New Years Resto-lution: Mold Testing For Your Home

It’s a new year, which means it’s time to think about your New Year’s resolutions! Usually New Year’s resolutions are more personal, but why not make some for your home this year? Let’s start with the possible mold living in your home! Mold testing is a great way to ensure there is no mold growing in your home.

Have You Been Exposed To Mold?

More often than not, people don’t know they’ve been exposed to mold. Because mold is microscopic, it can be tough to spot. While some mold infestations can be seen or smelled, that’s not true for all of them. Common symptoms of mold exposure include:

•       Stuffy nose
•       Wheezing
•       Red or itchy eyes
•       Itchy skin

Those who are more sensitive to mold, have allergies to mold, or live with asthma often experience more intense reactions. Mold can have the tendency to grow in hard-to-see areas, which is why you should keep your nose out for a strong musty smell and call a professional to help you take care of the issue.

Why Mold Testing?

Mold can find its way inside any home that gives it a comfortable place to grow. If you give it oxygen, food, the right temperature (72-85 degrees), a viable spore, and moisture, it will never leave – unless you remove it yourself! Since mold can be difficult to spot, air quality testing is an important way to determine if you have a mold problem.

Got Mold? We got you.

At RestoPros, your health and safety is our top concern. If you are in a moldy situation or have concerns you may have been exposed, you should have the professionals take a look! We offer testing and removal services to Plano and Dallas residents and follow a process to ensure we not only remove your mold, but make sure it doesn’t return again.

1. Initial Assessment and Written Instructions:

A licensed mold assessment consultant will come to your home to inspect and take air quality samples before writing a set of instructions for mold removal, based on what they found.

2. Removing the Mold

After we test your air quality, we will set up containment to prevent mold spores from spreading during the remediation process. This will not only protect your home, but the occupants living there from any further mold exposure. RestoPros will remove any materials that have been impacted by mold and clean and disinfect the non-porous materials. Following that, we sanitize the entire containment and will even apply an anti-fungal paint if we feel it necessary!

3. Activate Air Scrubbers

After the mold has been cleaned and removed, we will then activate our air scrubbers. Our air scrubbers will clean the air inside the containment area about a day before we do the final step.

4. Clearance Testing

The final step to our mold testing process is clearance testing. After 1-3 days, the mold assessment consultant will perform thorough testing to make sure your air quality is healthy and safe!

Start your new year off with mold testing! Contact the pros at RestoPros today.

Christmas Trees Are A Hotspot For Mold

Holiday cheer isn’t the only thing your Christmas tree can bring – unfortunately, Christmas trees are a hotspot for mold! They are are bound, stacked, and then stored for weeks, trapping moisture and mold spores. Mold can hide in the needles and on the trunks of your Christmas tree, making them a hotspot for mold. Bah humbug…

Before you put your Christmas tree up for the holiday, there are important things to watch out for when it comes to possible mold.

How To Tell If Your Tree Has Mold

Real trees have the potential to cause allergies because, like many plants, they release tiny pollen grains. But it may not be the tree itself causing allergy-related symptoms. Some symptoms of moldy Christmas trees could include:

• Sneezing
• Runny Nose and/or Nasal Congestion
• Wheezing and/or Difficulty Breathing
• Headaches
• Nosebleeds
• moldEye, Nose and/or Throat Irritation

Since these are often the same symptoms you experience with allergies, it can be difficult to tell if your seasonal allergies have returned or if you’ve been exposed to a moldy Christmas tree.

How To Prevent Your Real Tree From Getting Moldy

While you can’t control the climate in which your Christmas tree has been kept, you can take preventative measures to ensure you don’t bring mold home with you.  

1.      Before Bringing It Inside: First, rinse your tree with vinegar and water solution. Then, shake your tree or blow it off with a leaf blower. By doing this, you are releasing the tree from all the pollen build-up and mold spores that could be hanging out. And finally, let your Christmas tree dry outside for a bit. Remember, mold flourishes in moist conditions.

2.      Clean The Tree (And The Air): Wipe down the trunk with vinegar and water solution or diluted bleach. If you have an air purifier, use it in the same room as your tree. This can not only reduce mold exposure, but it can help with common tree allergies too.

3.      Limit Their Stay: Mold is an unwanted house guest. One sure way to make sure they don’t overstay their welcome (or enter your home at all), is by leaving your tree up for only a week. This can reduce mold growth on the branches.

How To Prevent Your Artificial Tree From Getting Moldy

Real trees aren’t the only ones that can be a hotspot for mold. If your artificial tree isn’t stored properly, it too can experience mold growth. To prevent your artificial tree from getting moldy, make sure to store your tree in a temperature and humidity-controlled area. This makes it so there are no moldy surprises when you take out your tree for the season.

Call The Pros At RestoPros

If you’ve taken all these preventative measures with your Christmas tree and still feel like you may have been exposed to a moldy situation, our team at RestoPros is here to help! Not only can you trust that our expertise and experience will allow us to contain the mold and remove it entirely, you can trust that we’ll do everything in our power to make sure it doesn’t return later.