So you followed a musty, gross smell to a dark corner of the house and found a nasty surprise waiting for you: you have found mold. Mold is so prevalent that over half of the homes in America have a hidden mold problem. But lucky for you, you’ve found the mold, and that means you can start the mold remediation process to get rid of it. Follow these five steps to get your home free of mold infestations fast!

Step 1: Determine the Extent of the Spread

Before trying to clean up mold, make sure you know exactly how far the problem spreads. Mold coming through a wall may well have invaded the subfloor or insulation behind the patch. Some mold can extend from a tiny hole in the floor and pop out three feet away!

Unfortunately, you may need to poke a few holes in the wall or tear up the flooring to locate the entire issue. Or, you can skip to step 3 and have a professional do it for you. 

Step 2: Determine & Fix the Cause of the Mold

After you’ve located the entire mold issue, you need to consider what may have caused it. Keep in mind that not all mold causes can be fixed by a handy DIYer. Burst pipes, foundation damage, and humidity problems often require special tools and training to fix. 

The team at California Steam Clean recommends letting the experts take part in identifying the cause of mold in a house before you start calling plumbers and other contractors. Why? There may be more than one cause. Without a professional mold inspection, you won’t know if other factors are encouraging mold growth in your home.

Step 3: Contact a Mold Remediation Expert

Mold remediation companies, like our team at California Steam Clean, remove mold from your house and repair the damage it leaves behind. The difference between a mold expert and a DIYer removing mold is quite significant. Mold remediation experts have HEPA vacuums, air movers, and ion technology to help kill mold colonies and reduce mold spore count in a home. Most homeowners can’t handle proper mold removal on their own. Additionally, most homeowners don’t want to spend days trying to clean up the mess.

If you want to skip steps 1 and 2, you can! Give a mold remediation company a call to inspect and handle the mold situation. They handle the entire mold remediation process without making the homeowner try to figure it out, saving you time and stress. 

Step 4: Call Your Home Insurance

Occasionally, home insurance covers mold infestations. It depends on if flooding or home damage caused the mold and the type of policy and riders you carry. Give them a call to see if they can help you navigate the claims process and possibly get the mold repairs covered under an insurance claim.

Step 5: Call Your Doctor

Yes, calling the doctor is a wise step to take if you’ve been around any mold. Mold poses risks to the respiratory system of humans and animals (so consider calling the vet, too!) A doctor can determine whether any inflammation or allergy responses are caused by mold and give you the proper treatment for any symptoms you are experiencing.

When mold becomes a problem in your home, don’t wait! Give the mold remediation specialists at California Steam Clean a call at 707-755-6961 and let us get rid of the problem for you.