Did you know that mold removal and mold remediation are different concepts? Read on to study the difference between the two.
Mold is a widespread problem for residential and commercial properties around the US. While the exact percentage of homes affected by mold remains a mystery, approximately 70% of homes are faced with a mold problem.
When you’re faced with a mold infestation, you’ll want to hire an experienced mold damage restoration company to handle the situation. Before you trust a contractor, take the time to understand what mold cleanup entails. You’ll discover that dealing with mold requires two critical steps, namely mold removal and mold remediation. Until now, you may have been using the two terms interchangeably, but this guide will help you understand the difference between the two.
Mold Removal vs. Mold Remediation: What’s the Difference?
Before we differentiate the two concepts, it’s important to understand that it’s practically impossible to entirely eliminate mold from an indoor space. This is because microscopic mold spores exist all around us. Thus, home restoration companies claiming to remove or remediate mold aim to return mold levels in a mold-infested property to an acceptable level. The experts will attempt to clean up mold spores to a level that will no longer be harmful to the occupants or the structure of the property.
Coming back to the difference between mold removal and mold remediation, the former is a subset of the latter. In other words, mold removal forms a single step in the full-fledged mold remediation process. Let’s take a look at them individually:
Mold Removal
This is the process of removing or eliminating mold from a home or building, including that settled on belongings. Restoration companies are well aware of the fact that mold tends to release its spores when agitated and thus rely on several cleaning methods. Not realizing this, many homeowners choose to take the process into their own hands. They’ll use ordinary cleaning techniques that only cause mold dust to spread around the area, exacerbating the situation.
Moreover, they also put themselves under serious health risks, depending on the type of mold involved. For instance, exposure to Stachybotrys or black mold has been linked to symptoms like diarrhea, memory loss, headaches, and severe respiratory damage. To avoid facing such issues, always rely on professional mold removal services rather than DIY methods.
Mold Remediation
Mold remediation, on the other hand, involves the identification of mold sources, eliminating the source, mold removal (cleaning and disposal), and implementing measures to prevent the problem in the future. It often involves determining the structural impact and which items can be salvaged, and which ones need to be replaced. Materials that are found to be non-salvageable or irretrievable are removed and safely disposed of. Items that can be saved are also removed for drying and restoration.
Once the mold is removed, and items are restored, the next process is sanitization. This involves removing airborne mold spores. The purpose is to significantly reduce the airborne spore count so that the problem doesn’t come up again.
By now, you should have developed a clear understanding of how mold removal differs from mold remediation.
