OUR UNIQUE SPECIALTY - ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFE, NON-CHEMICAL DECONTAMINATION AND FUMIGATION

WE MAY HAVE THE ANSWER TO YOUR PROBLEM. PLEASE CONTACT US: mfd7326@sbcglobal.net

We can remediate damage from mold, water, fire, smoke and infestation in our vacuum chamber using environmentally safe, non-chemical fumigation and decontamination in a plasma energy field. Call for details.

Agents and Adjusters Nationwide Catastrophe (CAT) Response

Midwest Freeze-Dry, Ltd.

7326 N. Central Park

Skokie, IL 60076

mfd7326@sbcglobal.net

847-679-4756          847-679-4191 Fax

CALL FOR A FREE ESTIMATE

ABC's of Catastrophe Response

 

After you experience a catastrophe, What NOT TO DO

Before OZONE is used, what you need to know about its effects.

Compounds - What are VOC's and how can you avoid them.

for more information, visit our affiliate:

Patrick King & Associates

 

RESTORATION AND CONSERVATION OF WATER DAMAGED BOOKS, DOCUMENTS, FILES AND RECORDS

 

About Us:

Home

Articles

Client List

Price List

Contact Us

 

Services

Water Damage

Plasma Fumigation

VOC Remediation

Vacuum Thermal Drying

Vacuum Freeze Drying

Vacuum Freeze Drying - Produce

Blast Freezing

Disaster Response

 

 

Material Handling:

Architectural Materials

Microfilm & Microfiche

Photographic Materials

Video & Audiotapes

Tips for Packing Wet Books

 

 

Midwest Freeze Dry saves Cook County $256,000

 

LOW COST EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS FOR DISASTER RESPONSE

RESTORATION and CONSERVATION SALVAGE for WATER, FIRE, or SMOKE DAMAGED MATERIALS

MOLD REMEDIATION and NON-CHEMICAL ODOR REMOVAL

RESTORATION of BOOKS, PAPERS, FILES, DOCUMENTS, VITAL RECORDS

VACUUM FREEZE DRYING and DESICCANT AIR DRYING

VACUUM FREEZE DRYING of PHARMACEUTICALS AND HERBS

NON-CHEMICAL PEST CONTROL

PLASMA GAS FUMIGATION

MASS

DE-ACIDIFICATION

ANOXIC  TREATMENT

Midwest

Freeze-Dry, Ltd.

7326 N. Central Park

Skokie, IL 60076

847-679-4756

847-679-4191 Fax

Mold Remediation

Cost  Effective Restoration

Non Chemical Restoration & Fumigation Mold & Water Damaged Books Documents

by  Meggan King

COST EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS

Recently, mold, bacteria and their associated problems have been getting an increasing amount of attention.  Where has this “new” problem come from, and why all the concern?

Let us first set the record straight.  Mold and bacteria are not new; they have been around since the dawn of time. It is only lately that we have begun to pay attention to them. They are found in both indoor and outdoor air and have been able to colonize virtually every known surface. There are mold spores and bacteria in our hair and on our skin. They are found in dirt, books, documents, files, pillows, refrigerators, inside wall cavities, in the ocean, growing on trees and you could even find them on the windshield of your car. They are involved in virtually every aspect of our lives whether we know it or not. To some, this may sound alarming, but it shouldn’t be. Of the literally thousands of different species of mold, there are only a few dozen that really cause us any problems.

Sensitive individuals can be allergic to mold in the same way that people are allergic to pollen or animal dander. Daily outdoor mold and pollen count levels are commonly reported in the weather. But what about mold indoors? Do we need to be concerned about it? That can be a difficult question to answer. The best answer to that question is “maybe” and “sometimes”. No matter how hard one tries, it is simply not possible to completely eliminate mold from a home, library or school, etc. The only thing that can effectively be done is to try and control colony growth.

Mold has 5 growth requirements:

1)  Food source

2)  Air

3)  Surface for growth

4)  Desirable temperature

5)  Moisture

To control mold growth one of the requirements must be eliminated.  Since requirements 1-4 are next to impossible to control (the food source for mold growing in a home may be the home’s own building material like wood and wallboard, that really can’t be controlled). However, we can control moisture. Stick with this motto, “No water, no problem”. If there has been a recent incursion of water into an area, such as a basement flood or a burst pipe, it can make conditions very favorable for mold growth.  The first thing to do is FIX the water problem (a “band-aid” approach is not the solution). Once the problem has been fixed then the moisture can be controlled. The easiest way to do this is by adjusting temperature and humidity. For mold to grow on a surface, the relative humidity of the surface needs to be above 70%. If the relative humidity can be brought down somewhat below 70% the mold will stop growing. The growth surface can be almost anything, i.e. leather books, papers, files, vellum documents, furs, textiles, upholstery, insulation, clothing, wood and many other materials. 

Mold growth in homes can be quite a common problem, especially after a flood or water leak. If these problems are not addressed very quickly and properly it can lead to serious issues. Sometimes a homeowner may not even know there has been a leak until mold has already begun to grow. When mold growth becomes visible it is very important to track down the source of the problem and FIX it. Often, when there has been a flood, the homeowners insurance company will arrange to have a restoration service come in and dry down the structure. This will normally involve the use of fans and dehumidifiers. This treatment may be sufficient, but in many cases it is not. It all depends on the severity of the water incursion. If there has been standing water, a dehumidifier will probably not combat the problem. If drywall gets wet it becomes useless and needs to be replaced. The case is the same for insulation; if it gets wet it must be replaced. Also, remember that if a surface is coated in a latex paint, it can’t breathe. That means that a dehumidifier can only dry the paint surface, not what is behind it. Although the homeowner and the insurance company may think that the problem is solved, it is actually getting worse. In a matter of days or weeks, there will be mold growing behind the walls.

How do you handle valuable or sentimental items that you want to save if they have become wet or been exposed to mold? At our restoration facility, we have a number of restoration treatments available. We can vacuum freeze-dry material to remove water and use plasma to decontaminate and kill mold and bacteria on books, documents and files. Our restoration treatment will also neutralize odors that may result from mold or other sources.

We had a case where a pipe burst in a condominium. After the pipe was repaired, a restoration and remediation team came in and “dried” the structure with dehumidifiers, but a few weeks later mold began to grow all over the walls. We discovered that all of the studs behind the walls were steel. This meant that there was a trough where the stud fit into the beam. The trough was filled with water and that was the source of the mold. No amount of drying with a dehumidifier would have been able to suck the water from the trough out through the wall. Had the restoration and remediation efforts included removing a section of the drywall, they would have discovered the source of moisture and the whole situation probably could have been avoided.

In a recent court case in Texas, a jury awarded a family $32 million for mold damage. The insurance company was said to have committed fraud in the way it dealt with the family. The company delayed repairs for a water leak. Had repairs and proper restoration and remediation been addressed quickly, the lawsuit may have been avoided entirely!

Mold problems can also be of great concern for libraries, archives and museums, especially when they receive donated collections. These collections of books and documents may have been stored in a damp attic, basement or crawlspace before they were donated. Before these documents and books can be introduced to the library, archives or museum, they should be properly treated or decontaminated so they will not contaminate the rest of the collection.

At Midwest Freeze-Dry Ltd., we have the capability to dry, remove excess moisture, decontaminate and deodorize valuable articles. Restoration treatments can be customized to suit the specific needs of individual situations. Using vacuum freeze-dry and plasma treatment technology, we can treat your material without using harmful chemicals like ethylene oxide.  In fact, we use inert gases in our restoration treatment so there are no harmful side effects to people or the environment.  Our cost-effective restoration treatment will kill any microorganism, insect or insect larva contaminating your material.

Plasma (the 4th state of matter, essentially a gaseous energy) treatment is becoming an increasingly popular method of sterilization for medical instruments because it is clean and works efficiently. There are no harmful gasses or waste for disposal.

Johnson & Johnson markets a small plasma sterilization system for the sterilization of medical instruments in hospitals. Research in plasma technology is being conducted by many governmental agencies such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  They have funded research on using filters combined with plasma sterilization for use in buildings, hospitals and homes.  Researchers at a few universities around the country and at Los Alamos National Laboratory are investigating using plasma for the decontamination of chemical and biological warfare agents such as mustard gas, nerve gas and anthrax spores.

Our cost-effective, restoration plasma treatment can effectively kill microorganisms. When books, documents and files are placed into a dielectric field, plasma can be created.  As described in one of our other articles, the plasma energy causes water molecules to flip around, which essentially scrambles DNA. Using a bombardment technique, we can sputter different gasses to attack and kill virtually anything in a matter of hours, ranging from problematic indoor molds (Penicillium, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Alternaria, Stachybotrys, etc…) to even the most resistant bacterial endospores capable of hibernating for thousands of years.

So how can simply spinning water molecules kill insects and microorganisms? Every living thing contains water. The more water a living thing contains the easier it is to kill.  That is why we can kill insects with only minimal exposure to plasma, because they are full of water. Fungi (mold, yeast, mushrooms, mildew) and bacteria, on the other hand, are a little more difficult to kill because they are capable of forming spores and endospores which are incredibly resistant to heat, desiccation, harsh chemicals, and radiation to name a few. Spores and endospores have a very low water content, which is why many conventional methods don’t work well.

Many decontamination and sterilization procedures are only capable of treating small quantities of material or small objects. This is perfectly adequate in many restoration cases, but what about large quantities of material and bigger objects? Our cost-effective restoration treatment chamber has a commercial size capacity so we can accommodate most needs.

Please feel free to search our website for more information on restoration, or contact us via e-mail mfd7326@aol.com, phone or FAX (contact information is available on our home page).

 

Remediation and Restoration of Mold Damage for

Schools, Churches, Library, Museums, Archives and Private Collections

using Plasma Gas Fumigation for:

Books and Manuscripts Furnishings Legal / Medical

 

Coated Papers

 

Antiques Furniture

 

Attorney, Client Files, Documents

 

Drafting Linens

 

Archaeological Wood

 

Confidentiality Files, Documents

 

Fine Art Books

 

Wood Floors

 

Court Records, Documents

 

Leather Books

 

Wood Furniture

 

Dental Documents, Files, Records,X-Rays

 

Library Papers, Manuscripts

 

Wood Objects

 

Hospital  Documents, Files, Records,X-Rays

 

Maps

 

 

Legal  Documents, Files, Records

 

Parchment

Historical

 

Medical  Documents, Files, Records,X-Rays

 

Pulp Paper

 

Archival Periodical

 

 

Schools' Library Books, Documents

 

Archival Periodical Documents

Paintings and Drawings

 

Vellum Books

 

Architectural Materials and Maps

 

Acrylics

 

 

Baseball Cards

 

Art on Paper

Business Files and Documents

 

Porous Board Stock Boxes

 

Drafting Cloth

 

Accounting

 

Certificates

 

Fine Art Drawings

Contracts

 

Rare Documents

 

Fine Art Prints

 

Employee Files

 

Paper Money Collections

 

Linen Drawings

 

Flight Logbooks

 

Stamp Collections

 

Water Colors

 

Plans or Blueprints

   

 

Product Catalogs

Keepsakes and Collectibles Photographs

 

Reference Materials

 

Awards & Achievements

 

Albumen Prints

 

Microfiche

 

Baby Books

 

Aperture Cards

 

Microfilm

 

Baskets

 

Chromogenic Prints

 

 

Collectibles, Collections

 

Gelatin Dry Plate Glass Plates

Family Files and Documents

 

Memorabilia

 

Matte and Glossy Collodion Prints

 

Appraisals

 

Leather

 

Photomechanical Prints

 

Birth Certificates

 

Newspaper Articles

 

Photographs

 

Death Certificates

 

Photo Albums

 

Prints

 

Household Records

 

Recipe Books, Cards

 

Slides

 

Loan Agreements

 

Scrapbooks

 

 

Passports

 

Wedding Albums

Textiles

 

Securities

 

Yearbooks

 

Embroidery

 

School Transcripts

 

 

Flags

 

Tax Records

 

 

Needlework

 

Vellum Documents

 

 

Rugs

 

Vital Records, Documents

 

 

Silks

   

 

Tapestries

 

We Specialize in Salvage and Restoration providing Low Cost Vacuum Freeze Drying:

Cost-effective Vacuum Freeze Drying for Water, Fire, Smoke and Soot Damaged Materials:

 

Books and Manuscripts Furnishings Legal / Medical

 

Coated Papers

 

Antiques Furniture

 

Attorney, Client Files, Documents

 

Drafting Linens

 

Archaeological Wood

 

Confidentiality Files, Documents

 

Fine Art Books

 

Wood Floors

 

Court Records, Documents

 

Leather Books

 

Wood Furniture

 

Dental Documents, Files, Records,X-Rays

 

Library Papers, Manuscripts

 

Wood Objects

 

Hospital  Documents, Files, Records,X-Rays

 

Maps

 

 

Legal  Documents, Files, Records

 

Parchment

Historical

 

Medical  Documents, Files, Records,X-Rays

 

Pulp Paper

 

Archival Periodical

 

 

Schools' Library Books, Documents

 

Archival Periodical Documents

Paintings and Drawings

 

Vellum Books

 

Architectural Materials and Maps

 

Acrylics

 

 

Baseball Cards

 

Art on Paper

Business Files and Documents

 

Porous Board Stock Boxes

 

Drafting Cloth

 

Accounting

 

Certificates

 

Fine Art Drawings

Contracts

 

Rare Documents

 

Fine Art Prints

 

Employee Files

 

Paper Money Collections

 

Linen Drawings

 

Flight Logbooks

 

Stamp Collections

 

Water Colors

 

Plans or Blueprints

   

 

Product Catalogs

Keepsakes and Collectibles Photographs

 

Reference Materials

 

Awards & Achievements

 

Albumen Prints

 

Microfiche

 

Baby Books

 

Aperture Cards

 

Microfilm

 

Baskets

 

Chromogenic Prints

 

 

Collectibles, Collections

 

Gelatin Dry Plate Glass Plates

Family Files and Documents

 

Memorabilia

 

Matte and Glossy Collodion Prints

 

Appraisals

 

Leather

 

Photomechanical Prints

 

Birth Certificates

 

Newspaper Articles

 

Photographs

 

Death Certificates

 

Photo Albums

 

Prints

 

Household Records

 

Recipe Books, Cards

 

Slides

 

Loan Agreements

 

Scrapbooks

 

 

Passports

 

Wedding Albums

Textiles

 

Securities

 

Yearbooks

 

Embroidery

 

School Transcripts

 

 

Flags

 

Tax Records

 

 

Needlework

 

Vellum Documents

 

 

Rugs

 

Vital Records, Documents

 

 

Silks

   

 

Tapestries

 

 

Low Cost Document Restoration Services

 for Mold and Bacteria Remediation

using Near and Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Cleaning for:

remediation restoration from mold damage

Wood

remediation restoration from mold damage

Leather Books

mold bacteria remediation carbon dioxide cleaning

Court Records

mold bacteria remediation carbon dioxide cleaning

Court Documents

mold bacteria remediation carbon dioxide cleaning

Vellum Books

mold bacteria remediation carbon dioxide cleaning

Vellum Documents

mold bacteria remediation carbon dioxide cleaning

Art on Paper

mold bacteria remediation carbon dioxide cleaning

Drawings

mold bacteria remediation carbon dioxide cleaning

Library Books

mold bacteria remediation carbon dioxide cleaning

Wood Objects

mold bacteria remediation carbon dioxide cleaning

Paintings

mold bacteria remediation carbon dioxide cleaning

Fine Art Prints

remediation restoration mold plasma fumigation

Silk Rugs

mold bacteria remediation carbon dioxide cleaning

Handmade Rugs

mold bacteria remediation carbon dioxide cleaning

Persian Rugs

mold bacteria remediation carbon dioxide cleaning

Zoology Specimens

mold bacteria remediation carbon dioxide cleaning

Documents

mold bacteria remediation carbon dioxide cleaning

Textiles

mold bacteria remediation carbon dioxide cleaning

Wood Objects

mold bacteria remediation carbon dioxide cleaning

Wood Furniture

mold bacteria remediation carbon dioxide cleaning

Wood Flooring

remediation restoration mold plasma fumigation

Silk Rugs

remediation restoration mold plasma fumigation

Handmade Rugs

remediation restoration mold plasma fumigation

Persian Rugs

remediation restoration mold plasma fumigation

Tiger Skin

remediation restoration mold plasma fumigation

Bear Skin

remediation restoration mold plasma fumigation

Lion Skin

remediation restoration mold plasma fumigation

Zebra Skin

remediation restoration mold plasma fumigation

Deer Skin

remediation restoration mold plasma fumigation

Wolf Skin

remediation restoration mold plasma fumigation

Wild Boar

remediation restoration mold plasma fumigation

Moose Skin

remediation restoration mold plasma fumigation

Jaguar Skin

remediation restoration mold plasma fumigation

Snow Leopard

remediation restoration mold plasma fumigation

Buffalo Skin

remediation restoration mold plasma fumigation

Elk Skin

 

 

 Agents and Adjusters  Nationwide Catastrophe ( CAT ) Response

RESOURCES:

OZONE“THE GOOD” “THE BAD” and “THE UGLY”

EPA DATA ON OZONE

MOLD REMEDIATION

ODOR REMOVAL

PEST INFESTATION

CONTROLLING INSECTS

ADVANCED PLASMA FUMIGATION

FIELD MUSEUM SAYS "THANKS"

SCRAMBLED DNA FOR BUGS

WE MAY HAVE THE ANSWER TO YOUR PROBLEM. PLEASE CONTACT US AT:

Midwest Freeze-Dry, Ltd.

mfd7326@sbcglobal.net

7326 N. Central Park

Skokie, IL 60076

847-679-4756 Phone      847-679-4191 Fax

Copyright Midwest Freeze-Dry, Ltd. 2011

Revised: 10/19/11