Found Mold? Don’t Panic!

This article provides tips on what you should and should not do if you find mold in your home or commercial property.

Please call us if you have questions or send us an e-mail.

Mold Is A Serious Issue!

Mold Is A Serious Issue!

Puritan Restoration is passionate about educating our readers in Newton, MA and other surrounding areas about indoor air quality issues and mold.

Molds are very common in buildings in Massachusetts. Moisture is the key ingredient mold needs to grow. Common molds found in businesses include Cladosporium, Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Alternaria.

The problem with mold is it is everywhere because it is nature’s recycler. Mold has a purpose in our ecosystem to break down dead organic material. Biologically speaking, mold digests organic material and returns the resources to the soil so new life can begin.

Mold is a problem when it begins growing in your business because it can release toxins into the air that can make your customers and employees sick. In addition, as mold feeds, it breaks down the structural integrity of the building structure which erodes the value of the property and can also pose a hazard to the building occupants.

Mold spores enter your business from the outside through open doorways, windows, the HVAC system, and people because spores attach themselves to clothing and shoes. Once the spores are in your business, mold will begin to grow if there is excessive moisture which could be caused by high humidity, leaky pipes, a leaky roof, water events such as flooding, etc.

The perfect food for mold includes paper and paper products, cardboard, ceiling tiles, wood and wood products, and carpet. Other materials like dust, paints, wallpaper, insulation materials, drywall, carpet, fabric, and upholstery, commonly support mold growth when they’re wet. In short, most commercial properties provide the perfect food for mold.

Call Professionals!

Call Professionals!

If you find mold in your business:

1. Don’t Panic! Likely the mold has been there for awhile, so don’t panic. Call Puritan Restoration so that we can evaluate the problem and provide you with the best course of action to protect your employees and customers.
2. Don’t Ignore Your Mold Problem! If you find mold, one of the worst things you can do is ignore it. Mold can’t grow without a water source. Long term water damage can create structural damage and provide a breeding ground for termites. If you find mold, finding the source of the water damage is the key to preventing further mold damage.
3. Don’t Spray It! Trying to kill the mold is not the answer. If you find mold, the temptation might be to spray it with cleaners. Spraying mold will will make the situation worse because this will release more mold spores into the air causing the mold contamination to spread.
4. Don’t Disturb The Affected Area Without Containing the Contamination! If you find mold, you might be tempted to use a serrated knife to cut the carpet or dry wall. If you do, you’ll shake the contamination and liberate the spores into the air. Do NOT remove anything (carpets, drywall, furniture, etc.) unless you have first contained the area to prevent mold spores from spreading.
5. Don’t Use Bleach! There’s lots of misinformation out there on the web that recommends using bleach to clean mold. But if you use bleach, you’ll only make the mold problem worse. Bleach is mostly water and mold loves water.
6. Don’t Use Fans! If you find mold and moisture together you might be tempted to dry the area using fans. If you do this, you’ll only spread the mold contamination to the rest of your home or commercial building.

The primary reason you should not try to remove mold yourself relates to the potential liability concerns around mold and health. Mold is linked to upper respiratory tract symptoms, like chronic sinus infections, cough, and wheeze in otherwise healthy people; with asthma symptoms in people with asthma; and with hypersensitivity pneumonitis in individuals susceptible to that immune-mediated condition.

Considering the potential health concerns caused by mold, the primary reason you should not remove mold yourself is to protect your business from a potential lawsuit where customers or employees claim that mold in the business made them sick. In addition, if you do try to remove the mold yourself and do not follow proper industry standards, you could actually make the problem worse.

Contact Puritan Restoration if you find mold in your business because we are trained to remove the mold properly, have the proper insurance, and most importantly, follow mold removal guidelines stipulated by the IICRC’s S520, the industry standard for professional mold removal.

1. All our technicians are trained to protect themselves – with safety equipment such as respirator air masks, tyvek suits, and protective gloves. And, they’re trained to protect you and your property too.
2. We create containment and apply HEPA air filtration. This prevents cross-contamination to other areas of the business.
3. We create negative air so that the affected area is vented to the outdoors where mold belongs.
4. We HEPA vacuum and clean the affected area to remove surface growth.
5. We remove all cellulose containing materials – like drywall and carpet – that the mold penetrated.
6. We apply anti-microbial solution to clean and protect the area and prevent future growth.
7. Then we HEPA vacuum every surface again.
8. Finally, we may encapsulate the area – when necessary.

Puritan Restoration Understands Your Business Needs!

Finding mold in your commercial building can create significant concerns.

Our team of professionals will ensure that mold in your business is removed safely and effectively.

As a business owner or property manager we know you have multiple competing concerns:

1. We know you want and need to keep the business open for business so there’s minimal loss of revenue.
2. We also know you need to assure the health and safety of your employees as well as your customers.
3. Cost containment is as essential as having us build containment while solving a mold contamination problem.

Puritan Restoration provide safe, fast, effective commercial mold remediation with limited down-time so you can be back in business fast.

We’ll locate the moisture problems that caused the mold to grow and and advise you on how to correct the problem.

Then, we’ll provide containment to seal off the contamination from the rest of the building. This keeps your employees, customers, students, or hotel guests safe while we remove the danger of toxic mold. And, we’ll work quickly so that you’ll have a minimum of business disruption. Our goal is simple. We want to get your commercial property back clean, dry, safe, sanitized, and ready for business again!

Got Mold Questions?

Got Mold Questions?

Puritan Restoration is an expert at mold removal. We are mold detection and mold removal professionals. Our team follows a step by step procedure to ensure that your mold removal is done safely and right the first time. Peace of mind is just a phone call away, 617-527-2229. We look forward to serving you. 🙂