| Preventing Mold Growth After A Flood |
| By Ross Morrell |
Published
11/27/2005
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Mold Remediation
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Preventing Mold Growth After A Flood
Flood waters are heavily polluted with viruses, bacteria and parasites, and when building materials and furniture become wet with flood waters, extensive mold growth can be expected to follow. Failure to remove contaminated materials and to reduce moisture and humidity can present serious long-term health risks such as respiratory disease and allergic reactions. Mold will also continue to damage building materials long after the flood. The information contained here emphasizes residential flood cleanup, but is also applicable to other types of buildings.
The following services are offered by Fire & Flood Repair:
Remove Standing Water
We will remove all standing water as quickly as possible. Floodwater often contains sewage or and infectious disease is of concern. However caution must be taken not to remove water so quickly that it causes a building’s structural integrity to weaken.
Lower the Humidity in your Home
Everything will dry more quickly and clean more easily if you can reduce the humidity in the home. You may have to delay using some of the following methods if you have no electricity. Drying your home can take several weeks. Until your home is reasonably dry, damage and musty odor caused by mildew and decay will continue.
- Open the house. If the humidity outside is lower than indoors, and if the weather permits, open all the doors and windows to exchange the moist indoor air for drier outdoor air. At night, and other times when the humidity is higher outdoors, close up the house. |  | | - Open closet and cabinet doors. Do not force them open. Speed drying by removing drawers and the back of cabinets to let the air circulate. | | | - Use fans. Fans help move the air and dry out your home. We do not use central air conditioning or the furnace blower if the ducts were under water. Clean or hose out the ducts first. | | | - Run dehumidifiers. Dehumidifiers and window air conditioners will reduce the moisture, especially in closed up areas. |
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