This Oakland California home experienced a leak in the plumbing which upon first appearances did not appear to have caused much damage; however, mold remediation by Environmental CPR was necessary as you will see below.
This laminate hardwood floor may not look damaged but there is a hint of what's lurking under the flooring. There is mold growth at the base of the drywall which indicates that the floor was probably wet and that water probably got under the laminate flooring.
After pulling up one strip of the laminate flooring up against the wall, it is now obvious that there is severe mold growth under the laminate flooring. As you can see in the photo below, the laminate wood floor was installed over a vinyl-plastic cushion and that was installed over some type of felt paper which is now so moldy as to be stuck to the concrete underneath in most areas.
The plastic underlayment and the finish on the laminate flooring both act as moisture barriers so that when water gets below the underlayment, the water will have a very hard time evaporating. Placing a paper product on top of the concrete is a really bad idea since if it gets wet, mold will grow. And since the water really can't evaporate very quickly, the mold will continue to grow as long as the paper remains wet.
In this house in Oakland, CA, we wound up removing all of the laminate wood flooring and cutting the drywall two feet up from the floor. Yes, there was mold in the wall cavity on the wood studs and on the drywall.
With the laminate wood floor and the underlayment pulled up, what remained was a black moldy paper that was stuck right to the concrete. You can see the severe mold growth in the photo below as well as the ducting for the HEPA air filtration device required during mold remediation. The output of the HEPA air filtration device is ducted outside in order to create negative air pressure in the remediation areas so that air is always drawn into the mold remediation area, HEPA filtered, then blown outside; this prevents the spread of mold spores to other areas of the house.
For professional advice on mold remediation and water damage, call Environmental CPR at 925-806-0700. We are the "Paramedics of Property Damage."
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