Removing Mold From an Office Building in Toms River, NJ
Challenge
Although we think of mold as a residential problem, mold is an equal-opportunity fungus that can cause problems for commercial structures as well. We were sent to an office building in Toms River, NJ to resolve a mold problem. This particular office building had a drop ceiling that had hidden the leak and the mold growth up above. Slow leaks can often go unnoticed for quite a while until there is water staining or some other indication of a water problem. The mold growth was finally noticed when it spread to the sheetrock. Mold will grow on anything containing organic material whether alive or dead. Although sheetrock is primarily made of a mineral, gypsum, it has thick sheets of facer and backer paper that mold will use as a food source.
To treat the mold, we needed to gain access to the contaminated sheetrock by removing the ceiling tile and frame. At the customer’s request, we removed the sheetrock. In many instances, as long as there is no loss of structural integrity to the building materials on which the mold is growing, we treat the mold directly and leave the materials alone. This customer felt more comfortable having the contaminated sheetrock removed and replaced.
Solution
Once we were able to gain access to the mold-affected areas of the building, we treated the area with an antimicrobial application called MAPS 1, which stands for Mold Abatement Polymer Solutions. MAPS 1 is an EPA registered product that attacks mold on a cellular level and immediately kills it. Next, we used our mold stain remover and scrubbed away all the mold growth throughout the crawl space.
Afterward, we applied our patented sealant called MAPS 2. MAPS 2 is a moisture-sensitive application that encapsulates the surface mold is growing on and renders it harmless, inert, and non-allergenic. One of the best features of MAPS 2 is that it will reactivate whenever it gets wet to prevent future mold growth. We successfully resolved this commercial mold problem in less than a day. The customer was quite pleased that we could treat the mold so quickly and the office workers could get back to work with minimal delay.
