If you live in Florida, you have probably experienced some damage to your home due to hurricanes, especially water damage. Mold also likes to start growing in homes that have been water damaged after hurricanes and other storms, especially since Florida is characterized by warm and moist weather.
Mold can start to grow in these homes after about 48 hours, so it's important to get any standing water in the home removed and the home dried out as soon as possible.
A large amount of all the buildings in Florida have to deal with some kind of water or mold damage and a lot of the time this is due to the frequent hurricanes that hit the state almost every single year.
The electricity goes down and people are not able to use their air conditioners to help air out and dry the home. Air conditioners can also help to remove humidity by keeping the house at a certain temperature.
If you want to have a healthy and safe indoor environment to live in, you need to make sure your air conditioner is properly serviced as often as is necessary. If it is an old system and has a lot of problems, it is probably best to just replace it instead of doing work on it repeatedly.
Sometimes indoor air quality tests need to be done and not just in Florida. Mold testing should be done and while it's become a multi-million dollar business industry, it is a necessary one. Mold has been proved to be very harmful to human (and animal) health.
When you choose a company to do mold testing or remediation keep it in mind not to choose the same company to do both for you. If a company does both mold testing and removal, it is in their best interest for them to find mold on your property, so even if they say there is mold there, it might not be.
Make sure they have the latest technology in mold testing such as infrared thermal cameras, mold spore counters, air moisture meters, and etcetera. The company should also have a microbiologist in house and certified mold inspectors.
They should inspect the air conditioner, the exterior, plumbing, and they should perform moisture tests around the whole house.
You should do these things even if you do not live in Florida, but a large part of the state of Florida is at risk for water and mold damage because of the moisture and humidity that can exist there.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Water & mold damage in small spot
By: Fee | 10-09-2008
Hurricane Fay's left a 2 foot area of chipped paint & plaster on my bedroom wall, from water damage. I've washed & removed the mold, bleached it too, what next?
We are looking at a house with lots of trees that ...
By: bj | 23-07-2008
we are looking at a house with lots of trees that has been empty for over a year. When we looked at it in Feb there was no smell of mold but now in July it is very heavy. There is no sign of water problems but we have high humidity here. Since the house is most often without air condition could this be the problem. If so can it be easily cleared? Our daughter has asthma.
Drowning in my own yard
By: waterlogged | 10-07-2008
In Alabama, I'm experiencing water damage to the foundation of my home (cracked slab) due to neighbor's deliberate flooding of my yard for the last year. I read online that if you can prove it's due to deliberate or negligent water use of someone else's, your homeowners covers it. I also have a flood policy, but this is not considered a flood. Wish I could re-find where that statement about negligence was. Any help out there?
When u have this type of mold in a child with ...
By: kimkzn | 17-01-2008
when u have this type of mold in a child with cystic fibrosis can u get rid of it? is there any way to get itout of your clothing?
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