leak in the past, be especially vigilant. Many plumbers are happy to help you with your leaky appliance, but few know to warn you about the wet wall and baseboards left behind.  

Free Mold Inspection

Are you still smelling something musty but can’t figure out where that smell is coming from?  If you suspect mold in your home, just give us a call. We’ll head over to your place and give you a free mold inspection and bid.  

Trusted Leader in Water Damage Restoration and Fire Damage Restoration in Dallas Texas

SERVPRO of North Irving is a water damage restoration and fire and smoke damage restoration company in Dallas Texas.  We have performed work in Dallas and other North Texas communities for over 30 years.  We also have a Texas Mold Remediation Contractor License and offer free mold inspections.

Our crews are available dispatch for 24 hour emergencies every day of the year. We can be reached 24/7 at (972) 986-7677.  Call us any time!

“Like it never even happened,” only happens here.