Top Mold Removal & Remediation Company in West Valley City

What the housing numbers say about mold here

Census estimates put the median West Valley City home at 1985. The single biggest decade of construction was the 1970s, when about a quarter of today's homes went up. Many of those houses are now on their second or third water heater, and some still have original supply lines and shutoff valves behind toilets and under sinks. Those are the places we check first when a musty smell has no obvious source.

About 7 percent of homes in the city are mobile or manufactured homes. Mold in a manufactured home often starts out of sight, in the insulation under the floor, where a slow drain leak can soak the belly wrap for months. Removing it usually means working from underneath, not just from inside the house.

Hard water and the slow leak

The Granger-Hunter Improvement District reports water in its service area at roughly 10 grains per gallon, which it calls moderately hard to hard. Hard water doesn't cause mold. But mineral crust on valves, fittings and appliance hoses can hide a weep that never turns into a puddle. A cabinet floor or the wall behind a washer can stay damp for a long time before anyone notices.

The EPA advises drying water-damaged materials within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth. When that window has passed, we remove what can't be saved, clean what can, and find the source so the problem doesn't come back.

Spring is when the water shows up

At the Salt Lake City airport weather station, the closest long-term record to West Valley, April is the wettest month on average, and the area averages about 52 inches of snow a year. Snowmelt and spring rain test window wells, door thresholds and the grading around older foundations. If you see staining after a wet spring, we'll look at where the water is getting in before we talk about removal. If the damage is small enough to handle yourself, we'll say so.

When the job is ours, we set up containment so dust and spores stay in the work area. Following EPA guidance, we don't run the heating or cooling system through an affected space if the system itself may be contaminated. Once damaged material is out, we dry the framing and confirm moisture readings are back to normal before anything gets closed up.