Mold Remediation
in Atlanta

If you have a mold or water emergency, you need the help of a professional. Goodbye Water follows the IICRC and EPA guidelines for treating visible mold and mildew mitigation and remediation. That means that we don’t just treat visible mold damage – we remove the mold at the source. Call us at 678-736-6820 for professional mold and mildew removal and treatment services.

What is mold?

Mold is a living microscopic organism; it’s a fungus that reproduces by spores. And there are thousands of different types of fungus. Though they are single-celled life forms, fungi are more highly developed than bacteria and viruses. And they are everywhere – on land, in the air and in water.

Molds survive by secreting digestive enzymes that dissolve organic and inorganic material in their environment – like your basement. All they need to live on is some food, which might be dirt, oils, film or skin cells on wood, wallboard, insulation or fabric. After water damage, mold can begin to grow in as little as 24 hours. All it takes is for a few spores to land on a moist surface.

Molds can be black, green, white, brown and orange.

Most molds, including black molds, are harmless. The black mold that has some people panicked is a specific one – Stachybotrys chartarum, also known as Stachybotrys atra or stachy – and it does produce a toxic byproduct, or mycotoxin. Black mold removal is a job for professionals, not for somebody armed with rubber gloves and a gallon of bleach.

What is mildew?

Mildew is a mold. Most people use it to refer to types of fungi they find indoors, such as in bathrooms, or other areas with high humidity.

What kinds of mold are common after water damage?

After any kind of water damage, mold can be a hazard. Aspergillus is one of the first molds to grow on things. Several forms of aspergillus are toxic. Another of the first fungi to thrive on water-damaged materials is penicillium, which has a musty odor and can cause allergic reactions in people who are sensitive to it.

• Alternaria occasionally contaminates water-damaged building materials that contain cellulose.
• Cladosporium is often found in water-damaged environments.
• Fusarium is usually in the soil and on plants, but it will also grow on water-damaged carpet and other building materials.
• Stachybotrys chartarum, or Stachybotrys atra, thrives on building materials containing cellulose that has been wet for more than seven days. This is the toxic "black mold" that has received a lot of press recently. It's actually greenish-black. It should not be inhaled. The CDC says that stachy is less common than other species, yet not rare. "Constant moisture is required for its growth."

Mold can be controlled best if humidity is below 30% and the temperature is kept between 70 and 75 degrees.

Things that have been wet for more than two days have mold growing on them. Even if you can't see it. If you've had water damage from flooding or broken pipes, look for a musty smell and fuzzy growth, discoloration or a spreading stain. And call the pros at Goodbye Water. All molds should be treated as potentially hazardous and removed.

Mold, Mildew Mitigation

Our mold removal process is a combination of ventilation, circulation and heat, used according to IICR and EPA recommendations for visible mold. IICR protocols mandate that we actually remove the mold source, not just treat an active colony. When companies use a chemical treatment, they kill the infrastructure of the colony, but they don't eliminate the spores, which can just continue the contamination. A mold colony sometimes releases spores in self-defense.

We prep the infected area by removing all items that are water-damaged. They may need to be vacuumed with HEPA filters and washed with fungicides. In some cases, we can't even move them until they are cleaned under negative air pressure.

Negative pressure containment is our first course of action.

• Containment refers to isolating the contamination from the rest of the area. We seal an area off with sheets of polyethylene to prevent spores from spreading.
• Then we use portable air scrubbers with high-output blowers to create negative pressure. That's a partial vacuum in which lower air pressure inside the containment pulls in outside air while preventing the escape of contaminated air. The air scrubbers filter out the mold and recirculate clean air.

Finally, we dry the air out by moving it through powerful dehumidifiers.

Mold, Mildew Remediation

After removing visible mold, we remove and sand drywall, plywood, framing and any other building materials that were damaged. We bag any waste and dispose of it according to official guidelines. Then we apply mold-inhibiting chemicals to stop regrowth.