Mold is one of the main problems that you have to tackle with after a hurricane drop a large volume of water in your house. Too much water can lead to rapid growth of mold all over the house structures. To minimize the damage, you must quickly take action to clean up the mold and also carry out some preventative measures to prevent future growth. The following are 4 tips on how to clean up and prevent mold following a flood.
1. Remove Mold Infested Items
Before you start cleaning, you must first identify the type of mold that has infested your house. All kinds of mold should be removed regardless of the type because they can pose health risks. Any porous item such as wood and upholstered furniture that is wet and has musty smell should be thrown away. This is especially so with any porous item that was submerged below the water. You can take photos of items you have discard to file for claim with your insurance company.
You can clean and reuse glass, plastic and metal objects. If your carpet has patches of mold, you should discard it because drying it cannot remove the mold spores. If the carpet does not have mold and can still be salvaged, you can use a carpet extractor to remove the water. The wet/dry vacuum can also remove water from carpet as it can hold 3 – 4 gallons of water.
2. Disinfect All Surfaces
After the mold infested items have been discarded, you can disinfect other surfaces that are still usable. You can use a germ fogger to quickly disinfect the entire room and mitigate the musty smell with a single press of a button. Mild mold growth can generally be removed with water and detergent solution. The detergent solution can be tri-sodium phosphate, or bleach and water. Some of the surfaces that you should clean are countertop, flooring, concrete, and appliances.
3. Dry All Surfaces
After cleaning, you can dry the surfaces. Small home and office dehumidifiers can be used to dry small spaces. You can use industrial dehumidifier for drying a bigger space or highly moisture saturated area. The dehumidifier should be turned on for a few days to a few weeks until the porous surfaces are completely dry. If your plaster and insulation material are affected by the flood water, it will be better to replace them as it can take a longer time to get them dried.
4. Repair the House
After the spaces are dried, you can fix the water problems such as leaks in the roof, and plumbing fixtures. If there is mold on the wall, you should not cover up by painting over it. Instead, the mold has to be scraped off the wall. You can get professional help in restore your wall, floor and broken possessions. They can also help you with cleaning up the water damage since they have the right equipments.
