Mold Nearly Derails Home sale in Perth Amboy, NJ

Homeowners in Perth Amboy were in the process of selling their house. During the home inspection, the inspector found mold on the roof sheathing. Cowleys was contacted to take care of the problem so the pending sale could proceed without delay. 

Mold growth in a home is a symptom of an underlying water or moisture problem. Mold can rear its head anywhere and everywhere. Like all living organisms, mold needs air, some organic material as a food source, the right temperature, and water or moisture in order to grow.  Because mold results from some water intrusion problem or moisture from high indoor humidity, mold often grows and thrives in crawl spaces, basements, kitchens, washer/dryer areas, and bathrooms. However, as with this Perth Amboy home, mold can also rear its ugly head in the attic even though there are no pipes there to leak or burst. Water or moisture problems in the attic are usually due to undetected roof leaks or from exhaust fans improperly vented into the attic instead of outside, causing condensation on the rafters and sheathing. Unfortunately, this is a common construction shortcut that winds up causing problems down the road.

As shown in the picture, this mold growth happened to be white. Mold need not be black mold to be a dangerous health hazard. There are various types of mold that can come in a variety of colors. But no matter how the mold appears, there is no such thing as a harmless mold and it has to be removed. Also, even though the mold is not in living spaces, it still must be treated. Mold spores easily travel on air currents throughout a structure, so this attic mold would inevitably spread throughout the home as the spores reattach elsewhere, causing further damage and potential health risks by affecting the indoor air quality. Mold can cause a variety of respiratory and other health problems when growing in an enclosed area.

Cowleys experienced Mold Solutions team came out to resolve the mold problem. In less than a day, we applied a powerful anti-microbial (MM1) to kill the mold followed by MMR, a stain remover. Finally, we applied a patented, proprietary sealant (MM2) containing micro-particles of silver that kills the mold at the cellular level, and reactivates with moisture, to prevent any regrowth of mold. As shown in there “after” picture, we successfully resolved the problem — and did so within the day. The sheathing was as good as new without a trace that there had been a mold issue just the day before. There was no removal of building materials, no need for home renovation, and no need for the family to relocate. The sale could proceed with no delay in the closing date, and one more successful mold treatment project completed by Cowleys. 

Both the buyers and sellers were pleased with the Mold Solutions By Cowleys team for taking care of the problem so quickly and with such outstanding results. This project was one of our many successful mold treatment projects — we killed and removed the future threat of mold by using a patented application. Our process saves building materials that have no loss of structural integrity, and, by doing so, we avoid the expense and inconvenience of major renovations. Traditional mold remediators don’t kill the mold. They simply remove it by tearing-out often perfectly good building materials.