After Water Damage Comes Mold Damaged Records

Some things just go together – peanut butter and jelly, bacon and eggs, and cookies and milk, for instance. Of course, there are also less tasty pairings, such as water damage and mold. Damaged records can easily become more damaged if they are left in a moist area where mold can thrive.

How Water Damage Leads to Mold Damage

Mold is a fast-acting agent in the document restoration world. If water is left standing or moisture is not cleaned up, mold will grow within 24-48 hours. All that is required for mold growth is organic material (such as paper, food, wood and carpet), oxygen and water. This is one form of life that can thrive nearly anywhere. Aside from the health dangers of mold (increased asthma and allergy attacks, irritation to lungs and eyes, sinus congestion) business and individuals also have to deal with mold damaged records if a document storage zone is not dried out in short order.

What to do after Water Exposure

Protect yourself: Some forms of mold are hazardous to human health, so wear a respiratory mask and gloves when dealing with mold damaged records.

Dry out: To prevent more mold growth, document restoration experts recommend beginning with a thorough drying of all moist areas. Fix any leaks, soak up extra water, and turn on some fans to get circulation moving.

Kill the mold: Bleach-based solutions will kill mold spores, but the growth will come right back if you don’t eliminate the source of water. Contractors may be needed if mold is growing inside walls.

Our Solution for Mold Damaged Records

For businesses, mold damaged records are one of the most worrisome outcomes of flooding and other water-related disasters. Mold can easily render your key business documents useless, and soaked-through papers may seem completely lost. Fortunately, document restoration specialists like Polygon can help revive business and personal archives. Here at Polygon, we use either a desiccant air-dry distribution system or vacuum freeze drying system to restore water damaged documents and books. We also have special resources for recovering mold damaged records. Best of all, we allow real-time access to documents as they are restored, so as to minimize business disruption.

[ Photo by: Dominic’s pics, via CC License ]