Unexpected Places Mold Damage Hides in Your Naples House

5/2/2022 (Permalink)

old can spread quickly if moisture was not eliminated after damage. Call SERVPRO to assess and remediate today.

SERVPRO Technicians Root Out the Causes of Mold Damage in Your Home

The danger of managing seemingly minor water damage yourself is missing secondary issues like the leading edge of mold growth. If your home gives off a musty, sour smell, some moisture will likely remain after believing all the water was gone. Hoping the smell dissipates is unwise as its source is, in all probability, mold. The mold detection team at SERVPRO is your best bet to locate concealed pockets of microbial growth. 

Your carpeting soaked up some driving rain a few weeks ago when the wind blew hard through an open window. Calling in a professional water removal company seemed like an overreaction, so you ran a shop vacuum over it and used some fans to avoid mold damage to your Naples house. Now you worry that skipping a professional inspection was a mistake. Better late than never, invite our mold remediation experts to help determine if mold grew and needed abatement. 

Unless you lifted the carpeting and dried it on both sides, you left a perfect breeding area for spores in a few different places. The underside of the carpeting offers a network of fibers and cords that provide good cover for mold. Damp padding is also an incubator for mold growth. The final areas that go undetected even by inexperienced or poorly trained restorers are the carpet tack strips. Often made of untreated softwood or particleboard, these strips soak up water like a sponge and resist superficial efforts to dry them out. These moisture-laden pieces of wood are a buffet for molds, unseen but still have foul odors. 

Our IICRC trained techs always pull up carpeting and often determine to replace the padding. It is an inexpensive fix that avoids the collateral damage of mold growth. Tack strips dry out if exposed to air and warmth, and we apply both during almost every job with wet carpeting. Evaluating moisture levels and meeting drying goals gives the homeowner the best chance to ride out wet carpeting without subsequent problems. 

Time passes, making easy solutions less effective. Your carpeting and padding now need replacing as mold entangles with every fiber. We contain the area, running an air scrubber to keep airborne spores in place. Carpet and mold disposal follows local regulations, and the subfloor receives disinfection. New padding, carpeting, and tack strips install for a price you prefer to avoid but no longer have that luxury. 

Next time your floor coverings take on rainwater, contact SERVPRO of Naples / Marco Island for a friendly review of the situation. Making that appointment is as easy as calling (239) 302-5700.