What Items Can be Saved After Mold Exposure?

8/27/2021 (Permalink)

It can be difficult to determine what items can be saved after exposure to water damage and mold. As a general guide, items that are porous, made of paper, and are food-based and items that have been fully soaked in water may need to be tossed. Hard contents such as items made of metal plastic or glass can typically be cleaned and restored. Soft content restoration is a process of cleaning belongings that are made up of softer materials e.g., textiles and fabrics. We use a variety of machinery and methods to carefully treat these materials.

We check all fixtures and pieces of furniture for signs of mold damage, The Contents Claims Inventory Service allows for a detailed recount of your belongings and the state they are in after being exposed to mold. Call 561-795-5410 for mold remediation and contents restoration.

Electronics

While some electronics may be suitable for restoration, it is possible that where there is mold damage there is also detrimental water damage. It is dangerous to attempt to operate these electronics to test them out. Have them assessed by a qualified electronics technician.

Clothing, Fabrics, and Textiles

Soft contents are handled carefully due to their porous nature. One machine we us to clean these materials is the Esporta, a powerful cleaning machine that cleans twice as much as traditional dry cleaning with a 90% restoration rate for smoke, soot, mold, or other contaminants. We may use this machine to clean belts, purses, shoes, bedding, stuffed animals, sports equipment and more.

Documents

It can be difficult to restore certain documents after mold damage. If the documents do not have extensive deterioration, they can be restored through five different methods: Air Drying, Dehumidification, Freezer Drying, Vacuum Freeze Drying, and Vacuum Thermal Drying.

Furniture

Some antique furniture may have wooden components. Whether wooden furniture has hard wood or soft wood can determine whether restoration is viable for that furniture piece. The porous nature of some wood types prevents some restoration from happening. If wood has been sealed, it is likely the mold is sitting on the surface. If wood is very porous it is possible the mold has traveled into the roots of the wood structure and needs to be cut or sanding out or discarded. The handling of mold-infested furniture should be left to professionals, as disturbing mold can release mold spores into the air and spread. A trained mold remediation specialist needs to carefully inspect furniture pieces to see if they can be altered and restored or if the integrity and safety of the piece is compromised.

Furniture pieces with upholstery can often have mold removed from their surfaces. Some upholstery can bleed or shrink when wet. SERVPRO of West Palm Beach uses a foam cleaning process to lift and remove mold from these pieces. There are also spray and wipe methods that are matched with proper and safe cleaning chemicals and agents. For more information about our cleaning supplies visit our cleaning services page.

To remove mold from glass objects, mold remediation specialists will typically use an antimicrobial cleanser. It is important to match the cleaning method and cleaning agent to the material (e.g., glass or metal) because certain surfaces could be damaged by improper handling.

To properly complete mold remediation and contents restoration, it may be necessary to use SERVPRO of West Palm Beach’s pack out and storage services. This process can protect items from further damage and allows for a quicker restoration process. To learn more about water damage, mold damage and contents restoration visit our mold-cleanup page.