insurance coverage for mold

Insurance Coverage for Mold

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Mold can be caused by a plethora of things, whether it be burst pipes, weather, or water-related (humidity) mold can spread quickly and no one wants to find it in their home or business! But if the dreaded day does come, what will your insurance cover?

So, what exactly is mold?
Mold is a fungus that can grow quickly in damp and dark places such as basements, attics, crawl spaces or inside of walls. There are lots of different kinds, millions and millions, some are not good to come in contact with and can cause unfortunate reactions to humans. It can be hard to spot and since it grows so quickly, it can do a lot of damage in a small amount of time.

Insurance coverage for mold can be tricky and restricted. Insurance companies limit mold coverage because of so many lawsuits from their policy owners, so now coverage is narrow and very specific. The best route when choosing or looking over your policy is to make sure they cover damage, loss, and cleanup from fungus for a specified loss, as well as ensure it will specifically cover fungus caused by water damage since that is the most common kind. Since most policies will vary, it is important to speak with your agent and go over the terms and conditions that are covered by your policy, to make sure you’re up to date on what will be covered. If you are getting covered for a business, two other insurances that can help with mold-related problems, are environmental insurance and liability insurance, which can cover property damage and bodily injury.

We hope that mold is not a problem in your future, but if it is, give us a call and we will come out and help! Our mold removal process will be less disruptive and effective so that you are in a safer and cleaner environment.

mold allergies

Don’t Let Mold Allergies Dampen Your Summer Vacation!

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mold allergiesPicture this: School is out, work hours have relaxed and it’s time to pick up for vacation. You—and maybe your family or friends—pile into the car, chasing the long daylight hours and relaxation. Maybe you head to the shore to sink your toes into the sand, body surf and spend evenings with a bonfire. Or, perhaps the lake is more your style. The mountains calling, you follow the lure to cooler temperatures, panoramic views and refreshing days paddling on the water.

That first day is glorious, but after a night in your picturesque lake house or shore home, bouts of congestion, headaches, sneezing, and feelings of itchy eyes, nose and/or throat set in. If that sounds familiar, it’s likely you have a mold allergy.
While symptoms, which also include runny or stuffy nose, postnasal drip, watery eyes, and dry skin, mimic the common cold and are often mistaken for it, if you’re on vacation, it could be a mold allergy.

Mold commonly grows in the places we most associate with fun, like beach houses, lake houses, and hotels in those areas, thanks to a warm, moist environment which allows mold to flourish.

While mold allergies are common in vacation spots, that shouldn’t stop you from going away. Take precautions when traveling, like picking hotels or rental homes that are newer, traveling with a small dehumidifier and properly caring for items like towels and swimsuits.

First and foremost, be sure to book a room away from an indoor pool—they’re a magnet for mold spores. If your room has a musty odor, the mold is probably present. Pack a dehumidifier, if you can, to lessen the feeling of dampness in the space. Inspect the bathroom for mold and mildew in the tiles and grout and the air conditioning filters.

Most importantly, plan ahead to see an allergist. If you or a loved one commonly experience symptoms on vacation, see a board-certified allergist at Allergy & Asthma Specialists ahead of your next trip. An allergist can help identify allergies by skin testing, a simple in-office procedure in which an allergist will apply a small amount of different fungi extracts to the patients’ skin. If the patient has a reaction, the allergist can confirm the specific allergens.

After skin testing, an allergist can determine an appropriate treatment plan. This may mean making lifestyle changes or taking prescription medicine to reduce the allergic reaction. Immunotherapy, including sublingual drops—custom formulated drops that help alter the body’s reaction to an allergen—are a great choice for their long-term effectiveness.
An allergist can also make recommendations for keeping your home, and other environments like vacation homes or hotels, clear of mold. By doing so, you can get back to enjoying the stretches of pristine white sands, salty air and glinting water without the worry.

Kalamazoo Flood May Leave Behind Unwanted Mold and Odor Issues

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This time it set a new record high-water mark.
According to measurements taken by the
National Weather Service, the Kalamazoo
River began to swell the night of
Saturday, February 23, 2018, and
continued into early the next morning.
It reached 11.69 feet at 1:30 a.m. Sunday,
the highest the river has been since it crested
at 11.53 feet late Friday, February 22, 2018.
The Friday record surpassed a 1947 record
of 10.94 feet.

While the worst of the flooding is likely over,
the cleanup is just getting started, and many
are in the process of assessing damage
to their properties. City Manager Dexter Mitchell said some residences had 4 to 5 feet of
standing water inside. Most Lakewood-neighborhood residents were evacuated, as
flooding “extremely” impacted this area.

Kalamazoo residents are encouraged to visit www.ready.gov/floods for additional
information about flood safety and what to do before and after a flood event.
Break the Mold is available to assist those with flood damage. A careful inspection of
your home is a good place to start. Each home and situation has its particular
circumstances. After an inspection, a “Game Plan” can be developed. Then we can
begin making your home healthy and
safe once again.

Break the Mold offers an air-cleaning
process that uses a vapor/mist/fog to treat
harmful, invisible airborne mold mycotoxins
and spores.

Contact Break the Mold at 269-359-
0822 today for Mold Remediation & Odor
Elimination Services in Kalamazoo and
Portage, MI. Customers can access details
at https://breakthemoldkzoo.com.

Mold Remediation & Mold Removal Services Grand Rapids MI

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Mold Remediation & Mold Removal Services

 

Find Mold Remediation & Mold Removal Services in Grand Rapids MI. Some types of molds are dangerous to your health. Mold also causes damage to structures that it grows on. This is because mold penetrates porous surfaces and causes deeper damage. Hiring a professional mold remediation and removal service will ensure that your home or business is returned to its original safe, mold-free condition.  Break The Mold of Grand Rapids MI offers these services. Taking care of a mold problem early can save expensive repair or replacement of structures or surfaces that mold has damaged. Break the Mold treats mold invasions and removes mold safely.

Home and business owners in Grand Rapids, MI can find Break the Mold’s remediation & removal services at an affordable price. Break the Mold includes the following Grand Rapids areas:

  • Canonsburg
  • Caledonia
  • Ada
  • Rockford
  • Cedar Springs
  • Spring Lake
  • Grand Haven
  • Holland
  • Muskegon
  • West Olive
  • Byron Center
  • Dorr
  • Wayland
  • Allegan

Break the Mold will complete a thorough inspection of any Grand Rapids, MI area residential or commercial structure. This takes about 45 minutes. The certified technicians will determine a cost-effective mold remediation & removal plan that will be reviewed with the property owner.

 

It is essential to pinpoint the source of the mold. Often, some sort of water damage is found. Attics, basements and crawl spaces are commonly at higher risk for developing unwanted mold. With Mold Remediation & Removal Services around Grand Rapids, customers have the option of allowing Break The Mold to contact contractors that can swiftly repair any issues that caused the mold invasion. Leaky pipes, inadequate air circulation and roof damage are some of the more common situations that are found. Faulty water heaters, washing machines and broken water lines are some of the other reasons mold may thrive.

Property owners can get fast mold remediation and/or removal that is generally completed in one day. These specialized services include new techniques and advanced equipment to enable the rapid work time. This ensures that customers get a lower cost as the work time is dramatically reduced. Break The Mold uses the latest mold remediation techniques to get fantastic results. Customers only need to leave the building for a few short hours.

Try the hassle-free and effective service options that Break the Mold promises. The work is always guaranteed, so customers can relax and let these professional mold specialists handle the job. Break the Mold brings powerful equipment, ventilation fans and all necessary supplies to ensure that even unseen mold spores in the air will be taken care of. These measures are non-toxic, and the Break the Mold utilizes safe processes to get rid of mold that has taken up residence. Break The Mold delivers prompt service and stress-free mold treatments so customers can get on with their busy lives.

Along with mold removal, Break The Mold offers a convenient protective treatment that keeps mold from coming back in the future. This preventative surface treatment is water and mold resistant and is safely breathable. This is a highly recommended preventative treatment that gives long-lasting and permanent protection. The qualified mold removal and remediation services available in and near Grand Rapids Michigan by Break the Mold also include structural cleaning. These competent professionals can perform a biodegradable foam application that contains zero harmful substances. This is a deep clean treatment that results in a contaminant-free surface.

Break The Mold offers an air cleaning process that uses a vapor/mist/fog that treats harmful airborne mold mycotoxins and spores that are invisible. Customers can also elect appearance enhancement that will eliminate or reduce mold stains. Contact Break The Mold at 269-359-0822 for Mold Remediation & Removal Services Grand Rapids, MI today. Customers can access details at https://breakthemoldkzoo.com

mold-remediation

Summertime

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Summertime summertime sum sum summertime….

What did you do while on summer vacation?

Go to the beach, take a trip, go camping, go to Cedar Point?

Well, the Mold Guy went up into people’s attics. The temperatures outside this summer were in the 80s and 90s. Add 20° to 60° to that and you’ve got the attic’s temperature. That means it could be 140° or more up there. That is for a typical attic space here in Michigan. 

And on top of that, I would be wearing a full-face mask and a Tyvek suit.

While this may not sound like fun to you, it is a typical day for the Mold Guy.

Why do it, some might ask?

It’s not that it’s particularly fun, but mold cleanup is something that I feel I was born to do, and I am good at doing it.

But the real reason is that I really am passionate about helping people, 

probably because my mother taught me to be that way, and I always will be. I guess it’s my nature now.

It is important to have an attic inspection done in order to discover moisture issues and correct them before they lead to costly repairs.

  • Improper ventilation is a primary cause of increased moisture in the attic, leading to potential insulation damage, mold, mildew, and dry rot. Fiberglass loses up to 40% of its labeled R-value when outside temperatures fall to 20º F, and it loses 50% of its labeled R-value when outside temperatures exceed 85º F. On top of that, research shows that as little as a 4% increase in moisture/humidity will reduce the effectiveness of fiberglass insulation by as much as 80%, that means it costs as much as $367 annually ($5,505 over the life of a 15–year mortgage), not to mention the cost of mold remediation, poor indoor air quality, and the possible replacement of the roof deck.
  • Improperly vented and overheated attics are a primary cause of premature aging of roofing materials, which can be costly. Prolonged exposure to extreme heat accelerates the aging of asphalt roofing products.
  • The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development indicates that “inadequate ventilation will lead to fungus growth and very costly repairs.”
  • If a roof’s life is 15 years instead of 30 due to improper ventilation, and the average cost of a new roof is $9,360, shingle replacement will cost an average of $312 annually, or $4,680 over 15 years.

Proper ventilation of attic space

  • Reduces the temperature in the attic
  • Prolongs the life of your roof
  • Reduces energy costs, and
  • Can help improve indoor air quality

Spring Mold Report

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As spring approaches, so too does ‘Allergy Season’. While this should be a time to reconnect with the great outdoors, frolic in the fields and sing along with the songbirds, many of us find ourselves hidden away indoors, plagued with the sneezes and sniffles spring brings.

Many of us find that as winter gives way to summer, we are hit with an assortment of unpleasant symptoms, from a slightly tickly nose, all the way to sinus infections and dizziness. We stock up with all the very best treatments from the local drug store. Tissues in hand, we do our best to avoid exposure from the causes of our symptoms, often with little success.

So how to truly prevent these unpleasant spring-time complaints? Lock ourselves away from the open fields, blossoming plants and trees? Exercise on the treadmill, rather than the open road? So we avoid the fresh air and sunshine and we’re still plagued by the same symptoms—what gives? The true cause of our irritations may be closer to home; it may be mold in our home.

It is quite possible that our symptoms are caused by exposure to household mold. Mold spores can linger in the air and affect our respiratory systems both while we are awake, and while we are asleep. Mold allergies often lie undetected, and are frequently misdiagnosed as a common cold or seasonal allergies. This affects everyone–adults as well as small children. Also, many of us suffering from mold allergies tend to already suffer from other allergies and chemical sensitivities. Sometimes it’s hard to see the forest for the trees.

So why don’t we realize that mold is causing our issues? One of the reasons could be that mold comes in all shapes and sizes. There’s much more to it than traditional black spot mold, or the green fuzzy stuff we’ve seen in the fridge. It grows in a spectrum of colors too. Black, green, gray, white, pink and yellow molds are the most common. Mold transfers easily from surface to surface and can destroy furniture and upholstery, often from within. While some mold can be wiped clean, others take a stronger hold on our beloved possessions, and our health. Even the very cleanest homes can be plagued by returning mold.

When mold grows in dark and damp locations, such as under the sink or under the stairs, it can often go undetected until our homes are riddled with spores. By this time you may think it’s too late, but your mold problem can be fixed.  Sometimes, no matter how thorough our cleaning, we don’t realize there is a mold issue in our home. And sometimes our homes need a little more TLC than a spring cleaning to rid us of our new-found foe.

If you think mold is affecting your health, or are worried about your symptoms, make an appointment with your doctor. Equally important, if you suspect a mold issue, don’t risk your health; schedule an inspection with the Moldguy at Break the Mold.