Many people if they have heard anything about mold they remember the term Black mold or toxic mold. Without question toxic mold is the worst to deal with your health and damage to your property. This is something that you need a certified tester and mold remediation team to be involved from start to finish. Once you have verified that you have toxic mold through mold testing you should not cut any corners, save money, or do it-yourself.
For starters if you have a smell that will not go away, had a recent water intrusion, or see spots on your ceiling, in your bathroom or basement you should invest and find out what is going on with your indoor air quality. You should get an indoor air quality survey done by a certified, licenses and insured industrial hygienist, or certified mold inspector.
Mold testing is necessary to confirm the type or types of mold, the spore count that you have. A written mold protocol should be in place before the remediation is started. The most important phase in the remediation process is erecting a barrier or what we call creating a containment area, where the infected area or areas are isolated. All of contaminated area is disinfected with a fogging machine that sprays a non-toxic disinfectant chemical to help lower the air borne contaminants. At this point some type of a mold stain removal is applied and if any areas of wood need treating this is the time that an eco-friendly mold killing application is applied.
During the final step of the remediation the area will be gassed with a high level of ozone. This will shock and kill the mold. A high intensity HEPPA vacuuming will be used to capture any airborne spores and other microorganisms that might be present. Disposal of mold and other materials must follow the OSHA recommendations to ensure safe and proper disposal. Many times a post clearance will be taken to ensure that all the mold spores are killed and the mold has been successfully removed.
As you can see that mold removal is very detailed and requires special equipment. This is not something you should attempt yourself. When proper protocol is not followed you cannot only risk having health related issues but more expenses when the project was not done correctly the first time. Mold can make you sick and can spread quickly to other parts of your home. Mold Removal should be done by certified professionals who have the necessary equipment, products and training to carry out the remediation process in a safe and efficient manner for all involved.
Symptoms vary from one individual to the next. You may have runny eyes, skin irritations, sneezing, cough tightness of the chest. Difficulties in breathing can cause other mold related health problems kike headaches. As your nose is congested, you must exert more efforts to breathe normally and this can cause headaches and wheezing leading to sever asthma which can be life threating.