Mold remediation

Mold remediation is the process by which a certified and/or trained professional performs the removal and/or cleanup of mold from an indoor environment. Mold is normally found indoors at levels that do not affect most healthy individuals. When these levels become abnormally high as determined by indoor air quality testing or a mold inspection remediation is recommended to be carried out by a professional remediation company.

Mold Inspections should be performed by a party certified as a Council-certified Indoor Environmentalist or Council-certified Microbial Investigator by the American Indoor Air Quality Council. In the state of Texas there is legislation dictating who can and cannot perform investigation. There are several other organizations who claim to certify, however the IAQ Council is the CESB standard for the mold practice.

Four typical steps of professional mold remediation

• Containment: Technicians isolate the area of contamination to minimize the spread of mold spores to other areas of the home.
• Filtration: HEPA air filters and negative air machines run continuously throughout the project. Mold spores, dust, MVOCs, gaseous compounds (i.e. Radon), and other airborne debris are removed from the air.
• Mold Removal and Cleanup: Contaminated materials that cannot be cleaned are removed according to mold remediation standards. Sheetrock, carpet, furniture, and other damaged materials will have to be replaced to prevent mold from returning.

Mold Testing & Mold Inspection

Mold testing is the process by which an Indoor Air Quality professional tests for mold in an indoor environment.  Mold is everywhere in our environment.  It is an important part of our ecosystem as it plays a major role in the decomposition of decaying plant matter.  Mold testing is performed around the principle of comparative analysis.  Having mold in an indoor environment in and of it self is not a problem. However, mold becomes a potential health problem when indoor concentrations reach levels far and above normal human exposure limits.

It is important to note that the science and understand of mold and how it affects the human body is still in its infancy.  Alternatively, the science and understand of mold and or how to test for its presence (mold testing) is well established. If you put together a focus group of the nation’s most renowned medical professionals and asked them if mold is an allergen you would have almost uniform consensus across the board that mold is indeed an allergen. However, if you asked the same group if “toxic mold” or “black mold” stachybotrys can cause Pulmonary Hemorrhage in infants the consensus would all but disappear.  What is important to remember is that mold is an allergen which can cause allergy in susceptible individuals.  Hiring a professional mold inspection company to perform mold testing in your home or office is a definitive way to test for its presence.