Tips to Prevent Mold Damage

7/27/2022 (Permalink)

Mold growth in your home can cause a lot of trouble. It can damage the structure of the house and weaken its appearance by discoloring drywall, creating black spots on siding, darkening decks, and causing grout lines in the shower.

You can deal with mold infestation with the help of companies specializing in mold damage restoration like SERVPRO in Rancho Santa Margarita/Coto De Caza/Trabucco Canyon. However, in order to prevent it from happening again, you need to take steps to ensure that there’s no place for mold to breed in your home.

Find the Source of the Problem

The first step to addressing any problem is to determine its source. Check every corner of your home and see where mold could be growing. Because mold thrives in moisture, find the areas that are exposed to water. If the basement gets flooded or if there’s a leak in the roof, then those can be a breeding place. Once you determine the source of the problem, address it immediately so that mold doesn’t have time to breed and grow.

Keep Areas Dry

Mold will only grow if there’s moisture. So, make sure that you dry wet areas immediately. Clean and dry the basement after a heavy storm, fix leaky pipes, and avoid leaving a spill on the carpet. When you take a shower, dry the floor and walls as much as possible. Also, don’t leave wet clothes in the washing machine because this is a perfect place for mold to spread. If you don’t have a drier, hang the clothes outside and let the sun or air circulation dry them.

Ventilate

Proper ventilation is key to having a mold-resistant home. Activities such as cooking, doing the laundry, and taking a shower can encourage the growth of mold because of the moisture these activities create. Given this, make sure that there’s enough ventilation in high-moisture areas like the bathroom, laundry room, basement, and kitchen.

A home that is mold-resistant provides a more comfortable and healthier home environment. Sometimes though, the presence of these organisms is inevitable. This is why the moment mold growth becomes too much and uncontrollable, call a professional trained in mold and water damage restoration in Rancho Santa Margarita, Coto De Caza, and Trabucco Canyon immediately.

Call SERVPRO of Rancho Santa Margarita at (949) 472-0992

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Is it Allergies or is it Mold?

6/15/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of Rancho Santa Margarita/Coto De Caza/Trabucco Canyon, CA recongnizes that residents who are allergic to pollen can take a breath in the winter, when there isn't enough of the allergen going around. 

If pollen is the major culprit of allergies in spring, what could be triggering the condition in winter? Experts point to three main sources: dust mites, animal hairs, and mold.

Mold, in particular, can be a major concern in Rancho Santa Margarita/Coto De Caza/Trabucco Canyon during winter when precipitation is at its highest. Mold needs water and air to survive and thrive, and the dampness that winter rains bring certainly provides this.

Moreover, it is not only the elements that can leave moisture around a home. Domestic disasters, such as basement flooding and burst pipes, can leave behind enough wetness to promote mold proliferation. With this in mind, residents should immediately call SERVPRO of Rancho Santa Margarita/Coto De Caza/Trabucco Canyon, water damage restoration experts when these wet domestic crises take place.

Water can seep into cracks and crevices, and linger long enough to give mold spores the breeding ground they need to grow. The professionals use high-power equipment and proper knowledge to thoroughly dry affected areas and thus prevent mold from thriving.

If mold has started to spread, homeowners and business owners can also rely on our team of experts to save their properties from total loss. Technicians from companies like SERVPRO of Rancho Santa Margarita/Coto De Caza/Trabucco Canyon, will conduct tests to determine where and to what extent the infestation has taken place, and perform the necessary remediation and decontamination procedures.

Residents who are unsure if mold has already taken root in their homes should watch out for signs of allergy. It could be coming from undetected mold growth, which should be removed before it causes a bigger disaster and winter illnesses.

Call SERVPRO of Rancho Santa Margarita/Coto De Caza/Trabucco Canyon at (949) 472-0992

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Signs Your Bathroom has a Leak or Mold Problem

6/15/2022 (Permalink)

Mold in the Corner of a Shower

Bathroom plumbing leaks often do not become evident until damage has been done to the walls or ceiling. Subtle signs of water leaks in your bathroom often indicate the need to seek professional water damage restoration company, like SERVPRO of Rancho Santa Margarita/Coto De Caza/Trabucco Canyon.

Subtle Signs: Keeping your Sight and Smell Alert

Though pooling water and other telltale signs of faulty plumbing may be absent, you only need to use two of your senses to detect potential water damage: sight and smell.

First, check for any changes in wall paint or wallpaper adhesion in and around the bathroom that could signify the presence of moisture in the walls. You might also notice an earthy smell emanating from the bathroom, however this can be hard if you recently cleaned it.

Another potential sign of a damaged wall is if there are stains or warped textures. If so, you can suspect that the walls had already been subjected to water leaks from your bathroom. Plumbing problems could also affect the ceiling, which then cause it to sag and leak with water that has accumulated around it.

The biggest sign of a water leak in the bathroom is the presence of mold and mildew.

Ever wondered why, despite all your efforts to clean your bathroom, mold and mildew simply won’t go away? While you might think it normal for mold to accumulate inside your bathroom, especially around the corners, it is not. Be alarmed the moment you see mold on wall surfaces located in or outside the shower area.

What to Do?

Deal with them as soon as possible! You can start by shutting off the water supply to identify where the leak might be coming from, then have a plumber take care of the problem. At the same time, be sure to consider the kind of mold damage restoration services offered by a company like SERVPRO. 

Call SERVPRO of Rancho Santa Margarita/Coto De Caza/Trabucco Canyon at (949) 472-0992

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How to Know if You Need Professional Mold Restoration

6/3/2022 (Permalink)

Homes nowadays are more energy efficient than ever, mainly due to the efforts in promoting renewable energy and energy conservation. It’s become a two-way hit, so to speak: efficient homes help keep the environment safe and prevent people from burning unnecessary holes in their pockets.

There is, however, one catch behind it all. The mere fact that homes are getting sealed to the brim means that they’re becoming better breeding grounds for molds. Mold problems typically materialize innocuously—often beginning with a tiny leak, then water works its way into the tiniest cracks in the sealing and leaks into places like the attic, basement, crawlspaces, or walls. In time, the water would sit around long enough for molds to grow, posing a danger to the home’s inhabitants.

Fortunately, dealing with indoor mold is easy enough. In order to know if you’ll need professional water damage restoration specialists real soon, you’ll have to identify the signs of an infestation first. Since molds are often hidden, you can identify it by scent. Does your home smell musty? If it does, you’re highly likely to have molds lurking within your home. If the moldy odor gets worse in certain areas, then those places have higher mold concentrations than anywhere else in the home. In addition, the mold smell that emerges when you turn on the heater or air conditioner may mean that there are molds in the HVAC system that needs to be removed.

Your next clue should be visual. Mold often develops on walls, in corners, or on objects , though sometimes they can settle where it is less obvious. They can lurk under carpets and carpet pads, behind wallpaper and draperies, behind drywall and wood, on the surface of pipes, right inside ductwork, or anywhere inconspicuous. You have to be wary when checking such places, though, since your efforts can disturb mold colonies and release spores which could contaminate other areas of your home. For that, you’d do well hiring a mold damage restoration company like SERVPRO of Rancho Santa Margarita/Coto De Caza/Trabucco Canyon.

Call SERVPRO of Rancho Santa Margarita/Coto De Caza/Trabucco Canyon at (949) 472-0992

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Why It's Important to Get Mold Damage Restoration

5/25/2022 (Permalink)

Mold from floor to ceiling

Busy Californians often take their home’s maintenance needs for granted until they are confronted by disrepair and some organic outgrowths, such as molds, showing up in places that they’ve become too disturbing to ignore. 

Molds grow slowly and proliferate in dark and damp places and surfaces. At this point, a homeowner can resolve this best by calling for mold damage restoration in Rancho Santa Margarita.

An Unseen Danger

For mold to grow, moisture is the most important player in the mix.  Its spores spread airborne,  absorbing moisture until the mold spores stick to a surface and propagate. Sunlight kills them, thus molds ideally thrive in darkened and dank cracks and crevices in your house. 

Mold and your Home

Mold organisms seep deep into the structure that they cling on, which, based on how tough they are to remove, can pretty much determine how long the mold has been in place. In time, molds can compromise the integrity of materials they contaminate.

Prevention and Care

To keep mold away, always clean your home thoroughly, especially on humid days. Moreover, if you fear that some form of water damage might have taken a toll on the indoor air quality of your basement, attic, or room, or on the integrity of your drywall or carpets, call professionals like SERVPRO for water damage restoration in your Rancho Santa Margarita home, immediately. You can also do your part by scrubbing off any mold infestation before they fester and become too much to handle.

Don’t let mold get the best of you and your home – look for signs of infestation and snuff any mold growth immediately, while rectifying the cause. Not only will you be keeping your home sound and intact, but you’ll also be securing a safe and clean refuge for you and your family to cherish for a long time.  

Call SERVPRO of Rancho Santa Margarita at (949) 472-0992

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Things to Know About Mold

5/25/2022 (Permalink)

Mold is becoming more and more prevalent in homes and commercial buildings in Orange County, CA. It may be the musty odor you notice under your sink. Or the green, black, blue or even pink spots that begin forming on the wall. However you are alerted to the presence of mold, proper action is needed. But before you go call your handyman, contractor or neighbor there are a few things you should know.

Fungi and mold occur naturally in our environment. In fact over 100,000 different kinds of fungi have been identified. Fungi produce some very useful results. Yeast is a type of fungi used for bread, baked goods and some alcoholic beverages. The flavor in Blue Cheese is a result of mold. Even life saving Penicillin is a product of mold.

However, when a water intrusion caused by a pipe leak, weather, storm, plumbing failure, pin hole, toilet overflow, leaky dishwasher or washing machine are not taken care of immediately, problems can get worse. The types of building materials that are used in construction today tend to be prime for mold growth to occur. Even high humidity in a home can result in mold growth occurring on some of these materials. This type of mold growth is not good for humans. This grows when mold amplification occurs which increases the amount of mold spores (seeds) in the air. Mold spores are microscopic and invisible to the human eye. Proper equipment, training, PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), certification and experience is required in order to remediate the mold problem. Most handymen, contractors or neighbors do not have this type of training.

The professionals at SERVPRO of Rancho Santa Margarita/Coto De Caza/Trabuco Canyon carry all the applicable certifications, equipment and know how to get the job done properly the first time. If you are experiencing mold in your home or have had recent water damage don’t hesitate to the Professional’s at SERVPRO of Rancho Santa Margarita/Coto De Caza/Trabuco Canyon.

Call SERVPRO of Rancho Santa Margarita at (949) 472-0992

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