Your 'home away from home' may have some uninvited occupants you'll want to evict right away. Some are obvious, some not so much.
Any time we open up a vacation home that has been vacant for several months there are the inevitable invaders who have taken up the opportunity to freeload the winter months away unbeknownst to you, the owner. Perhaps it's a mouse nest you find right away or a racoon has merrily made some minor renovations. But inevitably the first invader you will notice is something you can't necessarily see..but you can certainly smell! That musty smell is mold. Every time. Airing out the cottage will dilute the smell but it will not clear the problem. Why does this always happen no matter what you've tried as a preventative in the past?
First of all, homes and buildings are meant to be occupied. They are engineered to receive a certain amount of fresh air, maintain fairly consistent humidity and temperature levels, and receive periodic housekeeping. All of which, do not happen when a home is vacant. It’s a little bit frightening to realize that in fact all homes and buildings are right on the edge of what we call a “mold bloom”. In other words, just a few humidity points higher, a little less airflow, and a little more temperature extremes can cause all kinds of problems. Additionally, plumbing systems that have been out of use all have potentially dried out P-traps. That few inches of water at the bottom of the “P”, is critically important for healthy indoor environments. As they sit with no new water introduced through the floor drains, the sinks, etc., they obviously dry out. In cases where the home is attached to municipal services, this means that there is no longer a seal between the indoor environment and the sewer. Sewer gases, bacteria, and fungi will all participate in entering the air. Not a pleasant thought, but certainly a reality.
The Center for Disease Control has instructed the public, on their website, about the dangers of a shutdown or vacant building. The temporary shutdown or reduced operation of a building and reductions in normal water use can create hazards for returning occupants. Check for hazards before reopening after a prolonged period of building inactivity. It continues by reasoning that for mold, a prolonged period may be days, weeks, or months depending upon the type of building, season, weather, and other variables. Most buildings are going to have an elevated “mold load” when reopening.
Ways to prevent this are a little bit like getting the toothpaste back into the tube. It may be too late to adjust the HVAC, thermostat, or add water to the traps to stop the unhealthy condition; so what are the options? Our treatment on a building/vacation home is the ideal way to lower the “mold load” of a building before re-entry and to prevent future mold issues.
All Clear Mold & Pathogen Solutions offers a unique and affordable process to rid a home of mold, mold toxins, and bacteria. Typically in a 4-6 hour window, All Clear can return the home to less than outdoor mold spore levels without introducing your family to further poisons, heavy metals, phenols, and the like. We give your family a fresh start to a healthy home.