Water Everywhere
The river is rising quite fast and you watch looking beneath the house as the water creeps up. up, up. It begins to seep and then run in streams inside. You are standing outside watching as the water level rises and wonder how it will affect your home. If the water can invade your home through a tiny crack, what’s next? Can it invade everything. Will it generate more cracks and get into the electrical, soak the carpet, make a soggy mess of the sub-floor?
Water will penetrate the slightest crack, crevasse, hole. It will settle comfortably in carpets and upholstery. And everywhere it settles, water is the giant petri dish with the needed food for growing mold.
Black Mold
What is black mold and why does it cause such fear? Most of us have seen books that were left out overnight leaving some pages covered with black spots-with black mold. As mold grows it throws out spores, called micro toxins, we can’t see but can inhale and ingest. Both are dangerous and may bring serious problems. If these spores are ingested regularly, the person may have trouble breathing. Breathing in spores can cause coughing, wheezing, runny nose.
Mold may not be causing the problems, as nothing has been absolutely proven, as the symptoms are so common it is hard to separate what is caused from mold. but many people who have ingested or inhaled these spores have these symptoms. In some cases, things get worse. Some have even gotten pneumonia. Don’t forget pets who may also be affected.
Where Did It Come From
You live in a nice house, haven’t had a river or hurricane execute water damage. The house is high and clear as are all the houses around. Your two children and now your new baby are having trouble, all sneezing, coughing and complaining of a sore throat. The doctor says the baby is in danger of getting pneumonia.
Unknown by you, your bathroom has been leaking water inside the wall going where it can’t be seen and doesn’t cause trouble you can see from outside the wall, down the inside wood foundation to the sub basement structure. The water sits in this inside river and now has the wood in some sensitive area rotted. The reason the water in the wall rotted when wood that floats in the ocean doesn’t is that the water in the wall comes to a standstill in a warm humid place.
Mold needs humidity more than it needs water.
How to Grow Mold
Have you seen water that remained in a small child’s pool and formed alga and mold? Air that is warm absorbs more water than colder air. To grow mold, moisture is needed. The air gathers humidity and becomes warm and that water is stable and sits without much movement over a period of time and voila, mold will form. Once it has formed, it begins throwing out spores.
So wood that has water staying on it inside that wall, will likely grow mold and mold will rot the house.
That Fire Damage
Fires can be small and make a lot of smoke and the fire department, eager to put the fire out, sprays water not only on the fire but on the rest of the building. Smoke will cause a lot of damage.
I had a restaurant burn down and the acrid smell was so bad it sent us to the hospital the day after the fire was out. But the water damage was all inclusive. No amount of wiping down and cleaning got rid of it.
The water was in and on everything, but not just in what we could see, but beneath solid wood and finishes, down in cracks we could not see. The only way to get the mess cleaned up was to call professional cleaners who knew what they were doing.
Mold Doesn’t Die
Can you clean up the problem and expect the mold to go away? The answer is no. And it doesn’t matter whether you are in Allentown PA or any other location – this will always be true. Allentown water damage remediation is necessary or mold will be an issue. Mold will dry and seem dead but give it some warmth and humidity and it is alive again sending out spores. Getting rid of mold is not an easy job. Purex that is identified as mold removal will work if all the mold can be cleaned. Professionals coat the finish with a sealer to help keep the mold from reappearing.
When to See a Doctor Due to Mold Exposure
Since mold has not been proven to cause illness, going to the doctor is what is normal for serious problems. Go to the doctor if:
Asthma is worse and doesn’t respond to usual remedies
You have trouble breathing’
You bleed from mouth or nose