Recently, a two-man crew from Mold Solutions By Cowleys was sent to an office/warehouse in an Industrial Park in Eatontown, NJ to resolve a mold problem. Mold had formed because of water seepage through an exterior wall. Mold is a byproduct of some water intrusion event. If you have mold, there is underlying water problem that’s caused it. Although we tend to associate mold with a major water intrusion event like flooding, mold can also form with a water problem that’s not at noticeable or dramatic. Sometimes, the water problem is internal such as a leaky pipe or chronically high indoor humidity, especially in basements and crawl spaces. Other times, like here, the mold problem is caused by an external event where water enters the building through the roof, foundation, or external walls.

Here, the water seepage went unnoticed for some period of time. Once it was found, the building owner immediately has the leak fixed. However, it does not take long for mold to take hold, and here, mold had started to grow on the outside bottom of drywall (sheetrock). As long as there is water or moisture, mold will start growing on any organic material, even on materials that are no longer living. Many processed building materials, including drywall, contain organic material, even though they don’t look like anything that resembles anything that was once alive and found in nature. Although drywall is primarily made of inorganic gypsum plaster. It is pressed between two thick sheets of paper, which is “organic” food for mold. When drywall become water-saturated, it acts like a sponge. Mold formation on drywall can form and spread quickly.  

With our mold treatment process, we treat the mold directly, right where it sits. If the building material has not lost its structural integrity, we don’t need to remove it. Since, water had leaked into the building from the exterior wall, it was important to determine if there was any mold growth in the wall void. Mold is not always visible and in plain sight. To ensure that there was no mold growth in the wall void, we cut out a small section of the drywall panel so that we could inspect behind it. No mold had formed in the void. This was good news for the building owner. Since we were only dealing with surface mold, we could treat the mold without removing building materials. Our mold treatment process often allows building owners to avoid costly tear-outs and renovation. Also, removing mold-tainted materials is not foolproof. Significant precautions must be taken so that mold spores don’t fly off and reattach elsewhere.

We started by treated the mold with an EPA-registered anti-microbial (MAPS 1). Next, we applied our patented sealant (MAPS 2) which kills mold on contact. This sealant has the unique ability to reactivate with water or moisture and kill future mold growth in any of the treated areas. Finally, we scrubbed off the mold stains. Mold stains are residue of the mold enzymes dissolving the material. These stains themselves are not harmful or allergenic like the mold itself. However, they are aesthetically unappealing. As long as the stains are not too deeply embedded in the materials, we can remove or at least substantially reduce their appearance. Bottom line: Our crew finished up in less than a day, and after we were done, we left the building mold-free and safe for its employees and customers.