AdvantaClean of Lorton, Manassas, Fredericksburg Our Work

Location: Fredericksburg, VA 22407

Problem: This customer had a small leak under her bathroom sink a couple of years ago. The leak was repaired and she didn't think any more of it until she noticed the floor was a bit spongy in front of the sink and there was some discolored flooring in the hallway. AdvantaClean investigated the situation and found sub-flooring in the crawl space that was contaminated with mold. The mold had degraded the strength of the plywood, causing structural damage.

Solution: AdvantaClean scheduled the work as soon as possible, and once the mold remediation had been safely completed, we were able to bring in a flooring company that we work with frequently to replace the flooring!

Location: Woodbridge, VA 22192

Problem: Vacations should be fun, but they are less fun when you return home to find that a leaky toilet has soaked all the carpeting in the home! It had been sitting for days at least, and ruined the carpet and the padding.

Solution: AdvantaClean came out and removed all the debris (carpet, padding) and cut out the bottom part of the drywall since it also had absorbed water and became a breeding ground for mold. Once removed, we dried the area out and brought in one of our referral partners to replace the drywall.

Protecting your family's health is important, particularly from the colorless, odorless and tasteless radon gas, but where to have the system installed can be tricky to work out. It needs to be installed effectively but it would be a shame to ruin your home aesthetics. Fortunately, our team has a lot of experience with that!

For the interior part of the system in this home we serviced in Triangle, VA, we were able to place the pipe discretely in the corner of their finished basement, and ran the pipe on the exterior up along the gutter to be discrete there as well. A beautiful home safe from dangerous levels of radon gas!

A customer of ours in Fredericksburg was selling their home but the buyer was concerned about radon levels and did a home-test to see what the level was. The EPA sets a standard level of concern at 4.0 pCi/L, which is the equivalent exposure of 200 chest x-rays per year. The level in this home came back above that standard, posing a hazard to respiratory health.

Since the basement was going to be refinished anyway, AdvantaClean was able to come in and place the radon system (fan and piping) in such a way as to minimize the impact on the room. The buyer was satisfied and the sale proceeded without further delay!

When we are called to run a radon test to detect the levels of exposure in a home to this odorless, colorless, tasteless gas, we are looking for the level to be below the EPA safety standard of 4.0 pCi/L. The results from a test we ran for a customer in Bealeton showed a level of 8.0 pCi/L, twice the safe standard. According to the EPA, exposure to that level of radon is equal to 16 cigarettes each day, or 400 x-rays per year. Clearly the occupants were facing a hazard to their respiratory health.

To keep the family safe, we installed a sub-slab depressurization system and hid the pipe in a closet. This provided a way for the radon gas to be taken up from the crawlspace and vented safely into the air above the home, where it continues to rise into the atmosphere.

Pipes leak sometimes, and the two most common places we see problems are in bathrooms and kitchens - particularly under a sink. In Lorton we were called in to help a homeowner who found that her sink had been leaking for quite a while, but she hadn't realized it. In the dark, warm and now damp space in the cabinet, mold was thriving. 

Most of the time when mold penetrates a porous surface and is truly infested, the only thing to do is remove it. The reason you call a professional mold remediation company instead of your handyman is that we can do the removal in a safe area. Once you disturb mold spores they become airborne, and without a proper containment barrier you risk spreading your problem to the rest of the home. 

AdvantaClean remediated the mold by removing the sink and cabinet safely, disposing of the contaminated materials, and then using our process of HEPA vacuuming the surfaces, wiping with our antimicrobial solution, and repeating that several times to be as thorough as possible. We also were able to work with one of our contractors to do the repairs, leaving the kitchen better than it had been!

This Stafford customer rarely visited her unfinished basement, and when she went to pull some luggage out she noticed mold growing. This is not uncommon in unfinished basements since the space is typically unconditioned and in our Northern Virginia humidity, the dark and moist environment is ideal for mold growth.

Fortunately, she called AdvantaClean in for a free mold inspection and we found the mold growth encompassed both the floor joists and sub-floor. We were able to schedule her quickly, protecting the rest of the home from cross contamination by erecting a containment barrier, and ran air scrubbers for a few days to remove any airborne mold spores. When we finished, her basement was clean and her stored items safe again!

Most people tend to avoid going into their crawlspaces, particularly in light of the fact that they are often dark and unpleasant. Unfortunately, not knowing the condition of the crawlspace is an issue when it comes to letting water, mold, and critters and crawlers enter the space and intrude in your living area. This home near the Rappahannock River in Fredericksburg was prone to flooding in the crawlspace, a situation that allowed unchecked mold growth, compromised insulation, and a distinct odor.

AdvantaClean was called in to address the mold remediation and encapsulate the crawl space against further moisture issues. After remediation we installed a vapor barrier to trap the moisture rising from the soil beneath the plastic, sealing it up the walls. Once the barrier was installed we added foam board insulation and a dehumidifier to improve air quality and efficiency of the home from the ground up!

Having your basement flood can be very frustrating, particularly when the source of water is unknown. Water that repeatedly intrudes can create long term water damage in your home, creating a breeding ground for mold and structural damage. For this Manassas homeowner, the source of the water was a mystery. Fortunately, he called AdvantaClean!

Guided by visual observation and a moisture meter we found the likely area for the source of the moisture coming from the corner of the basement. We opened up the wall, removed the insulation and found a small puddle of water. We dried the puddle, removed some wall studs and base plate and poured water on the foundation from outside. After 20 minutes the puddle formed again only this time we could see where it was coming from. We sealed up the cracks in the foundation and the customer hasn't experienced difficulties again!

Many areas in Northern Virginia have elevated concentrations of radon gas in the soil, as was the case in this Manassas home. The buyers were concerned and based on the advice of their home inspector, requested we do radon testing for them - the results were 4.9, just above the EPA safe standard of 4.0. While not the most dangerous reading we have seen, it was enough to warrant a radon mitigation system. Our AdvantaClean team was happy to install one, bringing those levels down to a safer range!