Recently, life has seemed even unfair – especially for those whose basements were flooded either by tropical storm Irene or Lee. Many had to discard whatever got wet — papers, pictures, furniture, rugs — and then had to call in remediators to dry out their basements.
But that didn’t necessarily solve the problem. For many, the damp musty odor was back. And that usually means mold is lurking somewhere.
The bottom line is it’s not enough to simply dry out your basements and get rid of wet and moldy things. Mold can invade places you cannot see. The only way to find hidden mold — the mold behind your walls and in your ceilings — is to test. And not with do-it-yourself kits. They are not up to the job.
Professional testing will:
• discover exactly where and why excess moisture is entering your home;
• include air monitoring, surface sampling and bulk sampling to compare the results with normal mold levels;
• identify all affected areas and measure the amount of mold;
• recommend safe and cost effective ways to eliminate the moisture and resolve the mold problem. Testing companies like RTK Environmental do not perform remediation, so there is never a conflict of interest;
• determine if the health of your family is at risk.
Before remediation, testing identifies where the mold lurks; after remediation, testing is the homeowner’s guarantee that all mold is gone.
While there is cost involved in hiring professionals to properly test for mold, in the long run, it can save homeowners thousands of dollars, not to mention peace of mind knowing a mold problem is resolved.
