When a water disaster damages your home, it is important to quickly call the experts to clean up and restore your property. Time is of the essence to dry and dehumidify the areas affected by water damage. A professional team can mitigate any further damages and avoid reaching the mold and mildew stage. But what if a small water leak starts behind your sheetrock or under the floorboards of your home without you knowing until a more significant problem is created? Mold and mildew can build up behind the walls or in unused areas of the house. Then, besides the water damage, the mold must be addressed too.
Most restoration companies are able to treat the most minor concerns of mold up to the larger areas of mold. Because mold can cause health risks, it is important to call in the experts when mold is found inside the home. Many areas of the home are at risk of developing mold problems. Here is a list of areas to check for mold:
If your roof has a hole in it, rain or melted snow can easily seep into the rafters of your roof and assist in growing mold and mildew. If the hole is left unrepaired, the rain and snow melt can continue to travel down the walls, into closets, out through ceiling lights (which could be dangerous), or even simply leak from the ceiling. If mold is found in a ceiling area, check the attic and consider getting your roof fixed. Call a mold expert to treat the areas of the house where mold could be found. Other concerns in the attic may also exist, as insulation needs to be checked and possibly removed if it is wet.
Kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, utility rooms, and other rooms with plumbing have the potential to hide leaky pipes. Tiny leaks can go unnoticed until a patch of mold is seen or other evidence of mold or water damage. Call your mold expert to see how far it reaches, and be sure to have all the mold removed from your home and fix the little leak that started it all.
Since water rolls downward, the basement might be one of the first breeding grounds that develops mold. Many plumbing pipes are often located in the basement or crawlspace. Open drains can be found in the lowest part of the home’s flooring. In older homes, the bib to an exterior faucet may need to be replaced, and simply using a hose outside can lead to a water leak in the basement.
Any hint of the smell of mold or mildew should be enough to alarm you to call a professional. Checking your house from top to bottom is a good practice. Sometimes a seemingly small patch of mold can actually be a larger problem lurking behind the walls. Our mold experts at Five Valleys can locate the mold and make sure it is removed safely.
