Have you been seeing dark spots on your floors, carpets, walls, or ceilings?

    Do you notice a musty odor or persistent dampness hanging in the air?

    Are you suddenly suffering from frequent respiratory, sinus, or allergy issues?

    If you answered yes to all those questions, there might be mold growth in your property. You will need immediate professional mold remediation to deal with the problem permanently.

    At West Central Equipment and Restoration in Lecanto, Florida, we provide timely, safe, and effective mold inspection, testing, and remediation services. You can trust us to quickly detect the cause and severity of mold in your property and provide a lasting remedy.

    What is mold, and what causes it?

    Mold Removal ServiceMold is a common fungus that thrives best in warm, damp conditions both indoors and outdoors. It grows mainly due to high humidity, poor ventilation, condensation, slow leaks, floods, or broken pipes. As long as moisture is present in your property for an extended period, mold will grow.

    The fungus reproduces and spreads through microscopic spores carried by water or air to new locations. To grow in your property, tiny mold spores travel in the air and settle on structures such as drywall and flooring.

    Under the right conditions—usually temperatures above 60 degrees with 45% indoor humidity—the spores multiply rapidly, though usually going unnoticed and becoming a problem inside the property.

    Mold growth occurs majorly in high humidity areas such as bathrooms, basements, attics, and crawl spaces. It develops in ceiling tiles, carpet, drapes, furniture, drywall, ductwork, wallpaper, and even books and magazines.

    Harmful effects of mold

    With mold in your house, the air quality will be affected. Mold exposure can cause health problems such as nasal congestion, wheezing, shortness of breath, sneezing fits, red eyes, bloody nose, fever, skin irritation, headache, aches and pains, and asthma attacks in those with asthma.

    Mold not only has the potential for structural damage to your property but also dramatically lowers the value of the property if you are in the market to sell. Real estate agents estimate that the value of a property drops by up to 10% if it has mold.

    It is best to act quickly to stop the spread of mold to avoid adverse effects on your health. Plus, professional mold remediation will save your belongings and the structure of your building from damage. And if you plan to sell, mold removal ensures you get the best return on your investment.

    What is mold remediation?

    Mold remediation is a comprehensive, science-based process that entails inspection for sources of water damage and high humidity, mold removal from surfaces and air, treating mold and mildew contaminated surfaces, and restoring healthy indoor and outdoor air quality. It employs the knowledge of the lifecycle of the specific mold species to prevent it from re-establishing itself.

    Mold removal is not something that you can do on your own. Efficient and safe removal of the fungi requires training, knowledge, experience, and appropriate equipment and chemicals.

    Attempting to clean the mold with household chemicals is more likely to spread the spores throughout the building and create more costly issues, especially if you are dealing with harmful black mold.

    Moreover, applying bleach to kill mold on a porous surface (wood, drywall, grout, or carpet) facilitates mold growth. Using chlorine kills only a fraction of the mold. The water in the bleach sinks into the material and promotes deeper, further widespread mold growth.

    If your property is in a humid area and you had leaky plumbing or flood damage in the past, you may have mold hidden somewhere in the property.

    The best thing to do is call a professional remediation service immediately. These specialists will ensure your property is inspected thoroughly. They will identify the causes of the growth, remove the mold, and provide any necessary restoration services.

    What steps do we take to deliver exceptional mold remediation?

    • 1) Meticulous inspection
      At West Central Equipment and Restoration in Lecanto, Florida, we do our job well. That is why even before we remove the mold, we conduct a customized mold inspection and cleanup.When you call us for mold remediation, we ask you a few questions to get a better idea of the type of mold you have and the extent of the damage. Then within 15 minutes or so, we dispatch a team of mold professionals to your property.

      Our technicians wear proper safety gear throughout the process. Each of them will arrive in a full protective suit and will be wearing a high-filtration face mask and vinyl (or neoprene) gloves.

      Shortly after arrival, they will begin inspecting and assessing your property to look for mold in areas where it could be causing structural issues. This includes the walls, vents, basements, attics, crawlspaces, and even in the HVAC ductwork. Since mold does not grow without water, the specialists will determine the source of moisture and how to control it.

      They will sample and test the air in and around your property for mold detection. Technicians will then send the samples for tests, such as air-o-cell tests and cultures, to identify the species and concentrations of mold present in your property. They will look in hidden areas for mold growths that may not be obvious to the casual observer.

    • 2) Containing the spread
      With the types, sources, and concentrations of the mold identified, our technicians will develop and execute a mold removal plan. The plan will include containment of the mold in the affected areas and limit the spread of mold in the property or surrounding areas.They will seal off the work area, usually with negative air chambers, plastic sheeting, and other physical barriers. This is necessary so that mold spores will not disperse throughout your property. They will also turn off fans and air conditioning systems. These steps will enable them to eliminate the mold more easily.
    • 3) Mold cleanup
      Mold can grow virtually on everything, including wooden objects, ceiling tiles, insulation, wallpaper, cardboard and paper, rugs, other fabrics, plants, and even food. Our professionals will use HEPA air scrubbers, commercial-strength fans, and high-efficiency dehumidifiers to clear the mold from materials.They will dispose of materials that cannot be salvaged through intensive cleaning. Other contaminated structures will also be cleaned with antimicrobial and antifungal chemicals. This is to remove existing mold and stop new spores from establishing themselves.

      Typically, our technicians discard moldy porous building materials such as drywall, insulation, and baseboards. These materials are relatively inexpensive to replace and often impossible to restore to their previous uncontaminated condition.

    • 4) Filtering the air
      Once mold has been physically removed, the air will be cleaned of airborne mold spores, replacing dirty moldy air with clean, fresh air.West Central technicians use HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) vacuums and air exchange machines to scrub the air and free it from contaminants.

      The HEPA vacuums have special filters that capture tiny mold spores that would ordinarily pass right through regular vacuum filters. The vacuuming process lowers airborne spores to the natural level of the outside environment, prevents re-growth of mold, cleans up dust from surfaces, and causes an immediate improvement in air breathability.

    • 5) Cleaning and deodorization
      With the mold removed and their spores eliminated from indoor air, our technicians will now clean your furniture, clothing, curtains, and other personal items using wet and dry cleaning, abrasions, foams, and immersions to remove traces of spores or odor related to mold infestation.They will also use fogging techniques to remove the stuffy smell associated with the mold.

      Since mold usually produces a strong, musty odor, the specialists will use effective deodorization techniques.

      At West Central, we will not be satisfied until every trace of previous mold infestation is eliminated.

    • 6) Structural restoration
      With your property cleaned and free of mold and musty odor, our technicians embark on restoring the building to its pre-mold condition. They achieve this by installing sound building materials in place of damaged ones. In the process, they may rebuild entire rooms or replace drywall panels, reinstall wallpaper or replace portions of the carpeting.Likewise, they apply a sealer or encapsulant to make the treated areas more resistant to water damage and mold and help with odor control.

      Finally, the mold remediation experts will ensure leaky roofs, windows, and pipes are sealed, all the moisture is thoroughly dried, the shower, laundry, and cooking areas are adequately ventilated, and humidity levels are controlled.

    So why should you hire West Central Equipment and Restoration?

    1. Our technicians are thoroughly screened, fully insured, and exceptionally qualified to remediate mold damage.
    2. We are experienced in mold cleanup—and boast a good mastery of what works and doesn’t work and how to keep mold from recurring.
    3. We offer a 24/7 all-year mold remediation service.
    4. We use the latest technology to identify both the mold and the moisture source that feeds it.
    5. We conduct complete, safe, and effective mold removal, cleaning, sanitation and deodorization of the structure, fixtures, and contents.
    6. We use the highly effective HEPA air filtration and HEPA vacuuming techniques.
    7. We keep you and your insurance agent informed at every step of the remediation process.
    8. We work with care and sensitivity to rescue the affected area and restore it to normal conditions.
    9. We contain the mold in affected areas and reduce the overall costs of restoration.

    Unparalleled mold remediation

    At West Central Equipment and Restoration in Lecanto, Florida, we have skilled, knowledgeable, certified, and fully prepared technicians to conduct a safe, effective mold inspection, testing, and remediation on your property.

    We use advanced equipment and processes to handle the mold and mitigate losses. And we are sure to get the job done right the first time.

    If you have questions or need assistance with mold removal in Lecanto, Florida, call us any time day or night at (352) 270-8417.

    We will work with the utmost professionalism, compassion, respect, and reliability. And, you will love the results!