Mold can grow on many surfaces in your home after a water damage event, such as a flood, broken pipe, or roof leak. Any time materials in your home are wet or damp for an extended period; you should investigate the possibility of mold growth. Before you try to remove the mold yourself, consider these three things:

First: Find Hidden Mold

Mold grows best in dark, moist places. This means that if you’ve found a spot of visible mold, there may be more concealed under the floor, behind drywall, or in other nearby spaces. Mold removal is only effective if you can eliminate all of the molds. If you only clean up the mold you can see, chances are it will grow back.

Identify the sources of moisture and remove them. Keep in mind that porous building materials such as sheet rock and wooden beams can take a long time. A piece of wood that looks dry on the surface may still be quite moist in the interior. That moisture will eventually come to the surface, creating conditions for mold to regrow.

Second: Protect Yourself During Mold Removal

Mold can cause respiratory problems in sensitive individuals. When you undertake a mold removal project, some of the mold spores will be disturbed and released into the air. If you have respiratory problems, such as asthma, or other health problems that may be impacted by contact with mold, you should not attempt mold removal yourself.

If you decide to proceed with mold removal, wear a respirator to filter out mold spores. Use rubber gloves and eye goggles to protect your skin and eyes from floating mold spores, and wear old clothing that covers your skin and that can be washed separately or thrown away after the mold removal project.

Third: Know When to Call a Water Damage Restoration Crew

You may be able to effectively clean a small area of mold yourself. However, if your mold problem is widespread or you suspect there may be mold hidden within the structure of your home, it is best to call a water damage restoration crew. They will have the tools and expertise to safely remove all of the molds from your home and will repair the source of moisture to prevent mold from regrowing.

About Vince Sandri

Vince Sandri is a content writer and blogger with more than 12 years of experience. His expertise is in creating content related to disaster restoration, including information about preventing and reacting to natural disasters like flooding, water damage, fire and smoke damage, mold growth, storm damage and more.
Vince has been the main contributor to RestorationMasterFinder.com since 2014. Over that time, he has written numerous service pages and blogs for disaster restoration providers featured on RestorationMasterFinder.com. Vince has done extensive research and covered a wide range of topics relating to disaster restoration to help homeowners, business owners, and property managers better protect their property. He understands the problems that disasters like flooding, fire, smoke, and mold can cause as well as the best ways to respond to these issues to limit the damage.
Vince completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Aurora University and his master’s degree at DePaul University. He has been writing SEO website pages, blogs, and press releases since 2012. Vince is also a musician and can be seen playing in the Chicago, IL area.