Basement Mold Removal
Basement Mold
So You've Got Mold in Your Basement? Now What?
Simple Strategies for Understanding and Correcting Basement Mold
THESE WALLS ARE HOLDING THOUSANDS OF GALLONS OF WATER!
Concrete walls can store up to thousands of gallons of water before ever showing physical signs, such as this display of obvious physical seepage.
Basement mold is extremely common across all climates. Basement mold is generally directly attributable to a few basic causes:
- Failure of the builder to actually waterproof basement when built.
- Clogged drainage tiles.
- Failure of builder to install drainage pipes and a vapor barrier under the floor slab coupled with a high water table.
- Attached Crawl space with no vapor barrier and or coupled with wet crawl walls.
We will briefly discuss each problem and the appropriate remedy as well as covering the basic strategies offered in our area and why our systems are SUPERIOR to all of our so-called "competitors".
By far the most common cause of all water problems is the failure of the builder to apply a waterproof rated product to the wall when the house is being built. It is a common misconception that smearing tar on the wall protects the wall from water and is in fact waterproof.
Wrong!
Have you ever known anyone that had an asphalt driveway?
Have you ever known anyone that had an asphalt driveway?
How often did they Have-To Re- Seal it?
When I was a kid growing up two of my neighbors had an ongoing debate about their driveways. The first swore you needed to seal it every single year, and he did. The second one swore every two years was enough. I can still hear them arguing now in my mind's eye... The sad truth is that according to the US Bureau of Standards asphalt sealants begin to break down in only 18 months, YIKES! You see the sad truth is they were both right! And these so called water-proofers charge an average of ten to fifteen grand just to dig up the basement and seal it again using what FAILED already.
You See Tar Has Never Been Rated as Waterproof
Did you know that in the building codes there are actually two separate definitions for damp-proofing (tar) and waterproofing. Damp proofing by definition means "something that helps to slow the penetration of water into the substrate". HHMMM "helps to slow" sounds quite different than the definition of waterproofing "something that prevents the penetration of water" and further must pass a bending test where the membrane must be able to be bent around a cylinder.
Water proof sealants are almost all exclusively used and installed COMMERCIALLY...
That's because they are more expensive. The extra costs are what stop the average contractor from offering you, the homeowner, a product that is effective and will last and "stand the test of time".
Molds produce tiny spores to reproduce. Mold spores waft through the indoor and outdoor air continually. When mold spores land on a damp spot indoors, they may begin growing and digesting whatever they are growing on in order to survive. There are molds that can grow on wood, paper, carpet, fabric, and foods. When excessive moisture or water accumulates indoors, mold growth will often occur, particularly if the moisture problem remains undiscovered or un-addressed. There is no practical way to eliminate all mold and mold spores in the indoor environment; the way to control indoor mold growth is to control moisture. This information was provided courtesy of the EPA in the pamphlet: "A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home" [EPA 402-K-02-003]
In a basement the walls may not be leaking or puddling physically, yet the blocks can still be holding thousands of gallons of water. Both concrete blocks and terra cotta (red brick) tiles are hollow and can store potentially hundreds even thousands of gallons of water. This stored water often generates enough humidity to create spontaneous generation of mold. If the mold is visibly growing on concrete blocks, it actually isn't. Mold's only job is to de-compose or break down once living matter. This means: concrete, metal, glass, plastic, etc... are very poor mediums on which to grow mold. Mold will however grow on the fine dust that covers just about everything in a home. This dust, called bio-film, contains all sorts of things that were once alive (dead skin cells, dust mites, dust-mite feces, algae, etc...) The mold that grows on non-porous surfaces, using this dust or bio-film, is the only true surface-only mold that exists. When a mold grows on things that were once alive it sends its hyphae (roots) deep into the substrate on average at least 3/16 of an inch. The "roots" are actually the body of the organism.
What we see gathered on the surface that we think of as mold, is only the spore or seeds gathered together by the millions or billions. Ten thousand spores will fit on the head of a pin, and in just one square inch there may be over a million. This presents a serious challenge for any clean up, since when the mold is disturbed the spores go air-born. That's why most homeowner and even some contractor attempts to clean up the mold actually worsen the situation by "planting" the newly air-born spore all over everything.
In other words they actually plant new mold problems, while attempting to clean up the existing one! How horrifying!
The reason that mold in the basement causes health issues, more than in almost any other area of the home is that most homes have forced air heat, and the furnace is in the basement.
This means that the furnace draws in air from the basement and if there is a mold problem it spreads the moldy air and spores ALL OVER THE HOUSE!
In fact many times I get called in after the homeowners have spent thousands of dollars to "waterproof" their basements, and THOUSANDS MORE to turn it into finished space. All that money and hard work, only to find mold growing on newly installed drywall. This happened to one of my customers named Bonnie Rembowski. She had hired a big local company and they installed an inside system. She then hired a contractor to remodel her basement. They hung new dry wall and framed new walls. She had new carpeting installed and everything seemed perfect until ....
Bonnie kept getting sick.
She was treated for recurring bronchitis many times over a period of about six months. Finally one day Bonnie's doctor suggested to her that she have her house checked for mold. Bonnie called me. I began inspecting the basement and I immediately began to notice mold growing along the bottom several feet on all the newly dry-walled walls that had just been "waterproofed". I began inspecting the inside system and I discovered that :
Even though a permit was pulled ...
Even though the drainage pipes were inspected and installed properly...
Even though there was no puddling or physical seepage...
the system was NOT WORKING . The reason why became apparent after we broke open the floor and inspected the weep holes- JUST AS I SUSPECTED. The walls were not draining do to improper weep hole placement.
Notice that these blocks do not have weep holes drilled where the blocks meet which is a MUST!
Poor Bonnie,
WE HAD TO COMPLETELY GUT THE BRAND NEW BASEMENT ...
and disinfect everything to stop the mold and help her STOP GETTING SICK. She contacted the waterproofing company who did the job WRONG. They told her there was nothing they could do under the warranty since technically the basement hadn't leaked (it was just DONE WRONG in the first place).
Poor Bonnie then had to hire us to fix the basement problem TOO! Unfortunately this is not the first time this has happened to me and sadly I'm afraid it WON'T be the last.
Unfortunately there are as many "treatments" for mold as there are remediators out in the real world offering "mold remediation". Basement mold problems are especially challenging for a homeowner to solve as the mold industry has no National Guides so the list of options is confusing and often indecipherable with the average "mold guy" promising the latest craze. Mold spores can grow at alarming rates.
One mold spore can develop into 12 million in twelve hours!
Also the mold is feeding on the boards, and what you can see with the naked eye are millions and millions of them clumped together. What you can't see are the "roots" The organism itself.
The roots of mold grow into the substrate at least 3/16 of an inch. What we think of as the mold,the clumped spores, are actually the fruit or reproductive body like an apple to an apple tree.
Just like with a dandelion, with mold, you must kill the tap root, to destroy the organism.
You cannot hope to solve a mold problem leaving these roots and treating only the surface of the wood. Also, the majority of the chemicals being used on the market today, contain known cancer-causing chemicals and, worse, do not work on porous surfaces (every surface in a basement).
Generally there are three basic steps to a mold abatement:
1.Assessment: this means performing a minimum of a visual onsite inspection or inspection of photos or satellite imagery, and or possibly a series of tests to determine the scope of the infested or problem areas. Testing can be designed to determine the air-born levels of mold as well as Determining whether or not mold exists and is growing behind the walls with a wall cavity sample. Testing can also determine whether or not there are health risks ascribed to a particular type of mold. The assessment also involves a written project guide called a protocol plan which has been designed by the Mold Inspector specific to your individual project.
2.Abatement/containment: this is the actual establishment of controls to prevent contaminating the rest of the structure during the clean up as well as the actual clean up itself. Abatement is the most important reason to hire a clean-up contractor who has the tools necessary to keep the rest of the structure from contamination during the clean up process.
3.Verification/Guarantee: Also known as clearance testing or a service warranty designed to authenticate the work and to verify that the mold clean up was successful. A series of air test can performed at extra cost to ensure that the mold levels have been brought to within the same levels or lower levels than the out door control samples.
The mold certifying authorities recommend putting the basement under negative pressure. This means using expensive equipment to suck more air into the basement than escapes from it. The next recommendation is to remove the contaminated porous materials into plastic bags which are taped shut. Then to HEPA vacuum the joist boards and ceiling. Next, manually wash all of the same areas with a detergent solution. Finally to correct the water source (USUALLY,Waterproof the basement).
The Problem: This is an extremely man hour intensive process that costs a ton of money. It also does nothing to address the spores (mold seeds) or to address the roots (the organism itself).
The other contractors in the area use a variety of techniques that can be broken into three main groups: the fog and Encapsulators (spray and spray painters), the bleach and ozonators, and the franchise users.
First group the fog and encapsulators: by far the most common, I call these guys the spray poison/ spray painters; these contractors will tell you that all that is necessary is to go into the basement and fog or spray a "magic" mold killing chemical and then to "encapsulate" the mold using a poisoned, special mold inhibiting paint.
Many of these charlatans will not even admit that their encapsulant is a paint.
Usually the paint they use has a heavy metal added to it like copper or tin or zinc. Sometimes they have a toxic chemical added to them to discourage mold growth. In rare cases the paint itself is made of special solids which do not lend themselves to mold growth.
The problem: These contractors almost exclusively use fungicides that are not sporicidal. This means that they do not kill spores and most of them will not penetrate a porous substrate (like wood).
This means that when they apply the "encapsulant" (poison paint) they are applying it directly over the moldy roots. This is a huge no -no as the vapor barrier forming nature of latex paints can cause dew-point to be achieved between the paint and the wood itself.
Another huge issue with encapsulating is that it screams to home inspectors that there was a problem here in the past. Usually only a mold problem or a fire will result in the basement painting technique which will scare away many a worthy buyer out of fear.
Have you ever seen what happens when you lay a piece of plastic sheeting or drop-cloth on the ground overnight in the summertime? Did you ever notice those beads of water or dew? That's because the Earths temperature in the summertime is cooler than the outdoor air. They even teach our Navy Seals how to get water from the air in the desert based on this principle.
This is precisely what happens when you treat a basement mold problem with any kind of encapsulating paint. What happens is this, the paint begins to delaminate as dew-point is achieved between the paint film and the wood itself.
Many, many, times, I have seen mold growing directly on Mold-proof paint!
The way that happens is this: mold proof or poisoned paint cannot support mold growth; however if the paint gets a thin coating of dust, the mold can colonize this dust, called bio-film directly. Bio-film is composed of dust mites, dead skin cells, dust mite feces pollen dander and other disgusting things. The mold can start growing on the dust and then nearly all molds can lay down a sticky enzyme layer and begin to capture food right out of the air!
Last year we had to re-treat over 40 of these attic mold jobs, that had been "professionally treated" in the last year alone!
This area was treated by a "certified mold remediator" notice the paint coming off in strips. Also mold colonies can be seen growing directly on the "mold proof" paint or "encapsulant". Needless to say the homeowner had to hire us to correct the "corrected" problem! These means he had to pay to treat the same space twice! Ludicrous, but true!
These contractors will go into the basement and spray bleach onto the wood. The reason is to remove the stains, many of these companies will not admit they are using bleach! Just ask them what the active ingredient is in their "stain remover" if it is sodium hypochlorite " its bleach.
After the use of the bleach they usually will run an ozone cannon to get rid of the strong bleach smell! These contractors usually refuse to warranty their work.
I have even heard the claim that the Ozone cannons they use will turn the spores into ash. Balderdash! I have been responsibly using ozone gas for 10 years it never once turned any mold into ash(or anything like it)..
These contractors will go into the basement and spray bleach onto the wood. The reason is to remove the stains, many of these companies will not admit they are using bleach! Just ask them what the active ingredient is in their "stain remover" if it is sodium hypochlorite " its bleach.
After the use of the bleach they usually will run an ozone cannon to get rid of the strong bleach smell! These contractors usually refuse to warranty their work.
I have even heard the claim that the Ozone cannons they use will turn the spores into ash. Balderdash! I have been responsibly using ozone gas for 10 years it never once turned any mold into ash(or anything like it).
The roots are the most important part to destroy. If you don't kill the roots, its like yanking a dandelion top in your yard and not pulling the tap root! Give it a drink of water and it comes right back.
Also when bleach is used on wood it releases a powerful environmental toxin called Dioxin.
This noxious poison was responsible for destroying the ecosystems near our paper mills in the pacific northwest and in the southeastern united States. While the ozone cannons will destroy the chemicals off gassed by the bleach this technique leaves the complete root structure intact, and guarantees that if you ever have a new water leak the mold will go right into full production and the mold problem will immediately return.
These mold contractors have bought into a "system" or a franchise most often using toxic chemicals which can harm you and your family. These are typically the least knowledgeable about the topic matter as the bought the franchise because they were not in the industry.
The Problem: Often their warranties aren't worth the paper they are printed on as they only agree to replace the chemicals if they fail. There is a huge difference between a product warranty and an "Iron-Clad Service Warranty"....
Usually the fine print in the warranty makes it worthless. Often these are money seekers who use low dollar labor, as the owners only bought into the franchise so they didn't have to work on the job (just like Subway Sandwich shops).
Some contractors will tell the customer the truth about all of the poisonous chemical that are so ineffective that are being used by the majority of the contractors out there. They will explain some of the things I will tell you as well. What's necessary they say is not to use a chemical but rather to abrade or scratch the surface of the wood with tiny little particles like sand blasting. They either subscribe to the soda blasting method or the dry ice blasting method. In both cases the contractor uses a wand attached to a hose and hopper which is connected to a high power air compressor. The operator sprays tiny little particles of ground up dry ice or baking soda at high pressure and high velocity or speed directly against the boards themselves.
The end result of either is a pretty, stain-free, normal-looking board. When these contractors are finished the jobs usually look great. The reason is simple by "blasting" or abrading the surface of the wood they are able to remove surface pigmentation or discoloration of the wood. The pigments are usually located in the surface first 1/16th of an inch on the wood. This is the only mechanical removal technique other than direct surface sanding that will achieve pigment removal and apparent mold eradication. The use of dry ice results in nothing left but the gas the soda blasting method requires that tedious labor intensive tarps are used to catch all the powder that falls to the insulation.
The Problem: Well, what's wrong you ask???? Plenty!!!
First, during the process, the spores are lofted into the air where they become invisible to the naked eye. When the process is finished these spores are left floating, and when the contractor removes his equipment with the problem looking solved, they remain lurking and floating; just waiting to land and re-contaminate the structure!
But the most important reason it is ineffective, has to do with the way mold grows. Remember how we talked about the dandelion roots? Well the ice blasting or soda blasting does a great job at removing the pigment from the moldy wood. This is in the surface layer with the fruit bodies.
What it doesn't do is to remove the roots! Now don't get me wrong it is completely possible to ice blast away enough wood to remove the roots . But in order to accomplish this the contractor has to grind away at the wood till 1/2 inch has been removed! Remember most subfloor are only 3/4 inch thick plywood in the first place! Additionally, if the joists and subfloor are blasted away 1/2 inch around all three exposed side your floor is likely to collapse! This process is just another one of the many gimmicks that have been tried to charge high prices and to stand out in the marketplace.
-Simple: I have been a mold victim too, for that reason I CARED enough to develop the best system to solve your mold problem permanently and protect your family!
I have been in business since 1995 repairing foundations and performing mold remediation. I also am an Author and Inventor and I designed and manufacture my own line of oxygen cannons. In each of my businesses I have made revolutionary advances that have literally changed the face of the Industry by improving existing techniques. I have also written three books about them. Last year I treated attic mold, or performed attic mold removal in over 30 states in the Union.
How does this affect me and my attic problem, you ask?You see, I discovered to my surprise about 10 years ago, that the chemicals that were being used by my so-called mold removal competitors (and indeed by most of the industry) not only DIDN'T WORK on porous surfaces... which is about EVERY surface that mold would grow on in a house (or duct system too)! I also discovered that most of these chemicals contain NO ingredients that KILL the spores (the most important but hardest things to kill) and also ...that they leave behind RESIDUAL TOXIC CHEMICAL POISONS that in some case are WORSE than the poisons the MOLD makes!
Yikes! I found this out the hard way, cause in the beginning, believe it or not, back then I used the same old chemicals that everyone else in the attic mold removal/attic mold remediation industry STILL USES! I was using a product called IAQ2000. It was EPA registered and Biodegradable, supposedly safe stuff..... What happened?
Do you know how I found out that these chemicals didn't work and were poisonous? I contracted work with three "special Ladies" that got sick from the chemicals I used in their homes.
I call these ladies "special" because due to living with extremely TOXIC mold, they had developed a RARE condition called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Disorder.
Ever heard of it ? I hadn't.
At that time I thought they were nuts, just hair-brained crazy. I mean their husbands weren't sick, my tests came back clean, and the jobs looked beautiful.
I can honestly say that I thought they were trying to get their money back for a job WELL DONE.
But...Since I had three of them in a row, I decided to try and see if there might be anything, anything at all, to their claims of sickness......
What I learned changed my life....and could change your life too, read on to learn more and change your life.......what I discovered is that their noses worked actually much BETTER than a "regular" persons nose (someone without Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Disorder).
In fact their noses were so good they worked just like a blood-hounds' nose!
HMMM! I began to theorize that maybe I had been POISONING ALL OF MY CUSTOMERS, but our "regular noses" just couldn't smell it.
I quickly began to research. Just what was in those chemicals? After all, they were EPA approved and biodegradable like (Oxine and Sporicidin).
What I discovered truly SHOCKED THEN HORRIFIED ME...
The EPA routinely approves products that contain known carcinogens (those are CANCER CAUSING chemicals) ...
I was AGHAST!
I quickly realized that I needed to do some research and if necessary change the chemicals that I used -FAST! So I got together with some of the country's top scientists.
I met many very, very smart people who had already devoted their ENTIRE LIVES to the cause. I read TONS of material about mold and the different ways to KILL MOLD. I took ALL of the good ideas that I learned from all these sources and EXPERTS and...
Then I FUSED them all together into a system that is absolutely LETHAL to mold but remains SAFE for the entire family! In fact it leaves behind NO knowna
residual poisons that can make people sick. It cost me a SMALL FORTUNE to do. But I developed this non poison based system for you and your family!
Phase 1 Prepping the home Set Up Containment Air Scrubbers/ Negative Pressure: The first thing we do is Site Preparation. We isolate the basement from the rest of the house. We put down protective paper through the walkways of the house leading to where we will be working. We segregate the contaminated parts from the uncontaminated parts where we will be doing the gross removal of the mold building materials. We then set up air scrubbers and negative pressure. This important step protects your home, and guarantees no staining or dirt is carried into the carpets in the home. Your house is important to us we will treat you as if we were working on our mothers own house!
Phase 2 Kill the mold/Remove Moldy building materials and damaged contents: We SATURATE all of the moldy joists and subflooring with a special top secret disinfectant the uses the amazing power of Hydrogen Peroxide nature's miracle disinfectant. The reason we start with this is that when mold senses it is being attacked, has a simple defense mechanism. It releases its spores into the air into an invisible or a visible cloud, a phenomenon called bursting or sporulation.
Billions of spores are released just by disturbing the mold!
Sorta' like "argh, ya got me....now here suffer the wrath of my babies! By using an atomizing fogger we literally saturate the surfaces, killing the mold and also mechanically washing the air itself, with tiny little particles of H2O2.
Hydrogen Peroxide is unique among the mold killing chemicals as it is one of only two liquids I know of that will completely destroy a spore (mold seed), without being
poisonous to humans (the other is colloidal silver).
In fact, it leaves behind only water. The way it works is this: when you pour hydrogen peroxide onto a cut and you see it start to fizz a simple chemical reaction occurs. Hydrogen peroxide is H2O2 which is water H2O plus +O or free radical oxygen. The free radical oxygen molecule is what does all of the killing. When it is done killing the mold via oxidization, all that is left behind is pure water!
By breaking the H2O2 into tiny micron sized particles, then adding our secret ingredients, it not only saturates the wood , it "washes the air" just like the rain "washes" it in nature, except our "rain" is microscopic particles of H2O2!
This way we kill the majority of the spores before they can spread all over. This maximizes worker safety and increases customer protection should a containment, fail.
Now our men begin the tedious labor intensive demolition process. Removing all contaminated porous building materials and stored contents. Demolition is hard work, and is especially hot and difficult with restricted breathing in a Tyvec suit wearing a respirator. The bagged debris is then removed and put into a dumpster.....
Phase 3: Getting Rid Of The Evidence- Removing the Stains!This is absolutely a must, because while stain removal is truly only cosmetic in nature, failure to remove the stains will result in untrained eyes (home inspectors ) believing that the mold is still active. Removing the stains is the least important step scientifically, but it is the MOST IMPORTANT step perceptually.
There are two basic methods we use for performing stain removal, either chemically or via soda blasting. We either apply the stain removing solution, to the wood and wait, or we go through the more costly and time consuming process of soda blasting the wood. The chemical process relies on the use of sodium hypochlorite a strong bleaching agent.
The soda blasting process is more labor consuming and costly. Both will effectively offer you a fresh new clean looking mold free basement back!
Both will amaze the realtor and or new home buyer.
Cost is the differential, deciding factor and we leave which process to use entirely up to you.
Phase 4 Kill the Roots- Keep the Mold From Returning-Borate application walls Joists and Decking Boards:Next and most important to the warranty and long term efficacy of the process we actually impregnate the wood with an environmentally friendly TOP SECRET borate solution. This is made from an extremely finely ground and specially-designed-for-dissolving borax a cousin to the old fashioned 20 mule team Borax we use in our laundry, coupled with a proprietary additive and mixing procedure. This product is absolutely amazing. It was designed to penetrate the substrate a full inch (remember mold roots only grow 3/16's of an inch into the wood).
It not only prevents all hosts of decay and dry rot fungi but it also prevents wood boring insects carpenter ants beetles and termites.Just Imagine, you get a complete two-for-one bonus!
Just Imagine, Mold proofing and bug proofing in one fell swoop! Phase 5: Get the Hidden Spores We Miss-The Gas Out! :Lastly, years ago when researching a safe non toxic residue mold killer, I discovered that the scientists at Los Alamos national laboratory (where the atomic bomb was developed) have extensively studied how to decontaminate a civil facility like a house or office building that has been contaminated by a spore based pathogen like toxic mold.
These scientists concluded that if you only follow the guidelines recommended for mold remediation recommended by every national mold certifying organization out there (IAQA, NAMP, IESO, IICRC Etc.) that you will leave the structure contaminated with spores after all attempts at clean up have been performed.
Why you ask?
They concluded that in order to fully decontaminate the structure/ area it is absolutely necessary to fill it full of toxic levels of a reactive gas, like ozone otherwise known as activated oxygen or O3. This gas penetrate the nooks and crannies and crevices in the attic and especially down into the insulation, where the liquid based chemicals/products can't penetrate....
The use of the gas out is necessary in guaranteeing the destruction of any invisible spores we remediators might have missed, because we can't see them (ten thousand to two hundred thousand spores can fit on the head of a pin).
That's right, no matter how experienced my men are, they don't have microscopes for eyes. This means that they cannot see the airborne or individual spores (and neither can you).
By Circulating this Oxygen gas throughout we guarantee to destroy the invisible spores that we might have missed!
This step is so important that I was not satisfied with the existing ozone machines that were available for use in the ozone industry.
I got so fed up with them that I invented my own complete line of ozone machines and equipment for use by homeowners like you and contractors like me; you can see them at www.ozonegenerator20000.com
Finally we fog out our staging areas and any other areas of the property we've utilized guaranteeing we completely eliminate all threats to occupants. We remove our plastic. We remove the protective paper
walkways and we give you your house back in the same condition we found it except mold free! So to recap:
1. We Kill the mold with a special Hydrogen Peroxide based disinfectant.
2. We eliminate the stains.
3. We impregnate the wood with a liquid non-toxic borate solution that makes it mold-proof and prevent wood borers carpenter ants and termites.
4. We impregnate the dirt or stones with a powdered non-toxic borate solution that prevents mold wood borers carpenter ants and termites.
5. We gas out the rest of the basement to eliminate the spores we missed.
6. We clean up our mess!
7. We perform the required ventilation repairs to eliminate the source of the moisture problem this includes installing power vents, and our Vapor barrier Membrane system, We can even pour a concrete slab.
8. We Guarantee our work for LIFE!!!!
Our process is far more effective and contains more steps than any other company in the Nation. We are so sure of it we offer the very best warrantees in the industry protect both your home and your wallet.
Is a question that I get asked every day.....
When you hire us, you hire the Nations #1 Attic Basement and Crawl space Mold Experts!!!!The reason is really simple: We started working for Major lenders (Banks) over 8 years ago. These Banks have mortgages on houses all over the USA. When one of their loans goes into foreclosure and the property develops a water problem, mold is quick to follow.
We began offering our Banks Nationwide service over 5 years ago. Basically the way it works is this: A Bank or asset manager will email me with an address for a house and some basic interior photos with a realtors phone number. We interview the realtor and prepare a bid, for a project we have never seen. When the bid is awarded we dispatch a crew of highly experienced mold professionals, who always, always, always, perform an on-site inspection prior to performing any work!
How does this apply to my basement???? You ask????Well after becoming so successful at covering such a wide territory, for banks, we began to target Attic and Crawlspace projects nationwide. We have become the Nations #1 Attic and Crawlspace Mold Experts !!!!!
How do we do it?The reason is simple, attics and crawlspaces have a limited number of variables. Whether your attic or crawlspace has the most toxic mold or the least toxic mold - We treat it the exact same way with the exact same protocol.
Also with recent advances in satellite imagery we can zoom right in to your house and look directly at it.
Most county auditors are now storing a foundation blueprint online that can be used to measure the perimeter feet and square feet of the crawlspace.
Each and every day our qualified inspectors or myself, submit dozens estimates for attics, crawlspace, and REO mold projects nationwide!
Even though we never inspect ahead of time, when we do inspect our Project leaders routinely un-cover things that were missed by home inspector or other local mold professionals nationwide!
Just this week a customer named Steph K. of New Hampshire hired us to treat a moldy attic. She had become convinced by a home inspector and 3 local mold companies that the source of the mold was an improperly vented dryer, that had been vented directly into the attic.
I told Steph, that it was unlikely that the dryer vent alone could result in the mold problem, but that it was more likely just an exacerbating factor. Steph however remained unconvinced - but she did hire us.... She hired us for the same reason you shall hire us because the process we use is superior to other contractors.
When, Eric arrived, he performed our initial inspection. He uncovered an improperly vented bathroom fan that was flat out missed by 1 home inspector and three "local mold guys"!
Not only did they miss the bathroom fan, also, the soffit ventilation was being impeded by baffles and packed with blown in insulation. We installed a proper direct vent roof kit and painstakingly removed the insulation that was packing the soffits!!!
How long does it take?
Typically we can complete a large basement mold project in 1-4 days... The work is done by a two-4 man crew, who work exclusively on attic basement and crawlspace mold problems day in day out, week in week out, year in year out, all over the country. These men have seen more foundation types, and more mold types and more attic basement and crawlspace mold situations... ....Than any other attic basment or crawl space mold removal professionals I know!!!!!
Last year alone we handled projects in over 30 states!!!!!If there is basement dewatering work to perform, or if the stains are especially stubborn the work can take up to 7 full days... The average project time however is 1-3 full days...
We can prep the job, perform the process steps, and correct simple ventilation issues in one single day.
We don't mess around, when you get us, you get our men, who are dedicated professionals.
Dedicated to helping your family breathe free and easy for years to come! You get the service you want, and the results you need, at the price you can afford every single time!
The prices that are currently being charged by other companies can vary significantly based on geography, and region. Average crawlspace or attic remediation only costs vary from 1500 to 6000 with an average of about 2500-3000 nationwide.
Basement clean-up costs are not average as some basements are finished and need drywall or paneling removal and some are not. Costs vary widely.....
There are always contractors in every area of the country who will tell homeowners that their entire roof needs replacement after going through an extensive remediation and routinely charge tens of thousands of dollars for projects that could be handled for only a few.
These companies want to tell you to replace your entire roof (boards and all) or all of the sub-flooring in a crawl space, and these estimates often range anywhere from 10 grand to 30 grand, and routinely don't even solve the problem. Here's why: What happens is they see mold as a good way to land a big job to unsuspecting homeowners, and don't realize that nearly always the mold is caused by ventilation problems inside the attic and not on the roof. Even though any good roofer should understand an attic should have proper intake (soffit) vents, and proper exhaust vents (ridge, gable, box... but not more than 1 type, because it will disrupt the proper airflow!).
They tell the homeowner they should replace an entire roof and then often will re-install improper ventilation or won't correct things like bathroom improperly venting into the attic. More often it is a mold company who partners with a sister company to get a kickback on the roofing project! They try the same thing for the crawlspace telling a home owner that the sub floor must be removed- Balderdash!
But Charlie, What does your system cost?????I don't know what kind of house you have or what type of construction it is, however if you will fill out the form for a free estimate, I will get you a FREE estimate within 24hours! Be sure to include your name address city state zip code and telephone number and an Inspector or myself will return your call, quickly.
No matter where you live, every single estimate I have every delivered has come with my amazingly simple Rock-Bottom Best Price Guarantee.
If you are the kind of shopper to whom, price alone, is more important than quality, I absolutely guarantee that as long as the scope of the work and square footage is the same, I will Match or Beat any local competitors price, Guaranteed
We are a large Fanny Mae / R.E.O. brokerage. When we have a mold house we call Mold Solutions. Over the years they have immediately responded every time we have asked and if the work is ordered, they can complete even extremely large projects quickly and safely. We trust them so much Matt had them waterproof his OWN basement. --Matt and Kelli Beckett Realty Executive Decisions, Columbus, Ohio
Every time I have a mold problem or a wet basement I call Mold Solutions. Their immediate response and Best Price Guarantee has helped me many times over. They have even called potential buyers for me long after the clean up and explained their process to ease fears and help me complete the sale. -Donald Fatobene, Principi Realty, Warren, Ohio
How Many Times Have You Heard Of Mold Re-occurring After Expensive Treatment? Basements STILL leaking following invasive excavations and COSTLY water-proofing projects? Learn How To Protect Yourself from Liability With The Best Guarantees In The Industry.
IRON CLAD LIFETIME "No Hidden Clause" SERVICE WARRANTY:
We warrant that NO MOLD will grow on any areas treated with Borate inhibitor for the LIFETIME of the structure. Warranty is subject to the correction of the existing water problem. We're so confident in our process that if mold grows back on borate treated areas we'll will buy you a $1000 dollar US Saving Bond and retreat area at NO CHARGE . Warranty is FULLY TRANSFERABLE. Void if additional UN-RELATED water damage occurs. Warranty is subject to renewal.
Guarantee#2:
BEST PRICE GUARANTEE:
No competitor possesses our techniques or our commitment to customer satisfaction and quality. If price is the ONLY important factor to you, we guarantee to BEAT any other contractor's price by 15% if it is itemized and will be duplicated exactly. Contractor reserves the right to refrain if recommendations and scope of work are inadequate to solve problem.
Sincerely,
Charles Boday
All Rights Reserved
DID YOU KNOW ?
Most Companies use toxic chemicals and they can make you sick?.
We Revolutionized and Implement Effective, NON-TOXIC Processes To Eliminate Mold Safely For Your Family!