Mold Removal & Mold Services Before & After Photos

A homeowner in Freehold, NJ called our office after noticing mold growth by his baseboard heat in his basement. Apparently, while the homeowner was at work, a water pipe burst and started leaking all over. Luckily the homeowner's daughter came by and stopped the leak before any additional damage occurred. The homeowner rushed home and fixed the broken pipe, but unfortunately, mold had developed.

We equipped our personal protective equipment and began inspecting the basement. During our inspection, we realized that the drywall had mold growth all over it and it was still soaking wet. In order to properly treat the mold growth, we had to remove the drywall. We informed the homeowner and he agreed that the wall needed to be removed.

After removing the drywall, we applied an EPA registered antimicrobial solution called Mold Abatement Polymer Solutions, or MAPS 1 for short. MAPS 1 targets mold at its DNA level and kills it instantly. Afterward, we applied MAPS 2, a patented polymer sealant that encapsulates the existing dead mold and prevents future mold from growing. Once MAPS 1 & 2 have been applied, mold is no longer a threat. 

This homeowner in Freehold, NJ had a massive water leak in his crawl space. After he hired someone to fix that leak, he had to leave for a short period of time for a business trip. When he returned, he was stunned to find a massive amount of mold growth throughout his crawl space! He immediately called our office and we were sent out to remediate!

When we inspected the area, there wasn't a single rafter that didn't have mold on it! It was quite severe and because the air from the crawl space often escapes into the upper living spaces of the home, mold in your crawl space can contribute to health problems like respiratory illnesses and worsen allergy and asthma symptoms! Fortunately, we have the perfect treatment that will kill mold and prevent its return! 

First, we removed and disposed of all the contaminated items in the crawl space and then applied our EPA-registered antimicrobial solution called Mold Abatement Polymer Solution, or MAPS 1 for short. MAPS 1 targets mold on a cellular level and immediately kills it. After applying MAPS 1, we then used our mold stain remover, scrubbed away all the excess mold staining throughout the rafters, and applied MAPS 2. MAPS 2 works by encapsulating the surface that mold is growing on and renders it non-allergenic and harmless. MAPS 2 is also moisture-sensitive and will reactivate whenever it gets wet to prevent future mold growth. Now the homeowner will no longer have to worry about dangerous mold growth in his crawl space!

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. 

Recently, homeowners from West Orange, NJ, found themselves with a serious mold problem in their basement. Any time there is mold, there is some underlying water intrusion event that’s responsible for the problem. Here, the culprit was a slow pipe leak coming from the first-floor bathroom. Water had dripped onto the basement ceiling, and as often happens with slow pipe leaks hidden in wall voids, the leak went unnoticed for quite a while. The homeowners realized that they had a problem when part of the basement ceiling became so water-saturated that it collapsed from its own weight. Once the water problem came to light, the homeowners observed that portions of the basement sheetrock near the ceiling had developed mold growth. Mold will often form as the byproduct of some underlying water or high indoor humidity/moisture issue. 

The homeowners immediately had the pipe leak fixed, but they were left with a mold problem that needed to be treated. They contacted Mold Solutions by Cowleys and we were sent out to treat the mold.  We treated the mold-affected areas of the basement with two separate treatments. We first applied an EPA-registered antimicrobial called MAPS 1, which attacks mold on a cellular level and kills it instantly. We then scrubbed away the mold and applied MAPS 2, which is our patented sealant that encapsulates the surface mold is growing on and renders the mold non-allergenic and harmless. MAPS 2 is also moisture-sensitive and reactivates whenever it gets wet to prevent the return of mold.

With this basement mold successfully treated, all that was left for the homeowners was to have the removed sections of the sheetrock replaced, and their basement will be as good as new. It’s important for homeowners to periodically inspect all of the nonliving areas of the home like basements, crawl spaces, and attics to check for water stains and other signs of potential water or humidity problems that can trigger dangerous mold growth. Although sometimes it’s unavoidable, please don’t wait until part of your ceiling collapses! 

What’s the worst that can happen if your basement is not dehumidified? Well, this homeowner in Perth Amboy, NJ found out what can happen the hard way.  

Chronically high relative indoor humidity will create an environment that is ripe for dangerous mold growth. Homeowners do not need a major water intrusion event like a flood for a serious mold problem to develop. More often than not, mold will form from a slow leaky pipe or high humidity conditions in which the air is saturated with water vapor. Often, this vapor condenses into water beads on cold surfaces like air conditioning ducts. To keep mold from forming, and for your own health and comfort, relative indoor humidity should be kept below 55%.

We treated the affected areas with our EPA registered antimicrobial called MAPS 1, which attacks mold on a cellular level and kills it instantly. We then applied MAPS 2, which is our patented sealant that encapsulates the surface mold is growing on and renders the mold non-allergenic and harmless. MAPS 2 is also moisture-sensitive and reactivates whenever it gets wet to prevent the return of mold.

To control the humidity levels, we installed a commercial-grade Sani-Dry Sedona dehumidifier. Unlike generic store-bought dehumidifiers, these machines are specifically designed to work 24/7 in the challenging environments of crawl spaces and basements. These dehumidifiers are maintenance-free and require no human intervention to operate. They turn on and off automatically based on a built-in hygrometer that measures humidity levels. Also, we install them to drain the extracted water directly into a sump pump or condensation pump, so there is no water pan to worry about overflowing.