With a fresh round of floods in Tennessee, I am reminded of the common mistakes and misunderstandings that take place in post-flood remediation. After reading some information put out to flooded homeowners and business owners by FEMA, the CDC, EPA, mold removal specialists and water cleanup contractors, I get the sense that they are becoming swifter at getting the correct information to the public.
Water damage is something that needs to be addressed immediately after a flood. Toxic mold will start growing within 24 and 48 hours. Open windows and doors and use fans to dry out the building. Use wet vacs to remove water from surfaces and dehumidifiers to take it out of the air. You must also remove baseboards and wet drywall. Anything that has been wet for more than 48 hours needs to be discarded if it cannot be thoroughly cleaned and dried. This includes carpets, padding, furniture, drywall, tiles, insulation and wood.
The problem here is that many people are tied down with inaction because they have flood insurance. Having flood insurance seems to cause more damage than it saves. They are forbidden to start removing damp materials until an adjuster can come and assess the damage. Unfortunately, during floods that affect hundreds of people, these adjusters are in short supply. It can take weeks before an adjuster will show up. By this time, it’s too late. Your insurance may cover the flood damage, but the mold damage that results is usually not covered by insurance.
This is an enormous and consistent problem whenever it floods and it usually ends up with business owners going to court with their insurance providers to force them to pay for the mold remediation. Floods are not like fires, where only one structure may be affected. When it floods, too few adjusters must venture to too many buildings while the mold clock is ticking down. My recommendation is to find out if your adjuster can arrive within 24 hours. If they cannot, you should consider stripping the wet walls yourself, even if it may void your insurance. Toxic mold removal is expensive and a mold remediation estimate from a commercial mold removal company can be much more than the cost of the flood damage.
Water damage cleanup professionals and mold prevention companies are stressing the ineffectiveness of bleach as a mold remover. Because bleach uses so much water, it has a short “kill life.” This means that it will only kill surface level mold and provide mold growing in porous material with more water, causing it to reappear days later. Instead mold removal specialists are recommending hospital-strength disinfectants that can be found at cleaning supply stores. The EPA reminded Tennessee homeowners that it does not approve the use of bleach in home mold removal.
Learn more effective ways of killing mold. If you have a mold problem as a result of water intrusion, I suggest you check out organic products to remove mold from reputable mold remediation companies.
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