Mold is everywhere, but that doesn’t mean it’s harmless. Traditional mold remediation often leaves behind dangerous particles that affect sensitive individuals. At Orange Restoration, we use Medically Sound Remediation and Small Particle Cleaning to ensure your home is safe for everyone, especially those with mold sensitivity or CIRS.
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Why Mold is Dangerous for Your Health
Mold exposure isn’t just an inconvenience, it can cause respiratory problems, asthma flare-ups, and immune reactions. For some, especially those with Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS), even microscopic fragments can trigger severe symptoms.
Why Traditional Mold Remediation Fails your Health
Many of the common mold remediation mistakes can cause secondary mold, which is like a ticking time bomb for a deep mold contamination.
- Poor containment
- Cross-contamination
- Ignoring particle load
- Not drying properly
- Not doing post remediation verification (PRV) testing
IICRC Guidelines
The ANSI/IICRC S500 Standard for Professional Water Damage Restoration, to dry structures effectively by using advanced equipment and setting “dry standards” based on unaffected materials. This standard provides a comprehensive guide for assessing, drying, and documenting water damage to ensure properties are restored safely and efficiently to their pre-flood conditions.
PRO TIP: Ask if your water damage remediation team is keeping moisture reading results recorded to ensure proper drying and properly documenting records for insurance purposes.
In the last 2 years, we have seen a lot of calls regarding secondary mold. This means improper drying is happening far too often. We have been working towards doing innovative drying and HEPA filtering in the creation of healthy systems for mold remediation for over 20 years. We have always looked at mold as a health issue beyond the average remediation team.
PRO TIP: Please consider asking for your remediation company to go beyond the standards and ask how they are doing more to ensure a healthy home after remediation.
What Makes Medically Sound Remediation Different
The first and best resource is the CIRSx containment protocols, but also medically sound remediation is part of a complete health protocol called the Shoemaker Protocol, which removal of the mold is part of the initial steps, but goes beyond into remediation of the body’s mold contamination.
Small Particle Cleaning is the only way to fully remove ultrafine particles, this is where traditional remediation teams fail. We can say we are CIRS safe remediation as we are doing ultrafine particle cleaning for mold and VOCs.
Since we are around mold every day and it’s nearly impossible to completely eradicate it with traditional means, we need to be aware of its effects and be proactive about eliminating it. Only Small Particle Cleaning and Medically Sound Remediation work will completely remove mold.
Mold Growth Imposes Health Risks
Mold is very dangerous. At Orange Restoration, we like to educate our customers about the origins of mold, and to discuss the myriad ways of preventing its growth, and to remove it from your home or office once it has taken hold. To summarize mold in a single sentence: mold is a fungus that is nearly impossible to eradicate completely. Many are still using traditional mold remediation techniques, while we do things quite differently.
“Nearly impossible to eradicate completely,” you say? I know that’s what you’re thinking. “Okay Orange Restoration blogger, if I can’t get rid of mold completely, what effect does it have on my health? Why all the panic about mold if it’s everywhere?”
Excellent question!
Since we are around mold every day and it’s nearly impossible to completely eradicate it, we need to be aware of its effects and be proactive about eliminating it. I realize that’s not what anyone wants to hear, but unfortunately, most of us end up having to live with a small amount of mold in our homes.
If you or someone in your house has asthma, any existing mold can be a real problem. Exposure to mold can exacerbate symptoms for asthma sufferers who tend to be more sensitive to the effects of mold. Mold itself isn’t the problem; however, it produces mycotoxins, substances that potentially carry health risks. Some people may experience fever, shortness of breath, eye irritation, rashes, and stuffy nose. If you are experiencing any or all of those symptoms it could be useful to check your home for the presence of mold.
For some, mold sensitivity might be a daily worry, after discussing mold and the prevalence of it, it is easy to understand the fears of those with severe mold sensitivities. For those with these sensitivities, we recommend considering Medically Sound Remediation and small particle cleaning. This is the only way to remove all mold fragments, dead mold particles and dead mold spores. Traditional remediation companies can leave particles behind that can still alert the allergies of mold sensitive.
“1 in 4 has genetic factors that make it difficult for them to properly detox from mold, this causes them to be susceptible for CIRS.” –CIRS Isn’t Rare Anymore
Reactions can vary by the individual. Some people have allergic reactions to mold and some people don’t. Now, that doesn’t mean you should allow it to proliferate in your house, conveniently ignoring its existence. Even though we are always exposed to mold, there is a difference between a small exposure to it and a large exposure.
While a small amount might not do anything to you, a large amount can set off an allergic response in someone who is sensitive to it. And honestly, what may be a small amount to one person, can be a large amount to someone else. So it’s really important to destroy all of it growing in your home if the latter is the case.
One of the best ways to prevent mold growth is to keep the moisture levels in your home between 40 – 60%. Also, checking your home for mold or having an expert check your home on a regular basis will keep you and your family safe. Mold removal services are available 24/7.
Don’t be shy. Give us a call. We are here to help you. And no worries if we can’t find any mold, we’d rather find nothing than have you potentially suffer a negative response from finding any hidden within your home. We are here to help, and willing to discuss medically sound protocols, small particle cleaning, and make recommendations on Indoor Environmental Professionals in San Diego and Orange County.
There is no way to completely eradicate mold from your home since it exists naturally.
From an environmental perspective, molds are eukaryotic micro-organisms that are necessary to help break down dead organic matter, i.e., dead trees, fallen leaves and dead plants. But where does mold come from?
Mold spores travel by air currents and are only visible by microscope. They float easily through the atmosphere landing haphazardly. If the environment is appropriate they will begin to grow immediately. Within a matter of days a small colony of mold can expand to become a large colony of mold enveloping a large area in your home!
Mold spores can survive environments that are poor for mold to grow, waiting for all the right conditions to occur together.
Indoors, mold spores are only a danger if they can find a wet surface to land on. Mold cannot grow without water or moisture. Moreover, mold needs a source of food (wood, paper, drywall, adhesives, pastes, paints), oxygen and a temperature between 40 – 100 degrees F. Even though mold cannot create nutrients from inorganic material (concrete, metal, glass and plastic) they can grow on any dirt/dust that may lay on these materials. Indeed, even if these materials are not damp, mold can grow if there is enough moisture in the air.
Mold Can Harm Your Family’s Health and Property
If you are in need of home restoration it is crucial you contact an experienced restoration company ASAP! At Orange Restoration, all of our technicians are fully certified and trained in all facets of damage restoration. We will respond quickly and get your property back to its original state in no time at all. We are available for 24/7 emergency services.