Mold Services
We Offer Various Services
Mold Growth
Prioritize Mold Removal
Being proactive about mold removal is in the best interest of your home, your wallet, and your well-being. Taking early action can solve problems before they have had a chance to wreak havoc. The longer mold has had an opportunity to grow, the more effort it will take to remove it. The longer you live with unhealthy mold, the more likely you are to experience health problems.
Trusted & Experienced
Signs You Need Mold Removal
The odor is the most telltale sign that you have an unwelcome guest in your home. As mold tends to hide inside the walls, it can take weeks, months, or years before any mold catches your eye. Before you can see it, mold might give off a distinctively unattractive scent.
Although different types of mold can stink in various ways, more often than not, most molds will have a pungent and musty scent. Molds generate this smell as they eat the building material around them to reproduce and grow.
Staying aware of when your home’s fragrance turns musty is your best resource for catching mold early.
As mold grows when exposed to moist environments, make sure to check these areas regularly:
- Damp basements or rooms prone to flooding should be checked for mold often.
- Tiles around the shower and bath looking for spotty mold signs should be a regular part of cleaning your bathrooms.
- The area around plumbing leaks. Check for signs of water damage around water pipes underneath your sink.
- Heating and cooling systems, particularly the water heater and HVAC units, are common breeding spots for mold.
- Leaky ceilings, windows, and doors. Make sure that these points of entry for excessive moisture are adequately insulated.
Experienced Mold Removal Technicians
Maintenance To Prevent Mold Buildup
As we have already covered in an earlier paragraph, mold will always be present, and not all of it should or even can be removed. Even though you can never eliminate it altogether, there are things you can do as a homeowner or building manager to prevent mold from building up in those hard-to-reach places.
Our mold removal team recommends:
- Cleaning any moldy surfaces as soon as you notice them. This suggestion includes the in-betweens of your bathroom tiles.
- Having your carpets cleaned regularly. Fabrics like carpets and rugs absorb and hold onto moisture longer than hard surfaces.
- Using a dehumidifier, particularly when during high humidity/wet days. These warm and wet days are ideal for breeding mold.
- Waterproofing basements and crawl spaces. Waterproofing the parts of your house that get the dampest will go a long way toward keeping maintenance costs low.
- Hiring professional help for cleaning the heating and cooling systems. A trained professional can make the difference between getting the job done and getting the job done right.
- Cleaning all ventilation ducts (bathroom fans and dryers). Make sure that all exhaust from these ducts fully makes it outside.
By being proactive and preventing a buildup of moisture, you are saving yourself from literal and figurative headaches in the future.
Trusted Mold Removal Service Provider
Call The Mold Removal Professionals In Topeka, KS
When mold has taken root in your home and plans to stay long past its welcome, it’s time to call for professional mold removal.
If you are still unsure if you have mold needing removal, we suggest asking yourself these questions:
- Has your house or building had a history of water damage, moisture buildup, or flooding?
- Have certain parts of the building been damaged? Do they stay wet for more than two days?
- Have there been any plumbing issues or leaks?
- Has anyone in the house or building noticed any pungent odors?
- Are any residents reporting health issues, like asthma attacks?
- Has the building undergone remodeling or gone too long without maintenance?
If you’re answering yes more than no to these questions, then we recommend you give our professionals at Lamunyon a call for effective mold removal services.
We take pride in our work, and we are happy to answer any questions about mold that you may have. We have been in business since 1973 and serve the Topeka area and the greater north-central Kansas area. Our business has received an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. If you have any questions about our mold removal services or would like to talk to a member of our team, do not hesitate to contact us.
Call us for all kinds of mold services in Topeka, which include mold assessment, dehumidification, mold inspection, mold remediation, and mold testing. We also provide mold removal, mold dehumidification and mold testing & inspection in Manhattan KS. Also, mold removal, mold dehumidification and mold testing in Salina.
Our friendly, caring staff are enthusiastic about helping you, and our certified technicians are available 24/7 at your convenience and for emergency mold removal.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Mold removal services or remediation is the act of removing and/or cleaning surfaces of visible or suspected molds to restore the environment to pre-loss conditions.
Following are a few steps you can take to check for mold in your house:
- Look for visible signs of mold: Mold can appear as a black, brown, or greenish stain on walls, floors, or ceilings. It may also appear as a fuzzy or slimy growth on surfaces.
- Check for musty odors: Mold often has a musty or earthy smell, so if you notice a strong, unpleasant odor in your home, it could be a sign of mold.
- Look for water damage: Mold often grows in areas where there has been water damage, such as a leak or flood. Check for water stains or discoloration on walls, ceilings, and floors, and look for any signs of water damage, such as bulging or peeling paint or wallpaper.
- Check for condensation: Condensation can occur on walls, windows, and other surfaces when there is excess moisture in the air. This can be a sign of mold growth, especially if a musty smell or visible mold growth accompanies the condensation.
As soon as you suspect mold in your Topeka home, it’s important to have it inspected and professionally removed if necessary. Inhaling or touching mold can cause health problems, so proper handling and taking appropriate precautions is important.
Several factors can cause mold to appear suddenly:
- Water damage: After a flood or leak, mold often grows in areas that have been damaged by water. It is easy for mold to grow on walls, floors, and other surfaces if water seeps into them.
- High humidity: Mold thrives in humid environments, so if your home has high humidity levels, it may be more prone to mold growth. Several factors, including poor ventilation, leaks, and excess moisture in the air, can cause humidity.
- Poorly sealed or insulated surfaces: If your home has poorly sealed or insulated surfaces, such as windows or doors, it may be more prone to mold growth. This is because these surfaces allow moisture to enter the home, providing the perfect mold conditions.
- Poor ventilation: Poor ventilation can cause excess moisture in your home, creating the ideal environment for mold to grow. Make sure your home is well-ventilated to help prevent mold growth.
If you notice mold suddenly appearing in your home, it is important to address the issue as soon as possible to prevent it from spreading and causing health problems.
All mold removal projects are unique, but typically, you can expect affected building materials (i.e. drywall, carpet, etc) to be removed while under containment with an air scrubber running to clean the air and help prevent cross-contamination for any mold removal process during our mold inspection and removal.
Affected lumber, such as framing, sheathing, and subfloor, will need to be sanded and cleaned with a surfactant. Contents may need to be disposed of or cleaned, depending on the situation.
A professional can help determine the extent of cleaning required. Sometimes testing is needed to help make this determination.
You can easily perform a mold test for the indoor air here in Topeka, KS, in several ways:
- Use a mold test kit: All kinds of mold test kits are available at many home improvement stores and online. Most kits include a culture medium that is exposed to the air of your home. If mold spores are present, they will grow on the culture medium, allowing you to see if mold is actually present in your indoor air.
- Hire a professional mold inspection: A professional mold inspector can test for mold in your indoor air using specialized equipment, such as air sampling pumps and culture plates. The inspector will collect air samples in your home and send them to a laboratory for analysis.
- Use a mold detection device: Some devices, such as mold detection meters, can detect the presence of mold in the air. These devices use sensors to measure the concentration of mold spores in the air and can be a quick and easy way to test mold in your home.
If you suspect that you are experiencing a mold problem, it is best to consult with a professional to determine the extent of the issue along with the best course of action.
Lamunyon Mold in Topeka, KS, does not recommend using bleach as a cleanup method as bleach is generally ineffective on porous or semi-porous building materials. Such items typically need to be discarded when contaminated with mold growth. Even worse, household bleach is mostly water, which may actually help mold to grow and spread, especially if it is not dried quickly afterwards. Bleach is also a health hazard in itself, which may be undesirable depending on where it is used. Finally, dead mold spores are still allergenic and a health hazard. The best way to deal with mold growth is to remove it from the structure all together.
What the EPA says:
The purpose of mold remediation is to remove the mold to prevent human exposure and damage to building materials and furnishings. It is necessary to clean up mold contamination, not just to kill the mold. Dead mold is still allergenic, and some dead molds are potentially toxic. The use of a biocide, such as chlorine bleach, is not recommended as a routine practice during mold remediation, although there may be instances where professional judgment may indicate its use (for example, when immune-compromised individuals are present). In most cases, it is not possible or desirable to sterilize an area; a background level of mold spores will remain in the air (roughly equivalent to or lower than the level in outside air). These spores will not grow if the moisture problem in the building has been resolved.
In many cases, mold needs to be removed by a professional. This personal decision should include considering the health of those who come in contact with the mold while cleaning. You should also consider if you have the proper tools and knowledge to prevent cross-contamination of other spaces while removing mold.