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Loss Related
Pre-existing or Recent Viable or Non-Viable CAN YOU TELL? In many cases, the answer is: YES
ENTEK has been providing the insurance industry with loss evaluations at schools, office buildings, hotels, apartment complexes, condominiums, commercial and industrial facilities across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean for eighteen (18) years. Our comprehensive evaluations assist the adjuster in determining what happened, whether the loss contributed to the existence of mold, and what to do next. ENTEK has an emergency response team that can mobilize and is ready to be on-site as soon as the call comes in. The first few days following a loss are the most important. Quick response will assist in saving a building from extensive remediation and costly repairs that result from mold amplifying and growing. ENTEK provides investigations following a loss to determine the cause of damage. Property damage to walls, ceilings, floors, equipment and furnishings can occur from a simple water intrusion to a destructive hurricane. Floods, roof failures, inadequate construction, and EIFS failures are all very common water losses. As soon as cause is established, mitigation can proceed abating further damage, controlling the dollar value of the claim.
But is that enough, what if the mold was there before the loss?
It is the experience of ENTEK that the development of mold on building materials is an event of SUCCESSION. What does that mean? There are three stages of mold growth: primary colonizers, secondary colonizers and tertiary colonizers. Some species of mold takes days to grow and are primary colonizers. While others take months or even years to grow and are considered tertiary colonizers. Viable or Non-viable Non-viable mold, which is detected by optical laboratory analysis, is mold that has undergone it’s complete life cycle and is dormant. Depending on the species of mold, it takes TIME.......... Type of spore Some species of mold, produce slimy spores, which are distributed by insects and other small animals (Stachybotrys chartarum). it takes TIME......... Can you date mold? Visual inspections, bulk sampling, air sampling, are synergistic techniques used to determine the existence and extent of mold. In most cases, using these techniques, you can determine whether a recent water intrusion is the cause of mold growth, or whether the has been a pre-existing condition. « If tertiary colonizers like stachybotrys chartarum or chaetomium sp. are found in analytical results, you can bet there has been a long term moisture condition. « If gypsum board is punky or rotted, you can bet there has been a long term moisture condition. « If you see mushrooms you can bet there has been a long term moisture condition. « If tack strips are black, soft, you can bet there has been a long term moisture condition. « If there a numerous species of mold, you can bet there has been a long term moisture condition. |
