If you find very large patches of greenish-black mold throughout your home, you may attempt to remove the fungus yourself. You may want to think twice before you take on your mold problem yourself. Large patches or crops of mold don't show up in homes without a reason. If you learn why you have mold in your home now, you can keep the fungus from cropping up in your house later. Learn what you need to do to safely and permanently remove the mold from your home below.    

How Did Mold Grow in Your Home?

The greenish-black patch of mold you see in your home is most likely Stachybotrys chartarum, or black mold. Stachybotrys chartarum is one of the most common types of mold found in residential buildings today.

Black mold requires water, cellulose, and air to grow in your home. If your home stays relatively dry during the year, you may not have a mold problem in it. But if there's a consistent supply of water or moisture somewhere inside your home, black mold will show up in it. 

Even if you remove the mold with bleach or another harsh solution, mold will continue to grow in your home until you locate the source behind it. In this case, you need to have your house professionally remediated for mold. 

How Do You Keep the Mold From Coming Back?

You want to do more than just remove the large patches of mold from your home. You also want to keep the fungus from coming back. Mold remediation can help you locate, isolate, and confine the mold in your home so that it doesn't come back later. 

You can remediate your home for mold with a damage repair contractor's help. In order to confirm if you have black mold in your home, a contractor will need to test it. Mold testing is generally the first step to removing black mold from a structure. If a contractor's test returns positive for black mold, they'll proceed with the next steps of the remediation process.

The next steps in the remediation process are critical. A contractor must now locate the source of the mold growth. A professional may test your cabinets, flooring, walls, and other structures for moisture and/or water. A contractor may even check your cooling system for moisture issues. If a contractor determines the cause of your mold growth, they'll move to the final steps of the remediation process.

The final steps in the remediation process may require a contractor to remove and discard contaminated material from your home, such as damp floor tiles and books. The material may be too damaged or covered in mold to clean and save. A contractor may be able to help you replace the removed items afterward.

If you need help removing the greenish-black mold from your home, contact a damage repair contractor today.