Restoration blog topic
Mold remediation and moisture-control guides
Mold work starts with the moisture source and the affected materials, not with the mold itself. Assessment, containment, removal and repair are covered below, without unsupported toxicity claims.
Mold grows where materials stay wet, so mold work starts with the moisture and ends with dry materials, not with a spray. Small surface growth on a hard, non-porous surface from a fixed leak is something a homeowner can clean. Growth inside a wall, under flooring, across more than a small area, or on porous material that stayed wet means the affected material is removed, the area is contained so spores do not spread, and the moisture source is corrected before anything is rebuilt. Color does not tell you how serious a mold is, and testing does not replace a scope of work. The guides below are grouped by where the mold is and what you need to decide.
Deciding what to do first
Identify the moisture source, the size of the affected area and the materials involved. Those three facts decide whether this is a cleaning job or a remediation job, and whether testing adds anything.
Where the mold is
Each space fails differently. Basements, crawl spaces, attics and wall cavities each fail for a different reason, so the correction is different too: drainage and dehumidification below grade, ground cover and venting in a crawl space, ventilation in an attic.
Older buildings and special cases
Buildings from before 1978 can contain lead paint, and some older materials contain asbestos; both change how demolition is done. Hoarding conditions add access and disposal issues to any mold or water scope.