Paperwork first, then the water
Pennsylvania's Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act requires every contractor who performs at least $5,000 of home improvements a year to register with the state Attorney General's Office.
Keep that in mind as you gather names, and turn to the house itself. Mold on a wall, a ceiling or a stored box is the visible end of a moisture problem. Spores ride in on shoes, pets and open windows, and they settle everywhere. Drywall paper, wood, carpet backing, dust and cardboard give them something to eat. What decides whether they grow is how long a surface stays damp, and that is the one factor a homeowner can change.
Reading the house, not the forecast
NOAA's engineering weather set has no station near Reading. The numbers that matter for a mold problem come from inside your own walls anyway. A cheap hygrometer in the basement and another in the main living area show indoor humidity day to day. A pin or pinless moisture meter, in your hands or a contractor's, shows whether a stained patch of drywall or a sill plate is still wet. Write the readings down with the date; a short log tells a remediation company far more than a guess.
Where water gathers unseen
Look at these spots before you assume the stain in front of you is the whole story:
- Basement walls and slab. Water can wick through masonry, and a dehumidifier that is off or full stops helping.
- Below kitchens and baths. Supply lines, drain joints, toilet wax rings and dishwasher hoses can leak slowly into a subfloor for a long time before anything shows above.
- Chimneys, vents and valleys. Worn flashing lets rain into the attic or the top of a wall.
- Window and door openings. Cracked caulk or a failed sill sends water into the framing below.
- The heating and cooling system. A clogged condensate line, a leaking humidifier on the furnace or sweating ductwork can each keep a nearby surface wet.
- Bath fans and dryer vents. A fan that is missing, undersized or ducted into the attic, or a dryer venting indoors, leaves moist air behind.
- Outside the foundation. Gutters that spill next to the house and soil that slopes toward it put water where the basement can't keep it out.
The sequence that holds up
A remediation job that lasts follows a clear order. Someone identifies the moisture source. The right trade fixes it. The structure is dried, and moisture readings prove it. Then the growth is removed or cleaned, and only after that does anyone rebuild. If a company starts tearing out drywall before it can tell you where the water came from, the step that matters most is missing.
What careful containment looks like
When you read a proposal, look for these pieces:
- a written description of where the growth is, how far it reaches and what fed it;
- the work area sealed with plastic sheeting and a zippered door;
- a machine with a filter keeping the sealed area under negative air pressure, so spores don't drift into the rest of the house;
- drywall, insulation, carpet and other porous materials bagged inside the sealed area before they are carried out;
- framing and subfloor that stay in place cleaned and dried;
- dehumidifiers and air movers running until a written moisture target is met;
- a stated method for showing the work is finished before walls are closed.
Clues that deserve a closer look
- a musty or earthy smell that comes back after cleaning;
- spotting on ceilings, closet walls, window frames or the lower edge of basement walls;
- paint that bubbles, or drywall that gives when pressed;
- baseboards or trim that swell, warp or pull away;
- a ceiling stain under a bathroom;
- condensation on cold water pipes, ducts or window glass.
None of these tells you how far growth runs behind a surface. Each is a reason to find the moisture and have the area opened and checked.
If you take a look yourself
Peeling back a carpet corner or lifting a ceiling tile can stir up spores. Wear gloves, eye protection and a well-fitting disposable respirator, and keep children and pets out of the room. Don't dry-brush the growth or blow a fan across it. Questions about health effects belong with your doctor.
What to ask each remediation company
- Where is the moisture coming from, and who will repair the source before cleanup starts?
- Who will write up the extent of the growth, and is that person separate from the crew doing the removal?
- How will the work area be sealed, and how will air pressure be controlled?
- Which materials come out, and which can be cleaned and kept?
- What moisture readings will show the structure is dry, and will I get them in writing?
- Will your own employees do the work, or a subcontractor?
- What is your Pennsylvania home improvement registration number?
- Can you send proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation?
Where Reading's drinking water comes from
As a matter of local record: Reading's water comes mainly from Lake Ontelaunee, built in 1926 about eight miles north of the city, with a surface of 1,082 acres and a capacity of 3.88 billion gallons. Its water flows by gravity to the Maidencreek Filter Plant, built in 1935 and rated at 40 million gallons a day.
Permits, insurance and the paper trail
If the job involves replacing framing or moving plumbing or wiring, ask the contractor which local permits it needs and who pulls them. Call your own insurer early to learn what your policy says about mold and the water damage behind it, and what records it wants. Then give every bidder the same written description of the problem and compare prices for the same scope. Keep photos, readings, reports and receipts in one folder from the first day.