What’s the Difference Between Mold Removal and Mold Remediation?

When you’re experiencing a mold growth problem in your home or business, you are more likely to to search for “mold removal” than “mold remediation”. Once customers call us, we often hear “what’s the difference between mold removal and mold remediation?”

Simply put, the difference between mold removal and mold remediation is that one addresses the source of the mold, whereas the other only addresses getting rid of the mold growth. They are most definitely not the same, and it can be deceiving when “professionals” throw around terms like mold mitigation and mold restoration.

You may have to ignore all the different terminology used when speaking to potential mold clean up. Instead focus on how the company explains what their processes are for locating mold, removing mold and addressing the moisture in your home that leads to mold growth. When you know better, you can choose the best mold specialists for your needs!

What is Mold Removal?

Mold in and around your home is inevitable. It will always exist. Removing it is just the first step in a much longer and important remediation process. More often than not, mold removal just addresses the actual cleaning and removing of mold. If a professional states they remove mold, you’ll want to dig deeper and find out what their process entails once the mold is cleaned up.

• Do they remove the mold and leave?
• Or, do they address the root of the problem after clearing out the mold?

Mold removal is absolutely necessary, so you do want to have it removed by a professional, but you also want the company you hire to know how to locate the source of the moisture contributing to the mold growth. And, remedy the problem so mold doesn’t continue to grow and infest your home.

What is Mold Remediation?

When remediating mold, it starts with mold removal. Removing mold in the right way is important, but mold remediation takes it a few steps further by locating and fixing the source of the moisture in your home that’s causing mold to grow. It may shock you to know, but mold spores are relatively harmless on their own, but once they land on anything damp or moist, it starts to grow. Once it starts growing, it’s active and becomes a hazard to your health.

With mold remediation, there’s a process followed to ensure mold spores don’t go airborne and find even more places to land and grow.

Mold Inspection

If you’re feeling unwell, or have symptoms indicating you were exposed to mold, then an inspection should be done to identify mold growth, along with what type of mold is growing.

Containing the Mold

When mold is touched, even in the slightest way, their spores are released. Once they are in the air, they can end up on surfaces in other parts of the home during the cleaning and removal process in a different part of the home. To avoid this from happening, a professional mold remediator will contain the affected area.

Once the area is properly isolated from the rest of the house, cleanup and removal can begin. You will want to leave the home during the cleaning process.

Cleanup

When mold is found on non-porous surfaces, it can be cleaned with proper cleaning solutions and done in a specific way so as not to release spores into the air.

Removal

Mold is usually found on porous surfaces, which can’t be “cleaned” but do need to be removed. For example, if you have suffered a flood and the water damage was so bad it caused mold to grow in your walls, the mold infested drywall will have to be cut out and taken out of your home. But it doesn’t end with just removing the affected areas.

Sanitization

Once the removal of the mold is done, the next step is to clean all around where the mold was found. The remainder of the walls, along with furniture, curtains, floors, moldings, etc. It may require deodorization, too, to remove the odor of mold and must.

Next Steps

After the cleaning and removal is complete, a professional will then go over what the source of the moisture is and how it can be fixed. They may also share further information and recommendations to avoid mold growth in the future.

Another mold inspection should be done as part of the process, in order to confirm the mold remediation has worked.

Restoration After Mold Damage

After locating mold and the source, and then completing the extensive mold remediation process, you’ll want to have someone fix the moisture issue and then restore your home so you feel whole again. The last thing you want is to have everything cleaned and removed, only to restore your home without addressing the source of why the mold grew in the first place.

Never restore your home until you’ve pinpointed the problem areas causing the mold infestation. You’ll end up having to go through the entire ordeal again, putting your home’s structure and your health at risk.

Allow the Professionals to Locate and Remedy Mold in Your Home

Taking on mold on your own isn’t recommended. Knowing what type of mold is growing is imperative to knowing the best way to clean and remove it from your home. There are too many mold types out there with a wide range of health hazards.

Let professionals locate and remedy mold in your home, and then go one step further and fix the source of the moisture so mold doesn’t have a place to grow, thrive, and destroy your health and your home.