What is the Standard Mold Remediation and Restoration Process

Where there is water damage, there is likely also a mold infestation. Whether the water damage was very recent or happened so long ago that you have no idea what the original cause was, mold loves once-saturated porous materials from fabric to carpet pads to the unpainted backside of drywall. Home residents and business owners alike often first notice a mold problem because of a pervasive smell, headaches, or food that goes moldy much faster than it should.

If you spot a visible colony, that’s that. Your entire building needs to be inspected to discover the extent of the infestation and the type of mold remediation and restoration you may need. Many buildings are far more infested than they realize, as mold likes to grow in dark hidden areas. If your building needs mold remediation, or you suspect that it does, your first question is likely to be

“How does mold remediation work?”

Today, we are here to answer that question by outlining the standard mold remediation and restoration process.

Repair Any Current Source of Water Damage

If there is an active source of water damage, the first step is to keep it from continuing or happening again. This means fixing plumbing, repairing the roof, or renovating a flooding basement.

Mold Spore Testing to Locate the Colonies

Next (or first, if you had no active water damage source) your mold restoration service will conduct a preliminary mold spore test of various locations and materials around the building. This will create a map of spore concentration and allow your service to narrow down the potential locations for the hidden colonies.

Visual Inspection of Building and Behind Drywall

The tests will be followed by a complete visual inspection based on the locations of the highest spore concentrations. The inspection will include cabinets, furniture (especially undersides), and storage areas. Then your team will cut small holes in the drywall and use a camera to see if there are visible spore colonies growing on the back-sides of your walls. This is the most common place for extensively large colonies to hide.

Containment and Removal of Mold-Infested Items

Next, your team will use a combination of plastic bags and tarps to safely remove any badly infested items in the building. Upholstery that has been fostering mold, mattresses, porous wooden furniture, among other things will be wrapped to contain the spores and safely removed for disposal or restoration.

Removal of Mold-Infested Drywall if Necessary

Sometimes, drywall can be cleaned of mold. But if the mold is too deeply entrenched or very large sections of drywall are infested, it can be more practical to simply remove, wrap, and dispose of the infested panels and install new drywall panels instead.

Mold Remediation Treatment and Stain Removal

Once all the most infested items and wallboards are gone, the next step is mold treatment with a special formula designed to kill mold without being toxic to humans or pets. Your mold remediation service will use this formula extensively to kill and then wash away any remaining mold growths and discourage mold growth in the future. If the mold left stains, as it often does, a second treatment to remove those stains will be used.

Reinstallation of Removed Drywall

Once all the mold in the building has been destroyed, it will be safe to reinstall any panels of drywall that were removed. This is also your chance to do any work on the building involving the between-wall spaces like insulation, soundproofing, duct-work, or light remodeling. Remember to repaint the new drywall panels.

Mold Prevention Measures

Finally, your mold remediation and restoration team will help you enact mold prevention measures to keep the mold from returning. Mold comes from local spores that are in the air all the time and the best way to prevent a new infestation is to keep your entire building dry, clean, and lightly coated in a natural anti-fungal agent like tea tree oil or a formula suggested by your remediation team.

Mold remediation and restoration really is as simple as that. Out with the mold, in with the new mold prevention measures. For more information about mold remediation or to schedule your initial mold testing and inspection, contact us today!

How You Can Find The Best Painting Contractor in Minneapolis

When you embark on a do-it-yourself painting project, you might not realize that there is a lot more to a quality paint job than meets the eye. Good paint work, whether interior or exterior, is hard to achieve. If you’ve tried to do your own painting and realized you need help, or you just want the best results from the start, a Minneapolis painting contractor can help. But how do you choose the right one?
Finding a quality painting contractor in Minneapolis can be hard. That’s why we put together this short guide on how to choose the best painting contractor so you can get quality results for your project.

Why A Painting Contractor is So Important

When you have a major painting project, quality matters. Interior and exterior paint jobs are time-consuming and labor intensive. A great contractor can help you get better work done faster and at a lower cost than doing it yourself.
Consider painting when preparing a home for sale. Whether you’re a homeowner or property investor, a fresh coat of paint can help brighten and enliven an older home. According to home sale site Zillow, 45% of sellers paint some or all of a home before selling. But if you don’t get a quality paint job, you won’t improve a buyer’s first impression of the home. 
Another benefit of painting contractors is they know the tools, techniques, and materials needed to do a great job the first time. A great painter will:

  • Help you choose between different paint types and gloss levels, such as water-based, oil-based, matte, eggshell, semi-gloss or glossy. 
  • Help you choose colors that will complement each other and produce the desired effect in your home or business.
  • Use appropriate tools and techniques including sprayers, rollers with different depths and finishes, and edging and finishing tools.
  • Keep you informed of how your project is going from the start.

Finding A Great Painting Contractor

Choosing a painting contractor can be tough. Unlike many other types of contractors and service workers, there aren’t any national chains you can reach out to. Many painters work through larger contracting firms, or subcontract work as part of bigger jobs. But there are some strategies you can use to find a dedicated and trustworthy painting company for your project.

Get Specific Quotes

One of the best ways you can evaluate a painting contractor is to get specific quotes for your project. Make sure you clearly describe what you want and when you want it so you can compare the quotes accurately. A quality painting contractor won’t hesitate to give you a detailed quote in writing for your project. You should also make sure the quotes cover the same aspects of the job, such as floor and furniture coverings, material costs, paint type, and cleanup work.

Check References and Reviews

Chances are you don’t want to work with a contractor that doesn’t have any experience as a painter. But unless you ask for references and read reviews, you don’t know how experienced your contractor is. Look online for reviews and comments from past customers, and ask the contractors if they have any past customers they could provide as a reference. Good contractors are happy to prove they have satisfied clients.

Ask for Photos of Past Jobs

Similar to the last point, you should also ask contractors if they have any pictures of past jobs or projects. This will help you see what kind of work they will provide for you. When you’re interviewing your contractor, ask for details about the jobs they show you, such as costs, duration, and how they approached the work.

Ask About Contracts and Warranties

When you have a professional do work in your home, you want to know that they will stand behind it and guarantee its quality. However, many painting contractors offer limited guarantees on their work if they provide them at all. Make sure you choose a painting contractor that provides a warranty for their work. They should also be willing to provide or sign a contract that specifies the work and how it will be protected afterward.

Work With the Best Painting Contractor in Minneapolis Today

If you’re ready to take the next steps on your painting project, contact us today at Satin Touch. During your free, no-obligation consultation we will go over every detail of your project with you. Our experts will help you choose the materials and designs that best fit your property and budget. No matter what kind of painting project you have in mind or how challenging it will be, our team can help. Contact Satin Touch today to learn more.

Sewer Damaged and Backing Up? What You Should Do

A backed up, damaged sewer system causes waste water to collect inside your home and it makes a nasty mess that smells as bad as it looks. Sewer backup isn’t like a flood of clean water, in fact, it’s a toxic brew of potentially health-threatening contaminants.

It’s imperative to your family’s health and safety that you take care of the problem as quickly as possible. Before you plunge in to start cleaning up the mess, there are a few things that you should keep in mind. Following these simple tips for what you should and shouldn’t do will ensure that you stay safe and that the mess is completely cleaned up so you can enjoy your home once again.

What to Do After a Sewer Backup

A backed up sewer can happen because of a variety of things, from tree roots collecting in the sewer line to a clog caused by toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, or any other foreign object. No matter what caused the backup, the result is the same, waste water inside your home. To protect against further damage, and to keep yourself, your family, and your pets take the following actions:

  • Stop Using the Water – Cut the water supply off to your home so that no one flushes the toilet, or runs any water. While it may be an inconvenience, it will help to ensure you’re not adding more waste water to the mix and that will make it easier to clean up.
  • Shut Off the Electricity – If it’s safe for you to do so, make sure that you turn off the power to the area that’s affected to avoid the risk of being electrocuted. If it’s not safe, call your utility provider to cut the power until the water has been removed.
  • Ventilate Your Home – The smell associated with sewage is unpleasant, to say the least, but the fumes can also be dangerous. Open the windows and doors to allow fresh air in. Place fans in windows pointing towards the outside to draw the foul air out and to eliminate any build up of fumes and odors.
  • Protect Your Family – Keep everyone, especially children, those with a weakened immune system, and your pets away from the affected area. Keep yourself safe by wearing protective clothing, gloves, and a face mask if you’re going near the backed up sewer water.
  • Sanitize If You Can – A small backup with minimal water damage is fairly easy to take care of for a homeowner. Add bleach to any standing water to help disinfect it, suck up the water with a wet dry vac, and thoroughly clean the area with a bleach solution.
  • Remove Carpeting & Rugs – Carpeting that’s been saturated with sewer water should be removed and discarded. However, areas that come in minor contact can be cleaned using very hot water and a carpet cleaner. The same holds true for rugs. If you want to keep them, wash them in hot water.

Get Professional Help With Sewer Cleanup

The above suggestions are fine for a minor sewer backup, however, if it’s a major backup with lots of standing water and waste, DO NOT attempt cleanup on your own. Not only is it potentially hazardous to your health, it’s also a very difficult job that requires a great deal of skill and experience. Besides, it’s also a nasty job that you probably don’t want to deal with anyway.

Contact us at Satin Touch immediately so that they can assess the situation and mitigate the damage. We’re available 24 hours a day so we’re always here if you need us. We’re also highly trained, experienced, and we have all the proper equipment necessary to take care of the problem quickly and efficiently. We’ll handle everything for you and make sure that the sewage is cleaned up and that your home is sanitized and safe for you and your family once again.