Job Stories

A realtor who was trying to close on a short sale had contacted me. He couldn’t sell his investment property in East Brunswick, NJ unless and until its widespread mold growth was taken care of.   This home was a “perfect storm” for mold growth, and had one of the most severe mold problems I’ve ever encountered. And after the mold problems I’ve seen following Sandy, that’s saying a lot. This vacant home suffered from neglect, poor ventilation, no power, and, if this weren’t enough, it was located in an area with a naturally high water table. The soil around the foundation was always saturated, and with no power, there was no operational sump pump. Water entered the structure and, with no mechanism to remove it, collected and remained stagnant in the basement. It was a horrendous situation. If a microbiologist wanted to grow mold, this home would have made the perfect laboratory. Upon entering the home, the smell of mold hit me like a slap in the face. I immediately knew that I would not need to do much detective work to find the mold in this house. There was nothing subtle about this mold problem. I entered the basement and immediately found heavy mold growth on the sub-floor, joist beams, the walls that were painted, and all the basement drywall.  The solution to treating this mold problem was our patented MAPS system.  After the water intrusion inspection, there are three key steps:  Step 1: Eradicate any existing mold. We apply an anti-microbial killing agent using electrostatic fogging. This is an EPA-registered, multi-purpose, anti-microbial based in quaternary ammonium salts that works as a bactericide, virucide, disinfectant, fungicide (mold is a type of fungus), cleaner, mildew stat and deodorizer. This solution kills mold and mildew (and even bacteria and viruses!!) within 10 to 15 minutes. Its job is then done, and the product dissipates and is no longer present.    Step 2: Prevent the regrowth of mold. We apply our patented, polymer sealant using electrostatic fogging. This sealant is the key product of the MAPS System, and is not available elsewhere. It enhances the effectiveness of the anti-microbial by sealing any treated surfaces, porous or non-porous. The sealant acts as a shield against future mold growth on treated surfaces. The product, developed by a world-renowned biomaterials scientist, is derived from coating used in human implant devices. The sealant uses silver, nature’s natural anti-microbial metal, at a nanoscale level to create an impermeable silver barrier. Any microorganism that comes into contact with this sealant, including mold, immediately dies. The sealant also has built-in “moisture intelligence,” which is the ability to travel through any surface water and seek out the moisture in mold spores. When a mold spore comes into contact with the sealant, its molecular DNA is broken down and rearranged. The mold is no longer allergenic or otherwise harmful to the home’s occupants. This step is essential for preventing the regrowth of mold and for resolving a mold problem for the long-term. This sealant is unique to the Mold Exterm System and is what separates our mold treatment process from any other that is offered on the market. Step 3. The installation of a commercial-grade SaniDry upright dehumidifier in the basement.  Once the power to this home was turned back on, with the dehumidifier and annual yearly service, reducing indoor humidity levels and an operational sump pump, I was able to guarantee that this home would remain mold-free for 5 years from the date of treatment. No similar guarantee is offered by traditional mold remediators. That is because they simply remove the mold (as well as huge quantities of building materials) and do not attempt to treat it. In contrast, we are able to offer a long-term guarantee precisely because our products and our process are designed to treat and remove the threat of mold for the long-term, not just for today. 

A property manager was trying to sell one off one of his businesses in East Brunswick, NJ. During the inspection process, black mold was discovered in the corner of the boiler room. This put a stop to the selling process and infuriated the owner! After doing some research, he found Mold Solutions by Cowleys, gave us a call, and we were sent out. What had caused the mold to grow in the fist place? Extremely high humidity levels! So we treated the boiler with an application called MAPS 1. MAPS 1 is an EPA registered antimicrobial that attacks mold on a cellular level and kills it immediately. After that was finished, we applied our mold stain remover and scrubbed away all the mold stains. Next, we applied MAPS 2, which is our patented sealant that encapsulates the surface mold is growing on and renders it harmless and non-allergic. MAPS 2 is also moisture sensitive and will reactivate whenever it gets wet to prevent any future mold growth. Lastly, we installed a commercial grade Sani-Dry Sedona dehumidifier. These dehumidifiers cost less to run than other dehumidifiers, covers over 3000 square feet, are energy efficient, and will properly control the humidity levels in the boiler room. Now the owner can move forward with the selling process of his business!

A Mold Solution team was sent to a home in Metuchen, NJ. The homeowner had extensive mold growth in her attic. Although mold is commonly found in basements and crawl spaces, attics can also be a mold trouble spot as well. Just like in basements and crawl spaces, homeowners can find themselves with mold in their attic for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, attic mold is caused by chronically high indoor humidity levels, especially in those attics with poor ventilation or non-working attic fans This particular home had a significant water intrusion from a roof leak. Although the leak was repaired, the problem was that because of poor attic ventilation, mold had formed on the water-saturated wood. And the poor attic ventilation exacerbated the problem. We first treated the attic by applying our EPA-registered anti-microbial (MAPS 1). This application kills surface mold and airborne mold spores. Next, we scrubbed off any visible mold. Mold stains are a residue from mold enzymes. They are not harmful or allergenic. However, they look horrible, especially when it comes time to sell the home. Prospective buyers are always cautious about mold growth in the non-living spaces of the home. We then applied our patented polymer sealant (MAPS 2). This unique sealant destroys any mold at the cellular level. It is also moisture-sensitive and reactivates to prevent the return of any new mold growth in the treated areas.  To prevent mold from returning to the attic, it is important to address those underlying problems that facilitated the mold growth in the first place. Ensuring good air circulation in the attic is essential in order to prevent moisture buildup. A key part of any attic ventilation system are having soffits and gables with built-in vents that allow proper air circulation. Especially during the summer, these vents exchange cooler air from outside the house with the hot, humid air collecting in the attic. This prevents water vapor from collecting on roof sheathing and rafters, eventually causing rot wood and triggering mold growth. Also, air inside attics can reach temperatures that can warp and damage roof shingles. You also need attic air flow during the winter to prevent ice dams from forming on the roof. Blocked soffit vents will stop airflow and trap humid air, creating an environment perfect for mold growth. Even well-insulated attics need good air circulation. With this Metuchen home, we wanted to ensure that the attic had good airflow by installing plastic baffles (also called wind baffles, venting chutes, rafter vents, or insulation baffles) in the rafter bays. Baffles establish a pathway for air to circulate between insulation and the roof sheathing. They prevent insulation from restricting air movement and allow air to circulate under or near the insulation. It is common for wind blowing through soffit vents to disturb the insulation by moving it out of place and blocking the vents, especially with blown loose fiber insulation. Baffles act as screens to separate the insulation from the air currents blowing through the vents. Also, baffles allow you to insulate the entire attic floor space. Without them, you have to keep the vents clear of insulation, so a portion of the attic stays unprotected. We finished up this mold job in less than a day, and with our treatment process, the homeowner avoided extensive, expensive renovations. This attic is now mold-free, and more important, will remain mold-free. We advised this homeowner, as we would any homeowner that had attic mold, to periodically inspect the attic for roof leaks, to monitor the attic’s humidity levels, and to make sure that the attic fan is in good working condition.

The owner of a pet resort in Englishtown that offers pet daycare and overnight boarding became aware, in a somewhat unusual way, that mold was growing inside a section of their building’s interior walls. A dog that was boarding there had dog scratched away a part of the wall, exposing the hidden mold. The dog had likely smelled the mold and was curious to see what on earth could be causing such a foul-smelling odor. Dogs have an incredibly keen sense of smell, so for them, identifying mold hidden behind walls would be pretty easy. A for may not know what it is, but they sure know it stinks. The owner quickly made the call to Mold Solutions By Cowleys for whatever mold remediation work was necessary to protect their health and the health of the pets that they care for. The Mold Solutions team went to work using our MAPS system. We area that we treated was a room used for holding pens. First, using electrostatic fogging, we applied an anti-microbial that kills surface mold and airborne mold spores. Although the walls had mold growth, they were still structurally sound. In these situations, Mold Solutions can successfully and permanently resolve a mold problem while avoiding a costly and extensive tear-out of perfectly good building materials. Instead, with our process, we treat the mold itself. After the anti-microbial application, we used electrostatic fogging to apply our patented, proprietary sealant that coats and kills the mold, and prevents the spores from further spreading. Any microorganism, including mold, viruses, and bacteria that comes into contact with this sealant immediately dies. However, what makes this sealant unique is its built-in “moisture intelligence.” This sealant has the ability to travel through any surface water and seek out the moisture in mold spores where it then reactivates to prevent any future mold growth. The MAPS system and its patented sealant not only kill today’s mold but tomorrow’s mold as well. When mold spores come into contact with this sealant, they are destroyed at the cellular level. The mold is no longer allergenic or otherwise harmful. So, when the Mold Solutions team finishes a mold project, we’ve not only removed the existing mold, but we’ve laid the groundwork to prevent mold from returning to those areas that we’ve treated. When we treated the mold, the building materials were dry, so further inspection will be required to determine the source of the water intrusion. Because mold requires water or moisture to grow, it is essential to identify the underlying water or moisture issue that caused the mold growth in the first place. Our objective is to permanently resolve a mold problem, and that requires identifying and repairing the underlying water problem. If the underlying conditions causing the mold growth are not resolved, there is always the potential for mold to return. With hidden mold growth inside walls, the problem is usually either a slow leaky pipe or a roof leak causing seepage from above. If the volume of water is not enough to stain or seep through the drywall or acoustic tile, the problem often remains undetected unless someone can smell the mold or an occupant of the structure starts to develop allergy symptoms. If someone has chronic allergies, it is important to rule out mold as the underlying cause. The owner of this pet facility was fortunate that one of his “guests” had such a refined sense of smell and took it upon himself to “do some digging” in order to satisfy his curiosity about the offending odor.

Recently, a two-person crew from Cowleys Mold Solutions division was sent to a home in Englishtown, NJ  to treat a mold problem that had developed in the garage. This was one of those cases that highlight that the water or moisture intrusion event that triggers mold growth can be almost anything. Here, the homeowners had a pinhole leak in their dryer vent that vented into the garage instead of venting outside.  When the warm dryer air hit the cool garage wall, the moisture condensed and formed water droplets. That was enough to trigger mold growth. Once there is water and the right temperature, all mold needs is some organic material to feed on. Mold “food” includes processed building materials like sheetrock. As you can see from the attached photos, speckled black mold had formed on the wall. This homeowners replaced the dryer vent and contacted Cowleys to resolve the mold problem. Even though the mold was in the garage, the microscopic mold spores can circulate anywhere and eventually find their way into the living areas of the home. The mold had to be treated or it would continue to spread.  Generally, when treating mold with our process, it is not necessary to remove building materials, including sheetrock, unless they are water-damaged and there is a loss of structural integrity. Here, the underlying sheetrock was still in good condition despite the mold growth.  As such, the homeowners were able to avoid an extensive tear out/renovation project. Instead, we were able to treat the mold directly and leave the building materials alone.  We treated the mold-affected areas of the garage with two different applications. First, we applied an EPA-registered antimicrobial (MAPS 1). We then followed that application with a patented proprietary sealant (MAPS 2). This product, available only to authorized licensees, encapsulates the mold and kills it on contact. Any mold treated with this sealant is rendered harmless and non-allergenic. The sealant kills not only the existing mold. It is moisture-sensitive and has the ability to reactivate and kill any future mold growth as well.  With this particular assignment, we were able to successfully and completely treat the mold in less than a day. These homeowners, like many, have heard horror stories about finding mold in homes and they were worried about what may be entailed to rid their home of mold. Needless to say, these homeowners were relieved to find a mold treatment process that effectively and permanently treated the mold while avoiding the expense and hassle of removing the mold-affected sheetrock.  

This home in West orange, NJ, had extensive visible mold growth on wood paneling throughout the basement. Mold can come in all colors and shapes, and all mold is potentially a health hazard, not just black mold. A Mold Solutions team treated the entire basement with an EPA-registered antimicrobial (MAPS 1) to kill the surface mold, followed by a patented sealant (MAPS 2) that completely destroys existing mold, and reactivates when exposed to water or moisture to prevent the return of any new mold growth in the treated areas. We thoroughly wiped down any hard surface to remove all visible mold growth.  To prevent mold growth in crawl spaces, it is essential to keep down humidity and moisture levels with dehumidification. For this West Orange home, we installed a commercial-grade SaniDry XP dehumidifier. These powerful maintenance-free dehumidifiers are specifically designed to work in basements and crawl spaces. These machines use a built-in hygrometer to turn on and off automatically based on humidity levels. Also, they drain directly into the sump pump, so they never have to be emptied.

This homeowner in West Orange, NJ had extensive visible mold growth on the wood paneling throughout his basement. Using our hygrometer, an instrument that measures temperature and indoor humidity levels, we determined that the basement had 72% indoor humidity level, a condition that was ripe for mold growth! Indoor humidity levels should be kept between 30% and 50% to prevent mold growth. We equipped our personal protective equipment and then treated the basement with an EPA registered antimicrobial application called MAPS 1. MAPS 1 attacks mold on a cellular level and immediately kills it. Next, we used our mold stain remover and scrubbed away all the mold growth throughout the area. Afterward, we applied MAPS 2, which is our patented sealant that encapsulates the service the mold is growing on and renders it harmless and non-allergenic. MAPS  2 is also moisture sensitive and will reactivate when it gets wet to prevent future mold growth. Lastly, we installed a commercial-grade Sedona SaniDry XP dehumidifier to control the humidity levels in the basement. These powerful maintenance-free dehumidifiers are specifically designed to work in basements and crawl spaces and operate automatically, turning on and off according to a built-in hygrometer. 

We were sent out to a condominium unit in Freehold, NJ to handle a severe mold problem in the crawl space of one of the units. As soon as we entered the crawl space, we found mold in almost every single piece of insulation and along the joists. What caused the mold growth? Extremely high humidity levels in the crawl space. First, we needed to clean out the crawl space and remove all the contaminated insulation and materials. Once that was done we treated the entire crawl space with our EPA-registered antimicrobial called MAPS 1. This solution attacks mold on a cellular level and immediately kills it. Next, we used our mold stain remover and scrubbed away all the mold growth throughout the crawl space. Afterward, we applied our patented sealant called MAPS 2. MAPS 2 is a moisture-sensitive application that encapsulates the surface mold is growing on and renders it harmless, inert, and non-allergenic. One of the best features of MAPS 2 is that it will reactivate whenever it gets wet to prevent future mold growth. Next, we installed ComfortTherm® insulation. ComfortTherm® insulation provides excellent temperature and noise control, and comes with a vapor-retarder for use in hot, humid climates. Finally, to address the high humidity levels in the crawl space, we installed a Sani-Dry Sedona commercial grade dehumidifier. These dehumidifiers cost less to run than other dehumidifiers, cover over 3000 square feet, are energy efficient, and will properly control the humidity levels in the crawl space.

After a heavy rainstorm, this homeowner in Freehold, NJ had a flooding issue in his basement. Although he successfully cleaned up all the moisture as quickly as he could, because the humidity levels were so high, mold had developed behind the molding throughout the area. After seeing us treat his neighbors home for mold, he gave our office a call, and we were sent out. Fortunately, only the molding was contaminated and needed to be removed and disposed of, so we did just that. Afterward, we treated the entire basement with our EPA registered antimicrobial called MAPS 1. This solution targets mold at its DNA and immediately kills it. Next, we applied our mold stain remover and scrubbed away all the mold stains. Lastly, we applied MAPS 2, which is our patented sealant that encapsulates the surface mold is growing on and renders it harmless and non-allergic. MAPS 2 is also moisture sensitive and will reactivate whenever it gets wet to prevent any future mold growth. To control the humidity levels in the basement, we installed a commercial-grade dehumidifier. This dehumidifier can effectively cover indoor living spaces over 3000 square feet, making it well-suited for basements and crawl spaces over 40" high!

As this homeowner in Freehold, NJ went into his attic to take down some boxes, he found a large amount of mold growth all over the rafters. After seeing our ad in the Clipper Magazine, he called our office and we were sent out to inspect and treat. After a thorough inspection of the attic, we realized that the mold had grown due to poor ventilation in the attic. Why was there poor ventilation? All the attic fans were broken. Attics provide an ideal environment for mold since they contain plenty of food sources such as wood and insulation. Leaky roofs, condensation from fluctuating temperatures, leaky pipes, and/or poor ventilation can provide mold with the moisture it needs to grow. First, we equipped our personal protective equipment and applied MAPS 1 throughout the attic. MAPS stands for Mold Abatement Polymer Solutions, and is an EPA registered antimicrobial that'll target mold at its DNA and immediately kill it. Afterward, we applied our mold stain remover, scrubbed away all the mold stains, and applied MAPS 2. MAPS 2 is our patented sealant that encapsulates the surface mold is growing on and renders it harmless and non-allergic and will reactivate whenever it gets wet to prevent any future mold growth. Lastly, we replaced all the broken attic fans with new ones in order to regulate the humidity in the attic.