Berkeley Mold Remediation and Water Damage

This home in Berkeley had mold growing on the grout between the tiles for "a few years" according to the homeowner.  They would attempt to scrub off the mold only to have it return again a few weeks later.  Mold growth requires moisture and there is always moisture in a bathtub/shower so some mold growth can be common.  However, constant mold growth on the grout can often mean that there is moisture in the wall behind the tiles which is why the grout is always wet and mold continues to come back even after a thorough cleaning.  In this picture, the water damage and mold was so severe that one of the tiles actually just fell off with a minimum amount of pressure applied.  The entire wall surrounding the tub was saturated with moisture.  The entire tub and tile wall had to be removed in order to remove the mold and dry out the wall cavity.  And some of the studs had rotted through and just fell apart once the wall was finally opened up for mold remediation work.  All this due to a small leak in the water supply line to the tub.

Moisture meters used by restoration companies can detect moisture in the walls behind the tiles without having to drill holes or remove any portion of the wall.  These types of meters are called non-invasive moisture meters and typically use radio frequencies to detect moisture a little over 1-inch behind the material on which it is placed. 

By placing a non-invasive moisture meter directly on the tile surface, it can detect moisture behind the bathtub tile walls or in the subfloor underneath the floor tiles.  This is how we mapped out the extent of the moisture problem in the bathroom quickly and without having to remove any portion of the wall.

Mold remediation on this job was very involved since the entire wall was saturated with moisture and the entire tub/shower and two walls had to be removed. 

Now, could this have been prevented?  I would venture to answer that it could not have been entirely avoided.  The leak was in the supply line in the wall where it could not be seen.  However, once mold started growing and coming back again and again and again, that could have been a warning sign that something's wrong here.  If caught soon enough, perhaps we would only have had to break a small portion of the wall open for a plumber to fix the leak and then remove any mold from that small area before patching up and retiling.  In fact, I have been called out many times when a homeowner first sees mold and have been able to track the moisture in the walls before it did much damage.

So when you see mold growing, it's a sign that the area is not drying out.  Mold usually takes about 3 days with moisture present to begin to grow.  Continued moisture will keep the mold growing.  If you see mold growing, you need to know that there has been moisture present for days and think about why the area is not drying out or call in a restoration company for help.  In the Berkeley, CA, area and the SF East Bay, visit www.envirocpr.com for a certified mold remediator and water damage expert. 

Water Damage Restoration, Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration, and Mold Remediation.