People who live in Toronto and GTA are constantly being exposed to mold without knowing.
Apartment and condo buildings in the inner city are large and crowded, large amounts of concrete and paved roads do not disburse water into soil like in more rural areas and instead strain city sewer systems and foundations. This makes it difficult to spot excess moisture or leaks that encourage mold growth until it is often too late.
Even newer buildings are susceptible to mold problems thanks to improperly installed plumbing and defective installations of windows, doors, balconies and interior flooding.
While mold itself is not inherently dangerous, the spores can cause serious health problems. The elderly, young children and those with compromised immune systems can fall victim to mycotoxin exposure.
To protect your family, you will need to bring in a mold remediation company. Below are some helpful questions you should ask before signing a contract.
Areas with mold growth (+10sqfeet) need professional help in dealing with due to the large amount of spores that can be disturbed.
Traditional cleaning methods only remove the surface mold on porous surfaces and often return within 30 days.
Bleach, in particular, has been found to make the problem worse. While the chlorine in bleach does indeed kill surface mold, the water in it seeps into wood or plaster, feeding the hidden mold.
Cleaning mold on the surface might make your home look better, but it won’t make your family safer and the solution permanently.
Hidden and visible mold sources will need to be cut out and removed. This is far beyond the capabilities of the common homeowner, especially if the mold is attached to load-bearing wooden supports.
To begin the remediation process, you need to contact a Toronto mold remediation company to inspect, identify the source, come up with a remediation plan and determine a solution to fix the problem permanently.
In Toronto and most GTA all remediation companies offer some kind of warranty,however warranties have always strings attached, make sure you know up front of their conditions. A remediation plan should always be in written format.
Always ask for referrals, good work always passes good referrals so ask and follow up.
Because mold can potentially cause serious harm to your family, you need to make sure the technicians working in your home have been trained to do the job right.
Look for remediation companies that are willing to prove their employees have been trained by accredited certification programs.
Some of these programs include American Indoor Air Quality Council, Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification, Eaco and other Canadian organizations that offer accredited training.
Most situations, the mold problem hasn’t spread across your home. To ensure it remains that way, the mold removal company needs to quarantine the affected portion of the home while they work.
Mold spores in the air spread quickly. If the area isn’t contained off with plastic sheeting and negative pressure, the spores displaced by the removal process will move to a new area of your home. Should the spores spread, you will need to spend more money for removal of the cross contamination.
The removal company should also use a negative air machine (air scrubber) while working in your home. The Negative pressure removes contaminated air from the affected area, filters it through a HEPA filter, and exhausts it outside.
Honesty is a sign of a trustworthy mold remediation company.
They should be ready and willing to walk you through each step of the process and explain why it happen and how to correct it.
It usually involves first locating the mold and source of moisture causing the problem. Then technicians will seal off the affected room and remove the mold from that area.
In Toronto and throughout Canada we have mold remediation guidelines, ensure those are followed and adhere by the remediation company.
Sometimes the mold removal process requires major renovation, and that makes homeowners nervous.
If you are concerned about the amount of work technicians are going to do to things like wall supports and bathroom fixtures, ask the company to take pictures of the process.
Honest removal companies should have nothing to hide and will provide the pictures without hassle.
Anyone who enters the mold-affected area should wear protective gear. This is for their personal safety and to prevent cross-contamination.
The amount of personal protective equipment depends on the size of the job at hand.
Most mold removal jobs will require:
Proper disposal procedures need to be observed to prevent the building materials the company has removed from contaminating other parts of your home.
Any materials removed from the affected area should never be allowed to remain in the home or carried throughout the house, without any precaution, to avoid cross contamination to other clean areas.
These materials are to be double-bagged to prevent leakage, hepa vacuumed and sanitized before taken out of the containment area.
Under no circumstances should moldy materials be thrown out windows. This will cause the bags to tear and send mold spores into the air around your home.
The first step to making sure you’ve found the right mold remediation company is to do a little research.
Do they show their certificates online? Have they provided an easy-to-understand explanation of their remediation process? Will they guarantee their work? How long have they been in business?
CleanFirst has proudly served the Toronto area for over 30 years. We only employ highly trained and certified mold removal specialists, they make our name proud and are like family to us, they are happy professional and courteous, they love what they do and it shows on their work, personality and dealings with our clients all over the GTA. CleanFirst guarantees all their work with no strings attached, we have been helping clients in Toronto and all GTA for over 30 years.
Need help removing mold from your home? Contact us today for a free mold inspection.
Here is a list of popular locations we serve. Call us if yours is not on the list!
Ajax, Aurora
Bancroft, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington
Downsview
Etobicoke
Georgetown, Guelph
Hamilton
Kitchener
Markham, Midland, Milton, Mississauga
Newmarket, Niagara-on-the-Lake, North York
Oakville
Pickering
Rexdale, Richmond Hill
Scarborough, St Catharines
Toronto
Vaughan
Waterloo, Whitby