A client of Mould Pro in Melbourne went away on holidays for 3-4 weeks only to come home to a completely flooded house. The cause was determined to be a burst flexi house under the kitchen sink. Mould Pro has done hundreds of mould and water damage jobs and approx 70% are a result of a burst flexi hose.

What was the process in restoring this property to a Pre Loss Condition mean as it was prior to the damage occurring.

• The first step was to engage our electrician to isolate the power to any power supply outlets, commonly known as power points. This is critical as we don’t want any serious electrical hazards to affect the owner or our restoration contractors.
• After we determine the property was safe our professional restoration contractors from Mould Pro will assess all of the owners contents and either remove them or install foam blocks under the legs to prevent further water damage and staining to carpet from any hard furnishings that could bleed into the carpet due to the moisture that has seeped into the item.
• Once we were happy all contents was either removed or blocked up, we installed a few dehumidifiers around the property to immediately try to regulate the humidity in the house then commenced the water extraction process which took about 4 hours with the truck mount water extraction machine. As this property had been flooded we only extracted enough water out to be able to remove the water & mould damage carpet. If the water was not extracted from the carpet, it would be too heavy to carry out even in smaller pieces which would also just be dragging excess water around for no reason. Another reason the carpet needed to be removed straight away and were deemed un salvageable was because the water had been sitting in this house for 3-4 weeks, a serious mould infestation had occurred which meant the carpet had to be removed and disposed of because mould can develop within 48-72 hours of being wet and not dried. All carpets we’re disposed at the tip.
• Now that the carpets and contents had been taken care of, our Mould Pro Technician proceeded to conduct moisture testing to all floors, wall sheeting and timber bottom plates to determine how far the moisture had seeped into the structural components of the house. It was determined that all bottom plates had 100% moisture content and this was a result of long standing water in the house before it was found.
• In this particular job the entire property was analytically tested and found to be highly contaminated which required a full mould remediation as per IICRC S520 Mould Remediation Guidelines. All contents ended up being disposed of including kitchens, vanities, cabinetry and all porous or semi porous materials and contents. The entire was placed under negative air pressure using negative air machines to ensure all airborne contaminants are being sucked up through the Hepa filters to prevent further contamination during the remediation process. All surfaces will then be vacuumed with a Hepa filter and horse hair brush. This is then followed by damp wiping all surfaces through with a non toxic, non hazardous anti-microbial solution and microfibre cloth.
• Due to the very high moisture readings to the timber framing in the wall cavity and moisture wicking up the walls which means the plasterboard has absorbed into the wall sheeting to a saturation point. This moisture can wick up to 1200mm. The plasterboard wall sheeting had to be cut up to 1200mm off the slab to expose the wall cavity and framing. This will allow two things to happen, one is to inspect the wall cavity for any mould growth which may need to be remediated and the second thing is to allow structural drying of the timber frame. If this drying is not done correctly by a trained restoration contractor such as Mould Pro then you run the risk of it not being dried correctly and further mould will occur. As part of the structural drying process we ensure that all building components are dried along with the timber wall framing such as the concrete floor and various contents that maybe restorable. To conduct structural drying the equipment we use is dehumidifiers, air mover, air scrubbers, heaters, heat mattresses, injecti-dry floor drying system for timber floors among some other specialty equipment.
• After completing the drying process we can now conduct the Post Verification Testing (PRV) to ensure the property has been remediate correctly and mould free and safe to commence building rectification.

Mould Pro is also a licensed building contractor so we also took care of the entire reconstruction process to get the property back to its normal condition. If you find you have a water damage or mould contamination then don’t just let any company work on your house. Mould Pro is only one of a couple professional mould removal companies with 20 plus years building experience. Mould Pro is a one stop shop so please contact us immediately should you require mould removal or water damage restoration. All restoration technicians who provide services in this field must be accredited through the IICRC training programme in Microbial Remediation, Water Damage & Structural Drying.