Steri Mobile’s mold removal process is not abrasive or labor-intensive. In fact, we never touch the mold with our hands. We do not brush, scrape, or use dry ice. We kill the mold and anything else in the air. When we are finished, the air in the attic is of better quality than outside the attic. And we do this at a reasonable cost. We always inspect the attic to determine the cause of the mold. These conditions must be corrected to ensure no chance of mold growth in the future.
Our Mold Remediation Process
Our mold remediation method is called “The 3 Steps Liquid Process” as we use three different types of liquids to get rid of mold in your home. Our complete mold remediation process includes the following steps:
- Containment is designed to prevent the movement of mold spores from one area of the building to another.
- Removal of all contaminated material in 6mil double bags.
- Place the basement or other area under negative air pressure to ensure no air escapes to other parts of the building.
- Destruction of mold spores on the remaining framing and cement with a fogging process that also destroys the roots, which can be embedded as much as 3/16” into the wood.
- Removal of all remaining dead mold stains with a spraying process.
- An application of a borate-based inhibitor to reduce the chances of any mold growth.
- Applying a high-level ozone shock treatment to the entire building to ensure all mold spores in the air are killed, as well as any other bacteria.
Before & After Our Mold Remediation Process
Other Techniques Used by Our Competition
The Dry Ice Method
This method is abrasive. It was designed to replace the sanding process. It does not kill the mold. Instead, it displaces millions of mold spores into the air. With the extremely low temperature of the dry ice, a small percentage of spores will actually die. A HEPA-filtered vacuum is used to collect all of the spores in the attic.
Problem with this method:
- Mold roots as much as 3/16 “into the sheathing and any trusses. In order to remove these roots, more than ¼” of wood would have to be removed to guarantee all of the spores have dislodged.
- It is impossible for a HEPA-filtered vacuum to collect all of the spores in the attic. Then this vacuum must be safely transported out of the home (generally through the bedroom access door). Because the mold spores are not dead, there is a chance that some will remain in the house, and not in the attic.
- Not all mold spores are visible. Although this method is labor-intensive, we rely on the person applying the dry ice to visually determine if all the mold has been removed.
- This method usually suggests the removal and replacement of insulation because of visible mold.
Fog and Encapsulate
These contractors suggest fogging the attic with a product. Then, a poisonous mold-inhibiting paint is applied.
Problem with this method:
- The fungicide used for fogging is almost exclusively non-sporicidal. What this means is that mold spores are not killed, and this product may not penetrate wood substrate. Therefore, when the encapsulating (paint) is applied, it encapsulates mold.
- This paint is latex and has a vapor barrier forming component. This can cause dew points under the paint layer to increase, providing conditions for mold growth between the wood and the paint layer.