Mold & Mildew Remediation
According to a 1999 Mayo Clinic Study, nearly all chronic sinus infections are a result of molds. Chronic sinus infections afflict 37 million Americans a year!
A 300% increase in the asthma rate over the past 20 years has been linked to molds.
Molds and Mildew have several health risk factors that they implement on people when they are exposed to their spores. You can inhale the spores, come into skin contact with them, or ingest them. Of course we don't suggest you do any of these, but in case that you unknowingly do, there are a number of preventative steps to take care of the problem at hand and to insure it never happens again. There are also a number of diseases that can affect you from mold exposure, atherosclerosis, cancer, AIDS, diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren's syndrome, systemic lupus, erythematosus, gout, Crohn's disease, Multiple sclerosis, hyperactivity syndrome, Infertility, psoriasis, cirrhosis of the liver, Alzheimer's disease, Scleroderma, Raynaud's Disease, sarcoidosis, kidney stones, amyloidosis, vasculitis, and Cushing's disease are just a few of them. In many cases if caught early enough, the risks of getting these diseases are minute, yet there are those who don’t recognize what mold looks like and are the unfortunate ones to be affected by these illnesses. Mold may be seen visibly as dark discoloration, or as a raised bumpy patch that may look almost velvety in texture. The color may vary, with some molds being a gold color, some green, and some molds even a shade of gray or black.
Here's a story brought to us by one of Request's empoyees about what mold can do to a person...
A friend of mine in middle
school started getting really sick, she was coughing, light headed all the
time, having troubles seeing and doing day to day tasks. Her parents took her
to the doctor and they her for all kinds of things. It turned out that she had
black mold spores in her lungs. The doctor explained that black mold was one of
the most toxic molds and that it is usually hiding in damp places. She lived in
Arizona, so there was no really damp places except for the
bathrooms. They went home that day and searched through all of their bathrooms
but found nothing. Four months later and after several immunotherapy treatments
she was still not improving.
Her dad called a handyman out to inspect all of the pipes in their home, he found a very tiny leak under her bathtub. They ripped the bathtub out and found an enormous area covered in black mold underneath the basin. It had gotten so bad that they it had spread to most of the drywall that connected near the bathroom, had found its way in vents, air filters and even the carpet. Afraid for their safety and the safety of their kids they evacuated the house. That girl is still suffering the effects of the black mold in her lungs and has gone through countless treatments. She now is able to go outside yet still has chronic asthma and short term memory loss. -Nichole |
In order to avoid this, you need to have mold taken out of your house by professionals. The first step to take is to stop the water from flooding or continuing to soak the materials that are affected. Then you will need to determine the extent of the water damage and mold contamination. Has it just happened? Or has this been an ongoing leak? Mold grows on materials that have been wet for 48-72 hours. Now you will need to plan and implement remediation activities. This includes wearing the correct protection during clean up so as to not be affected by the spores. Also by decontaminating the materials that can be safely cleaned and sterilized, and removing those materials that can’t and disposing of them properly. You should NEVER burn contaminated materials as this releases toxic gases into the air. The correct ways to dispose of contaminated materials can be discussed with your friendly and knowledgeable Request professional.