Green Star Eco Services

04/04/2021

If you experienced flooding in the past or recently from the freeze we had in February and you are wondering if you dried out in time or thoroughly enough, an area to check is between baseboards and your walls. This area tends to stay wet if baseboards were not removed and become a prime area for mold growth to start. Generally speaking, if you see mold frowth in this area, you can expect to see it on the other side of the drywall as well. Underneath cabinets is another area that is hard to dry and a place where mold can quickly begin to grow and then thrive. A word of warning though, removing moldy materials should be done following the proper procedures and safety precautions to avoid cross contaminating other areas of the structure and the health of anyone performing the demolition. Non invasive testing can be done to determine if mold growth exists. Call Green Star Eco services for mold remediation or mold assessment services. We are ready to help

02/17/2021

https://www.khou.com/article/weather/what-to-do-if-your-pipes-freeze-or-burst/285-b2e45e8c-e272-4e7a-9976-05a875f5a7d7

Plumbers are already getting swamped with calls from homeowners with frozen or burst pipes.

07/28/2020

If you have a damp, stinky crawlspace, chances are that you have a mold and moisture problem below your house. Some signs of excessive crawlspace moisture can be wharped, cupping floors, a musty smelling house, and musty smells coming from the crawlspace venting outside the home. Some contributing factors can be water retention under the home, lack of proper crawlspace ventillation, improperly installed flooring or excessive debris accumulation in your crawlspace. We have seen it all. Generally speaking, crawlspaces become moldy if they are wet, so it is imperative to keep them dry and breathing properly. There are many ways to accomplish this and some can be very expensive, so it is important for the home buyer to make sure that the crawlspace has been properly engineered when purchasing a new or used home (especially if the home is an older home with additions and renovations). If you currently own a home and you suspect you have crawlspace mold issues, call us to stop by and take a look to help determine the best remedy for your situation.

07/03/2020

Here is a good example of what the damage that an unnoticed leak can do to a cabinet assembly. Leaking sinks or plumbing under the sink (the drainage or water supply) generally keep the space behind and under the cabinet wet. When this happens, the conditions are perfect for mold growth to begin and then prosper. Many times, the water damage signature (staining, warping etc.) can be very small, but the damage on the non visible side can be tremendous. If you suspect that you have a leak or are noticing visible signs of water damage under your sink, then think twice before trying to tackle it yourself. Have a mold consultant perform and assessment on the area and if it comes back positive for mold contamination, then have a remediation company remove or treat the area properly. Most of the time, these areas are a removal situation, but we have come across projects where the damage has not progressed very far and we are able to sanitize the area and neutralize the problem. The more time you allow the area to remain wet, the worse the problem will be, so check your sink cabinets and other water areas (toilets, showers etc.) regularly. Address water leaks and then dry the areas immediately. Please call Green Star Eco Services if you suspect or see any mold growth and we can advise you on your next step.

05/26/2020

Can anyone guess what is growing in the photos below? Here are some hints:
- They can be eaten
- They are very noticable in just about all areas of the country in late October
- Some people think they can be scary
- They grow in patches
- They can be carved
- Orange in color

If you guessed "pumpkin" then you would be correct. The pumpkin in the photos below appeared to be growing out of the floor. Here is what happened.

I received a call from a concerned client that an "alien pod" had started growing out of their floor. It was hard and pretty strange looking, rather intimidating. The client sounded pretty concerned, so we talked about the possibilities of what universe the alien pod could have come from and why it chose their closet to recolonize here on earth. In the end, a mold inspector had determined that the alien life form was in fact just a pumpkin that had probably fallen out of a bag used last around Halloween time. The pumpkin started rotting and the mold took over giving the pumpkin an alien like appearance.

The easy lesson to learn here is that mold can grow on just about anything organic making ordinary objects look creepy, but the more important lesson is to check your closets often. Closets are often kept closed for weeks and are prime places for surface mold growth due to high humidity or lack of air flow. Also, water intrusion from plumbing or hvac issues can go unoticed. Keep an eye on those closets!

03/06/2020

On this page, we talk a lot about mold and what it takes to handle it properly. Mold growth will just about always follow water intrusion and excess humidity if the problem is not handled within 48 hours.

So, if you find yourself with a water intrusion issue from some form of leak or flood, please call us. Our emergency services are equipped to handle all forms of dry out situations. Drying your structure out quickly can prevent mold growth which can prevent health issues, save you a lot of headaches and also save you money. If your situation turns into an insurance claim or not, no problem, we can handle it.

01/28/2020

We hear a lot of comments from contractors, homeowners, realtors and property managers like "every house has mold", "if mold is dried out, then there is nothing to worry about", "we can cut the mold out, treat the area with bleach and that will fix it". Well, that can be true to a point, but all mold projects are not created equal. When performing mold removal, It is important to have the proper training, equipment and products to handle all mold jobs, large or small. Small jobs have a way of ballooning and turning into large jobs, so think twice before you demo that small mold patch of mold that you noticed last night with a twenty pound sledge you dug out of the garage. Call us in to at least take a look at it first. It can save you a lot of problems that come with cross contamination of an occupied space.

12/17/2019

Thousands of Houston area residents and property owners landed a historic win against the U.S. government on Tuesday when a federal judge found that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is liable for damage caused when it used homes and businesses to retain floodwater upstream of the Addicks and Barker....

12/02/2019

Mold contamination must always be taken seriously.

SEATTLE (AP) - A lawsuit is expected to be filed against Seattle Children’s Hospital in connection with a second aspergillus mold outbreak in the last year.

12/02/2019

Ever thought you need to replace a deck because it's not aging well? What if it could be restored to look like new?

11/30/2019

Our deck cleaning service can brighten up your home exterior. We use an eco-friendly cleaning solution to remove stains from mold and mildew.

11/30/2019

Today marks the end of the 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season. We are grateful our region did not suffer from a major storm.