Mold Abatement in Seattle - Projects & Services

Mold remediation may sound a lot simpler than it is; It’s actually a complex process that requires a specific set of tools and know-how. Mold spores can be found floating everywhere, even if you clean your house regularly. This makes removing all spores from an area is next to impossible. And, even if achieved, it’d be useless as the airborne spores would gradually come back into the house.

How Quality Mold Remediations Can Save You Money

At Environix, we’ve serviced hundreds of homes in Seattle and surrounding areas. We’ve seen first-hand how a quality contractor can save you thousands of dollars, and there are a few stories we like to share with our customers.

One of our clients found water damage in their basement room. The flooring had visible water damage, and our team of mold experts was called to investigate the problem. Our customer was quoted $6,000 by another contractor to fix the problem, and we were able to do for $1,088.

The other contractor was planning on gutting the entire basement, even if the mold was only affecting a limited section. Thanks to our unique approach, we were able to isolate the area and avoid contaminating the rest of the basement. This, in turn, resulted in a significant price reduction for our client.

The Environix Mold Remediation Process

We employ a unique mold remediation process that allows us to keep costs low without compromising the quality of our work. Our remediation process can be broken down into four major steps, which are:

Isolating the Area that’s Affected

The first step in our remediation process is to isolate the affected area. The purpose of this stage is to create a physical barrier that prevents spores from spreading around your home. The containment structure is created using the existing structures as well as temporary walls that are built from adjustable poles and other materials.

If the area is not properly isolated, a large number of spores would settle throughout your house, which would translate to more work for us. In order to ensure the area is properly contained, we use poly sheets, HEPA scrubbers, and negative air machine. This allows us to maintain the area under negative pressure, preventing different pollutants from contaminating the rest of your property.

If the room doesn’t have negative air pressure, the regular airflow would transport the spores from the isolated area. This can happen even when the sheet is sealed property because it’s impossible to build a structure that overcomes the air current.

With a negative air machine, you constantly draw clean air to the isolated portion of your house, avoiding cross-contamination by design. And, air scrubbers also run the contaminated air through HEPA filters, which prevents it from exhausting contaminants all over the house

Extracting Contaminated Materials

Before we start working on the project, we work on deciding which materials we can restore and what items you need to dispose of. We can help you assess the condition of your belongings and give you an idea of how much it will cost to restore them so you can make the right choice.

Materials that Can Usually Be Restored:

There are some items that can usually be restored, including, but not limited to:

• Metals and hard plastics
• Non-upholstered furniture
• Electronic appliances
• Tile flooring and shower surrounds
• Sheetrock with little to moderate mold growth
• Frames, joists, and rafters
• Photographs

Materials that Are Usually Disposed Of:

Examples of the items that usually need to be discarded include:

• Soft toys
• Stuffed animals
• Damaged carpet and padding
• Base trim
• Area rugs and remnant pieces
• Books and magazines

Cleaning and Restoring the Isolated Area

The vast a majority of Seattle mold remediation projects require a thorough cleaning process. In many cases, the removal phase takes less than the cleaning stage. It’s similar to cleaning a dusty room, with the exception that can’t see the dust, which makes the isolation zone critical.

The cleaning step can be broken down into:

• HEPA Vacuuming: We employ a powerful industrial HEPA vacuum that features built-in redundant seals. Unlike the residential models found at the hardware store, these feature an air-tight design that doesn’t compromise the quality of the filter itself.
• Damp Wiping: To prevent the mold spores from floating back up, we apply a light layer of mildicide through damp wiping. This approach is suitable for glass, painted sheetrock, plastic, and other non-porous surfaces.
• Steam Cleaning: Steam cleaning allows us to remove particulate that’s attached to your upholstered furniture and carpets. It’s also a great option for tiles and concrete floors when used with the right accessories.
• Encapsulating: The encapsulation step addressed the layer of stain that often remains after the contaminants are removed. If it’s not taken care of, it may be hard to assess the success of the project.

Test and Verify

Mold spores aren’t visible to the naked eye, so it’s almost impossible to determine if the remediation was successful with a simple visual examination. An area may seem clean, but a high volume of spores may be floating around in your house.

There are two techniques that are used to test how successful the project was. When the area is unconditioned and it’s linked to the exterior, the best method is through tape lift tests. Indoor mold remediation jobs, on the other hand, can are best assessed through a mold test combined with a visual examination.

Get in Touch with Environix Today

If you need a reliable mold remediation company in Seattle, get in touch with Environix today and our team of contractors will be happy to help. Contact us today!