Removing Mold in Your Home After a Flood

Jan 24
08:40

2012

Ma. Theresa Galan

Ma. Theresa Galan

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Mold and Flooded Homes If your house has been in a flood there's a good chance you will end up with a mold problem. However there are steps you can take to try to prevent mold growing in your home after it's been flooded.

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Hiring Professional Mold or Flood Clean Up ExpertsAfter a flood the best thing you can do is contact a mold remediation company or water damage specialist who performs clean ups of flooded homes.This way you can be sure that all mold problems will be properly taken care of. You will also have the peace of mind of knowing that your home will be completely safe to continue living in after it's been professionally remediated.Preventing Mold After a FloodMold can start to grow after just a day or two so it's important to act as quickly as possible if your home has been flooded. Make sure you only enter your home once it's safe though.If you're going to perform the flood clean up yourself then you should begin my moving things outside that didn't get wet. This is to protect them while you clean up the rest of the house.Removing Mold on Wood talks about how to clean wood that does have mold on it.Like carpet,Removing Mold in Your Home After a Flood  Articles insulation also takes too long to dry out so you should throw away any insulation that got wet during the flood.Although you should remove any wet building materials as soon as possible after a flood, make sure the house is fully dried out before you install new materials to replace them. Wall cavities especially shouldn't be sealed back up until it is completely dry inside.Removing Flooded or Moldy ItemsNext you should take any things that got wet during the flood, such as furniture and boxes, out of your home. Make sure you don't move these wet items to somewhere else inside your house as that can spread the mold problem. Instead take them straight outside. Putting these objects in plastic bags, if possible, before you move them is also a good idea to help prevent mold spreading.You will have to decide whether to throw these things away or to clean them and set them aside for when you are ready to bring them back inside.Cleaning Wet or Moldy ItemsHard surfaced, non-porous items which don't absorb water can be cleaned using detergents. After these items are dried it is safe to return them to your home without having to worry about them causing mold.It's best to throw away porous items which absorbed water and which can't be dried thoroughly within 24-48 hours. Also any objects with mold growing on them and which can't be properly cleaned should be thrown out.Clothes and bedding can be washed in your washing machine and kept. If any of your clothes have mold on them you can see information about removing the mold at Mold on Clothes.Removing Mold Caused by FloodingPerhaps mold has already started to grow in your home. In this case you should try to contain moldy areas so that mold spores don't spread to the rest of your house. There is more about containment and removing mold at Mold Removal.You shouldn't begin the mold removal process until after your home has dried out and you have removed any dirt and debris from inside. You also need to complete the mold remediation before you occupy your house again.For more info, check this links:

flood, floods and flood restoration