Removing Mold Damage In Chicago Area Homes

8/23/2018 (Permalink)

Like fires though, the mold is a year-round problem for every house, duplex, or apartment.

Removing Mold Damage

At this time of year, Chicago homeowners are more concerned with fires from the record heat than mold growing in their attics or basements. Like fires though, the mold is a year-round problem for every house, duplex, or apartment.

Mold damage to Chicago homes can happen anywhere, from the attic, and down through the walls. SERVPRO restoration teams understand that damage is not limited to the outward appearance either. When mold grows undetected for a long enough period, it can infest the insulation everywhere.

Insulation (blown-in or rolled) compresses and loses its ability to reflect or trap heat when it becomes infested. The loss happens faster when it becomes wet, so sprays are not a good choice. Foggers can spread anti-fungal agents across the attic and down the walls, but they do not remove the physical mold colony which weighs down the insulation. To ensure a mold-free home, SERVPRO technicians remove the insulation, scrape clean the area, and use chemical agents to kill any trace of active mold growth.

For attics, our team members pull up the rolled insulation, bag it to prevent accidentally transferring mold to other parts of the property, and then remove it for disposal. For blown-in insulation, they start with a commercial vacuum to remove it to a sealed bag outside the home. In roof corners and other hard to reach areas, our teams use scrapping tools to remove the last, small amounts. After removal, for both types of insulation, technicians either spray the area or use a fogger to ensure no active, growing spores remain.

For mold in walls, the task of removal has additional steps. Team members remove the drywall or other material and then pull out the rolled insulation or vacuum out the blown-in variety. Before removal, technicians also seal off the room to prevent accidental contamination to other parts of the home. After removing the affected insulation, they spray down the open wall space to kill any active spores.

At SERVPRO of Hyde Park / E. Bridgeport / Bronzeville, our goal is to return every home affected by a mold growth to a clean, safe condition as quickly as possible. If you suspect or can see mold in your home, call us at (312) 509-5000 today to schedule a visit.

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