When to call a professional mold remediation company
Although it's tempting to remove any mold you see, it's not always practical or safe to remove it yourself. Removing mold before you know whether it's toxic can make your family feel ill. And sometimes there's simply too much mold for you to remove safely yourself.
Guidelines
You can clean small areas of mold (less than 1 square meter or 3 square feet) yourself. If you do choose to clean small areas of mold yourself, please follow mold removal safety guidelines.
Mold area between 1 and 3 square meters (about the size of a sheet of plywood) is moderate mold growth. Moderate mold growth can be one single area of mold or it can include several patches of mold which together would be larger than 1 square meter.
You can also clean a moderate amount of mold yourself, but it is recommended you seek professional advice. Cleaning a moderate area of mold will release high mold spore concentrations into the air when disturbed, which could make your family feel sick.
Extensive areas of mold (bigger than a sheet of plywood) should be cleaned by a professional. These heavy concentrations of mold spores can cause or worsen health problems. It is not a good idea to remove extensive areas of mold yourself. Extensive areas of mold can require very complicated procedures and precautions.
You should also call a professional if you don't know the extent of your mold problem, for example when you suspect mold is growing between your home's walls. This is a precautionary measure in case there's a large amount of hidden mold.
Molds don't have to be toxic to cause health problems. Even a common, usually harmless mold can be a health issue if there is a lot of it. However, always consult a professional if your house mold is a toxic mold, or if you even suspect a toxic mold.
If you need to know whether your house mold is toxic or not, you may want to order our visible mold testing kit.
To recap - please call a mold remediation professional when:
- You know the mold's area is greater than 3 square meters
- You're not sure of the extent of your mold problem
- Mold comes back after repeated cleaning
- The home is very damp
- A family member suffers from allergies or asthma
- You think the mold may be a toxic mold because a family member is suffering from unexplained symptoms that may be related to exposure to toxic mold
If you need a professional mold remediation company, please visit this mold remediation professionals directory for a comprehensive list of mold remediation specialists listed by province.