Mold Damage Experts in Chicago Talk About Problems Related to High Relative Humidity Levels

7/8/2018 (Permalink)

When mold happens in your home, contact SERVPRO right away for best results.

SERVPRO Technicians Quickly Investigate and Then Remediate the Mold Infestation in Your Home

Any time something gets wet inside your Chicago building, the relative humidity indoors rises. When materials get affected by moisture, they can absorb it, slowly evaporating it into the air. As the water moves from the contents or building materials inside your house, it goes into the air and raises the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. As humidity levels inside your home rise, many problems can take place. Since microbes need the correct temperature, an organic food source, and moisture to develop, high relative humidity levels can be dangerous.
 
In some cases, if the humidity levels inside a structure stay elevated for too long the moisture in the air can cause microbial growth. When mitigating mold damage in Chicago, monitoring humidity levels is essential to determining the source of the contamination. Controlling the relative humidity levels inside a house is also vital when treating fungal growth and preventing it from spreading. In many scenarios when the source of the growth is not obvious, the fungi formed due to escalated humidity levels.
 
If abnormally high humidity levels are believed to be the cause of the microbial development, our SERVPRO technicians first determine why the relative humidity rose in the first place. Once we figure out which materials are wet causing more moisture to exist in the air, we dry them out. If the source of the elevated humidity levels is a slow water leak somewhere inside the building, we find out how to repair the slow leak.
 
Once our SERVPRO team determines how to control the humidity levels, we treat or remove the contaminated materials depending on how severe the contamination got. If the fungal growth has been deeply rooted into the item, then it gets removed in sealed plastic bags. If the contamination has only affected an object's surface, then it can be sanded and sprayed with a specialized sealant paint.
 
Once the fungi that exist on buildings materials gets removed, we then set up drying equipment to return humidity and moisture levels to preloss conditions. Air movers create air circulation that speeds up the natural evaporation process, while dehumidifiers pull moisture out of the air. If you ever notice mold developing as a result of high humidity levels, call SERVPRO of Hyde Park / E. Bridgeport / Bronzeville at (312) 509-5000 seven days a week.

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