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Mold Remediation
updated: Dec 22, 2010, 8:00 AM

Has anyone had any experience with local mold remediation companies? What did it cost for these kinds of services? How long did it take? I have an exterior wall closet that's gone rain-forest on me.

Places People Are Talking About:

Channel Coast	Criterion Environmental	Environmental Sampling Specialists
Environmental Services	Precision Environmental	ServiceMaster

What People Are Saying:

COMMENT 129595	2010-12-21 08:32 PM
I have had to use one company out of Ventura and the ripped the heck out of the walls and were very expensive. They did extremely sloppy work too with the promise of being careful. It will take about a week to do since they will use air scrubbers to clean the air once they remove all the mold. Good Luck.
COMMENT 129652	2010-12-22 08:19 AM
I can tell you who NOT to use - Qwik Response. A few mold spots below the sink, and suddenly an entire kitchen wall was ripped out. It took three weeks to get a "clear" reading, at which point not only had we no mold, we had no kitchen. The owner of the company ODDLY ENOUGH was also a building contractor and submitted a bid to our insurance company to rebuild the kitchen. In a moment of stupidity, he mentioned casually that "as long as the insurance company gives us the bid, we do the work. Then they cover what they cover, and the rest is up to the customer." In other words, he didn't care who he screwed, as long as he was the one making money. Then he drove off in his shiny Mercedes. We kicked him to the curb, needless to say. BEWARE of ANY mold remediation company that also offers rebuilding. Get multiple bids.
COMMENT 129666	2010-12-22 08:45 AM
Thanks for those responses. Does anyone have experience with Environmental Services, a Sacramento-based company that services Southern California areas?
COMMENT 129676	2010-12-22 08:57 AM
Spray bottle of bleach
COMMENT 129706	2010-12-22 09:53 AM
Call Criterion Environmental for any testing. They are knowledgeable and professional.
COMMENT 129733	2010-12-22 10:21 AM
There is another company Channel Coast or somethning like that. They are the same. They test and then tell you they can do the reconstruction, ect. Bad, bad idea. They did it for us and when another remodel was done the mold was back in the area they had remediated and rebuilt.
COMMENT 129749	2010-12-22 10:57 AM
Unfortunately, I don't have a recommendation, but I can tell you of a family that hired Servicemaster for their house's mold problems. SM's treatment made it worse, not better. The situation became exacerbated by their "remediation" and their entire house had to be gutted down to the studs and rebuilt. SM also dropped the ball on many of the recent fire victims' homes. A friend of mine had to remove all of the items in her house because even though the place didn't burn completely, it was smoke damaged. Her belongings were in SM's possession for almost a year while undergoing "de-smokification" and while reconstruction was ongoing. Many of her belongings were damaged or intermingled with items from other households. The contents of what SM returned to her were about 30% not hers, or, she would get a bookcase back, for example, with shelves missing and lost, rendering it useless. Even though the insurance offered compensation, some of these items were irreplaceable or antique.
COMMENT 129764	2010-12-22 11:27 AM
Spray bleach. For a small spot that was about 1.5 x 3, it cost over $5000 and lost all our carpet and drapes looking for more which was not found. Unless it is behind walls and really a big problem you cannot address yourself, we were told just to use a bleach solution to get rid of it. If it is on the surface of drywall, and comes back, cut that small piece out and patch. Very, very few molds are toxic, this is what we learned from an expert... after the debacle of destroying our bedroom.
COMMENT 129776P	2010-12-22 11:45 AM
Exactly. Spray bleach and then dry the spot(s) with a hair dryer. Keep an eye peeled for it to return......
COMMENT 129781	2010-12-22 11:59 AM
I'd echo the statements of trying to clean it yourself first. In 2005 I think, we discovered two incorrectly installed replacement windows were leaking into the walls of one bedroom and our dining room. I freaked (asthmatic and allergies) and decided to go the "correct" route and hire professionals. What a nightmare. We lived in half our house for months. Between the time it took for air testing and results to begin with, then the tear down (carpet, dry wall), then the scrubbing (all negative pressure clean-room type deals with the guys wearing suits), then the resting and result waiting, then the rebuild... Nightmare. Insurance was not pleased and was a hassle to handle. The incorrectly done windows cost me $10K. The fix cost the insurance co $10K. Environmental Services sounds familiar as the place that did all the testing, but they had an office in SB at that time. ServiceMaster did all the initial water clean up, the tear down, clean, and rebuild and they did a good job. The process just took FOREVER. Luckily it wasn't the kitchen or bathroom! All the pros I worked with were just that - professional. I can check my paper work tonight which is at home to confirm the businesses I used. Do it yourself first. Seriously. With bleach. All the work they did wasn't anything I couldn't have done myself and then hire someone to do the finish drywall. ServiceMaster actually used a bleach solution to "wash" the wall studs. That's it. Nothing fancy or scientific.
COMMENT 129782	2010-12-22 12:00 PM
FYI, most local "mold" is actually mildew, not the dreaded toxic "black mold" that was all the rage on Action Newscasts a few years ago. If you have so much mold that you can't fix it yourself with bleach, then you need to hire a structural engineer or contractor, not some jumpsuited vacuum jockeys.
COMMENT 129838	2010-12-22 02:12 PM
My house is over an area which at one time was a duck pond. The water table is high there, so our neighborhood has always had mold or mildew problem., especially on the north side of the houses. We are on raised hardwood and not sure if this makes a difference. For years I treated the walls with bleach. Then X-14 came on the market and it was easier and more effective.(I found it worked great on the window rubbers which would get so black and require hand scrubbing with a toothbrush.) The mildew or blackness was always worse behind large pieces of furniture which was not moved often, and in one closet in a north bedroom. It would always come off the painted surface with bleach or X-14 applications. We also put a sump pump in our crawlhole to get the water from rains which accumulated under the house.
COMMENT 130132	2010-12-23 10:24 AM
Help! I have water that has seeped through my plaster walls around a 5 year old double payne window. I bought a water meter and the readings show the moisture is only around the window, which makes me think that the leaks did not come from the roof flashing, but either from the window installation, or from the exterior plaster outside the window. I have stopped the water from coming in and notice that the water bleeding through the plaster walls is contained to the peremiter of the window. If I treat with clorox, is that enough to prevent mold, or will I get mold in between the plaster walls? Also, what if I rent a dehumidifier, will that dry out the wall? Thanks!
COMMENT 130168	2010-12-23 11:05 AM
To determine the type of mold (VERY important) use Environmental Sampling Specialists-888-437-7837 To mitigate, Precision Environmental.805-641-9333 or Environmental Services 805-962-7304. If it is a dangerous mold, to not mitigate it correctly will cost a LOT more in the long run, $ wise and healthwise. Good luck.
COMMENT 130183	2010-12-23 11:34 AM
Z28racegirl experience the same as we did with our home in No. Ca. I called servicemaster here and smaster stated that they use a phenol to clean walls. We went through the tearouts, private contractor, rebuilding walls, etc and whole house cleanup. The testing was positive for all the usual mold and bacteria found in the atmosphere...the occupants were hyperreactive to the black mold threat and that's why we followed through...no ins. coverage thru State Farm, don't cover.
COMMENT 130226	2010-12-23 02:51 PM
130132: the prob with my window installation was the vertical leveling of the windows was off. The bottoms "stuck out" more to the outside of the house than the tops. The windows are built to drain any water that comes in, from the bottom of their sash/sill/whatever. But because the bottoms were on a different "plane" than the top, the water built up in the window sill and could only drain back into the space between my indoor drywall and the outside siding. Instead of by design, which is out the sill and to the outside. A dehumidifier was used in our house initially (I forgot about that) before cleaning, so that will help you. However the only solution, besides the "mold" cleanup (it was probably mildew, not the toxic black mold stuff) for me was to have the two windows reinstalled. Sorry I forgot to mention all that earlier. You may have a similar situation. Who did I call to do the reinstall? Damn memory... ABS glass? I can't remember for sure. I'm sorry I'm not sure who to recommend. Maybe check the replacement window thread here on Edhat?