Don't Forget To Check For Mold

1/7/2019 (Permalink)

It’s winter and in the Mid-Atlantic region of the country, it is grey and wet!  Without much sunshine, it can start to feel even more dreary than it looks outside.  During these rather bleak months, the infestation of mold can take hold within your home.  Be proactive and take a good look around.  Check your attic when putting away the holiday decorations.  Same goes for the basement, when you’re down there doing the winter purge of too many “things” around the house.  Check bathrooms, laundry rooms, underneath kitchen sinks, wet bars, hose bibs, anywhere that water could possibly leak.  Also, don’t forget to check downspouts, gutters, chimney seams, door frames for good tight seals.  Should you detect mold, or see the tell-tale signs of water, call in the professionals at SERVPRO.

SERVPRO of Fair-Oaks-Centreville-Chantilly can be reached 24/7 on (703) 830-5800.  We’ll send a team of highly trained professionals to assess your needs and take care of your mold related issues.  So don’t let the cold, grey, weather…..and mold, get you down.  Call SERVPRO for assistance. 

How to Prevent Carpet Mold and Mildew

9/11/2018 (Permalink)

If you have recently experienced flooding or water leakage in your home, take steps to stop the water source and call the local SERVPRO professionals. If you are able to stop the water from infiltrating your home, start to dry the affected areas.  To prevent mold from growing and to avoid that mildew smell, get out the fans to help dry the area.  If you own a dehumidifier, use it to dry out the air, walls, and ground along with the fans.

Taking these initial steps will help mitigate the damage while the SERVPRO team is on their way. SERVPRO, with industrial strength blowers, dehumidifiers, clean-up equipment, and products, will be able to get your home back to its original condition while avoiding the onset of mold and mildew.

Don't Roll the Dice With Your Health

9/11/2018 (Permalink)

Ugh....Mold!

Mold is a nasty roommate that nobody should live with! Mold is also stubborn and although you may see some in obvious places, it is often hidden in remote areas throughout the home. It can be in carpet padding, inside walls, behind picture frames, in attics, to name but a few of molds hiding places. Don't roll the dice on mold remediation as a weekend DIY project. When disturbed, mold emits what are called "mold spores", which become airborne and can be ingested when breathing. Mold can be the cause of minor to significant health problems, so don't roll the dice with your health. Put a sure bet on the table by calling in the professionals. Get the job done right by bringing in the SERVPRO professional team; your trained and licensed mold remediation specialists.

Could my Attic Create Mold Issues?

9/4/2018 (Permalink)

"Leaks in the Attic" May be Worse Than "Bats in the Attic"!

Leaky roofs and malfunctioning gutters and downspouts are leading culprits with respect to water damage and mold.  Often, such leaks take a prolong period of time to seep down through the attic and into the ceilings and walls below.  This delay in recognizing that you have a problem, coupled with a hot, moist, and humid attic, is the "perfect storm" for the growth of mold. We all like to use our attics to store our extra belongings, but mold should not be one of them!

Should you experience a problem with your roof,  gutters or downspouts, don't delay, immediately contact your local SERVPRO professionals to come and inspect your attic. Getting your attic dry and any mold remediated, will put you and your family at ease.    

Some Jobs are Best Left to the Pro’s

8/29/2018 (Permalink)

Sometimes You Need to Call in the Professional!

Did you go away on vacations and return to find your home taken over by mold?  Not the homecoming anyone wants, but one that happens often.  Water leaks, heat, and humidity, can result in the invasive presence of mold. Should you find mold in our home, whether it is in the attic, bathroom or garage, be on the lookout for more.  For example, if you find mold in your attic, it may in fact also be behind the walls running down from the attic area.  If mold is in your garage, it may also be in the adjacent walls and flooring within your house.

Confused on what to do to remediate the situation?   Don’t be; simply call in the professionals at SERVPRO and continue to bask in the afterglow of your recent vacation.

For Mold Remediation Services, call SERVPRO of Fair Oaks-Centreville-Chantilly on (703) 830-5800 or email us at, sp9686focc@verizon.net.

Do It Yourself Mold Removal in Fairfax Virginia

4/3/2018 (Permalink)

Moisture can create microbial growth

Many homeowners are interested in do it yourself mold removal. They want to know how to clean mold themselves because they want to save money. Some also like the satisfaction of doing a job themselves. In some cases, it makes sense to handle a household mold problem yourself. Sometimes, though, it’s necessary to call in a professional that knows how to clean mold, like SERVPRO of FairOaks-Centreville-Chantilly.

When Is Removing Mold Yourself a Good Idea?

Cleaning up mold yourself may be a good idea if:

• The mold only covers a small area.
• The mold is growing on easy-to-clean surfaces like glass, metal, tile, tubs, or sinks.
• The mold is growing on hard-to-clean materials, like carpet, that are easy to remove and replace and you know how to do it properly.
• You don’t have any health problems likely to be made worse by increased exposure to mold (check with your doctor if you’re not sure if it’s safe for you to clean up a mold problem yourself).

Of course, you always have the option of hiring a professional for the job if you don’t want to do it yourself or simply don’t have the time or energy for what can be a time-consuming process.

When Is Do It Yourself Mold Removal Not Such a Good Idea?

In some situations, it’s better to call in a mold remediation professional for assistance. Cleaning up mold yourself is probably not such a good idea if:

• The mold covers a large area (greater than three feet by three feet, according to the Environmental Protection Agency).
• Mold develops after flooding with water that might be contaminated with sewage or other potentially hazardous substances.
• There is mold in your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system (most homeowners have neither the knowledge nor the equipment needed to properly remove mold from their HVAC systems).
• You aren’t sure how to do all parts of the job correctly (if, for instance, there is mold inside your walls and you don’t know how to remove and replace drywall) or you don’t have all the tools required to do the job (such as a drywall saw, if you need to remove moldy drywall).
• You have moldy wood that cannot be removed and replaced, so the moldy area needs to be sanded and encapsulated instead (it’s recommended that only mold remediation professionals sand moldy wood since it significantly increases one’s exposure to mold, which can lead to potentially serious illnesses).
• You have a medical condition that might be made worse by increased exposure to mold, like asthma, environment allergies, or an immune system disorder (check with your doctor if you’re not sure if increased exposure to mold may exacerbate your medical condition).
• You are already experiencing symptoms of mold-related illness, such as sneezing, coughing, runny nose, shortness of breath, wheezing, headaches, sore throat, or chronic sinus infections.

In some instances, homeowners handle part of the job themselves while calling in a professional for other parts of the job, like removing mold from their HVAC system.

For Help with Mold Removal

If you need help with mold removal, or if you’d just like some professional advice before beginning do it yourself mold removal, we suggest consulting with a mold remediation specialist in Fairfax County. You can schedule a free in-home consultation with a professional that knows how to clean mold. You can get some free expert advice and then determine whether or not it’s a job you’re prepared to tackle yourself. There is no charge and no obligation, so there’s nothing to lose.

If you suspect mold that you cannot handle or want advice on contact SERVPRO of FairOaks-Centreville-Chantilly at 703-830-5800

Got Mold? Better Call SERVPRO

12/6/2017 (Permalink)

Mold Thrives Under the Right Conditions

Mold remediation is one of our primary areas of expertise here at SERVPRO^® of Fair Oaks-Centreville-Chantilly. We have the training and experience to contain the infestation, scrub health-threatening spores out of the air, remove the contaminated materials, and help prevent future microbial growth.

A Moldy Situation

Imagine you were cleaning out a storage closet at work, and you found mold growing on the back wall. Most likely this year, an ice dam supplied the water that created an ideal situation for microbes to grow in this closet. Once you identified and resolved the source of the leak, you would still want to contact a professional to mitigate the mold and ensure healthy air for your employees and customers to breathe.

Containing the Infestation

When SERVPRO^® franchise professionals begin a mold job, our first concern is to contain the mold infestation. The mold you can see is only a small part of the danger posed to building occupants. Mold reproduces by releasing invisible spores into the air. These spores pose the real hazard for those who breathe the air in the infested building. Therefore, we begin by preventing air from the contaminated area traveling to other parts of the building.

Scrubbing Mold Out of the Air

Each job is unique in its challenges and solutions. However, in most cases, a SERVPRO^® mold mitigation team will set up a containment barrier and create a “negative air” situation inside the infested area. A “negative air” situation is essentially a vacuum that ensures air only flows into and not out of the contained area while the air scrubbers filter the spores and other contaminants from the air.

Removing Contaminated Materials

Organic materials like drywall, carpeting, and ceiling tiles must be removed and discarded once they become contaminated with mold. This is why we encourage people to contact us immediately after a water loss to dry all the materials before microbial growth begins. Blowing a fan across moldy materials hoping to dry them and save them spreads mold spores in the air and increases the health risk to building occupants.  

Inhibiting Future Growth

SERVPRO^® franchise professionals can never promise to prevent all future mold growth. Mold spores are everywhere in the atmosphere, and they take root and thrive whenever they find the perfect mix of moisture, food (organic materials) and temperature. However, our team does have several products that discourage microbial growth. Once your moldy materials have been removed and the air has been scrubbed to reduce the concentration of spores, we can apply one of these anti-microbial agents to help protect your building’s structural elements.

Call SERVPRO^® for Mold ASAP

When you see mold, remember you cannot see the biggest threat that mold presents. Contact our Chantilly, VA mold remediation team at 703-830-5800 for a free estimate and good advice about protecting yourself and other building occupants until the mold is removed and the air is clean again.