What Commercial Owners Need To Know About Moisture and Mold

3/1/2018 (Permalink)

Mold in commercial settings can cause major headaches for business owners.

Black mold and mold cleanup are among the most difficult maintenance issues that commercial owners face in Salem MA. Microscopic yet aggressive, these diminutive agents of decay are capable of causing rapid structural damage and can be difficult to detect. Maintaining a low-humidity interior to prevent moisture problems and taking immediate action to inhibit fungal growth after a flooding event are essential for avoiding potentially devastating restoration or remodeling steps.

Why Is Mold Such a Serious Structural Problem?

High indoor humidity is the most common causes of black mold growth. When moisture levels meet low-airflow interiors, most porous building materials become an easy target of infestation, including drywall, insulation, hardwood flooring and of course carpeting.

While many commercial buildings created after the 1970s have been designed to accommodate high-humidity environments, prevention and maintenance remain key. Common signs that your building may be at high risk for black mold growth include:

• Roofs, soffits or other exterior portions of the building material that consistently leak
• Poorly maintained fire sprinkling systems that drip
• Indoor humidity levels that are consistently over 60 percent
• Standing water or frequent indoor condensation
• Lack of thorough ventilation
• Poorly maintained HVAC equipment
• Distinctive, musty odor

How Do You Remediate Indoor Mold?

While severe mold growth can be easily detected visually, in many cases fungal infestations do their worst damage behind the scenes, ruining insulation and rotting walls from the inside out. Even a relatively minor moisture problem can provide the perfect conditions for rapid growth.

For these reasons it is essential that business owners and property managers contact an experienced company to quickly diagnose and address issues. Your local remediation specialist will provide a preliminary visual inspection, perform an air quality check, and take laboratory samples to determine the concentration and type of mold present. Depending on the severity of damage, ventilation, deodorizing and sanitizing procedures may be needed to rehabilitate indoor spaces.

Visit www.SERVPROsalem.com for more information on mold.