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Mold Action Guide after Flooding: Further Steps to Avoid Mold Damage After a Building Flood
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This chapter discusses further steps to be taken to prevent mold growth in a building after the initial or high priority actions have been completed. Earlier we recommended our Flood Response Checklist which lists key actions you should take after building flooding to minimize mold damage, and includes some safety warnings. Our photograph shows a building after extensive demolition and cleaning of a basement and of first floor flooring. Walls and ceilings above the floor were left intact.

If your building has been flooded, this website provides an easy to understand guide for flood damage assessment, setting priorities of action, safety, and we provide special information about avoiding or minimizing mold damage.

We also list after-flood "anti-mold" procedures that do not work or are unsafe - to help you avoid unnecessary expense in dealing with mold after a building flood. If your building is already moldy or if you suspect mold related illness in your building, we link to a step by step Mold Action Guide dealing with toxic or allergenic indoor mold and other indoor contaminants: when and how to inspect or test for mold, when to hire an expert, how to clean up a moldy area, when and how to perform post-remediation mold testing. If your septic system has been flooded we link to an article outlining what to do about that system as well. Extensive, technically detailed in-depth articles on other mold detection, testing, and prevention methods are organized at our Mold Information Center

Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use the links at page left to navigate this document or to go to Other Website Topics. Green links show where you are in our document & website.

FURTHER STEPS TO PREVENT MOLD Growth After Flooding in a Building

Once the immediate safety and de-watering and drying steps outlined above have been addressed, here are additional steps to clean up, remove, or prevent mold growth in a building or in and on its contents.

• Do Not Work in a Moldy Building without proper respiratory protection (HEPA-filter respirator) and other appropriate protection such as goggles, protective clothing, gloves. People who are asthmatic, suffer from COPD, compromised immune systems, or who are elderly or infant should not be in a moldy environment and certainly should not be performing the cleanup.
  
• Eye Protection: do not put a moldy finger in your eye such as to scratch an itch. You risk serious infection or even blindness. Wash your hands before eating our touching your eyes.
  
• Skin Protection: do not expose skin to mold, sewage, or cleaning chemicals. Extra care should be taken to keep these materials out of cuts, sensitive tissues, and the eyes.
  
• Cleaning Furniture and other Hard-Surfaced Items After Flooding: hard-surfaced items from a flooded area, if they have not been actually damaged by the flood water itself, can and should be cleaned using ordinary surface cleaning methods. Detergents or even soap and water are fine.
  
  However if sewage backed into the building during flooding, disinfection may be appropriate. For disinfection of surfaces use 1 cup of bleach to a gallon of water to clean the item, then rinse it thoroughly so that it won't be damaged by the bleach. We ar gloves and dye protection whenever using bleach. Don't use bleach and ammonia together - toxic chlorine gas will be given off.
  
• Furniture that cannot be cleaned: thick upholstered furniture such as couches, and also cushions, pillows, if they were wet from flooding, cannot be effectively cleaned. Don't waste money on steam cleaning or ozone "treatments" that don't work. If an upholstered chair is a valuable antique it may be possible to have the old upholstery stripped, the frame cleaned, and new upholstery applied. Generally it's less costly to buy a new chair.
  
• Cleaning Soft Goods like Clothes & Bedding after Flooding: curtains, blankets, bedding, clothing should be laundered or dry-cleaned.
  
• Cleaning Books and Papers after Flooding: there are professional services that can clean or "de-mold" books and papers, typically using a freeze-drying procedure. If you have materials that are going to require this process, protect them from further moisture and have them collected for treatment as soon as possible. This is a very costly process that won't be reasonable for ordinary popular literature or non-critical documents.
  
• Heating and Air Conditioning Systems Treatment after Flooding: HVAC systems that move air through a building will need thorough and meticulous inspection and possibly cleaning. If insulated ducts or insulation inside air handlers were flooded, those materials need to be replaced as it is not possible to effectively clean the insulating material after flooding. Additional inspection of the equipment electrical and fuel systems is needed to be sure that they are safe to operate.
• It would be best if you DO NOT run the central air conditioning system or hot air heating system after flooding and before the building has been dried and cleaned, as to do so risks contaminating its interior with mold or pathogens that will require extensive replacement.
  
  On the other hand, since we know that some people are going to insist on running the heat or air conditioning to try to assist the building drying process, if conditions demand that you run this equipment temporarily, you may do so (after a safety inspection) with the assumption that you are causing them to be contaminated, that they are blowing moldy air throughout the building, that they will need to be replaced, and that other building areas served by the same duct system may need additional special cleaning.
• If you must run a hot air heat or central air conditioning system to aid in drying out the building, you should include that system in the final cleaning, inspection, and testing steps to assure that any mold or other contaminants have been removed.
• Hot water heating systems and electric heaters such as by baseboards or radiators as well as free-standing heaters and dehumidifiers and fans can be operated to help dry a building, as soon as the equipment has been inspected for safety. The safety inspection of the equipment is important because there may be fire or shock hazards present if it's turned on without inspection.
  
• Watch for Mold Growth and Mold Odors After Flood Cleanup: even taking the steps discussed above, if a building is not dried to a sufficient level, including the moisture level of its ceiling and wall cavities, there is a real risk of the development of both visible and hidden mold.
  
  If you see mold forming, additional steps to remove moldy material and to further dry the building are needed. If you don't see mold developing, an inspection of the most-suspect building cavities for hidden moisture or mold would be a smart step before you return the building to service. If there are persistent mold odors, further investigation is in order to be sure you have not missed a hidden mold reservoir in the building.
  
• Flooded Septic Systems: If your building is served by a private onsite septic system, see Flood Response for Septic Systems what to do after a septic system has been exposed to flooding
• Crawlspace Dryout Procedures: even after a flooded building has been cleaned and repaired, it is important to correct sources of future leaks and water entry if we want to avoid future water and mold damage. See Crawl Space Dryout Procedures for advice.

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Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website

FLOOD DAMAGE ASSESSMENT, SAFETY & CLEANUP A Guide to Mold Cleanup Procedures
  FLOODS & MOLD CLEAN/PREVENT A Guide to Dealing with Flood Damage & Mold Prevention &r Cleanup of Flooded Homes
  FIRST PRIORITIES When Responding to a Flooded Building
  BUILDING ENTRY PROCEDURE How to Enter a Building After a Building Flood
  DRINKING WATER - EMERGENCY PURIFICATION How to purify emergency drinking water, how to remove odors
  DRINKING WATER - EMERGENCY SOURCES Where to find drinking water in an emergency
  ELECTRICAL SAFETY for Flood Damage Inspectors
  FLOOD DAMAGE TO FOUNDATIONS
  FLOOD RESPONSE CHECKLIST Checklist of Key Steps to Minimize Mold Damage After a Building Flood
  INEFFECTIVE MOLD PRODUCTS Ineffective Mold Products and Procedures to Avoid in Mold Cleanup/Prevention
  FURTHER STEPS PREVENT MOLD Further Steps to Avoid Mold Damage After a Building Flood
  WHEN TO STOP LOOKING FOR MOLD after Flooding: When is a Mold Cleanup Job Complete?
  GENERAL MOLD PREVENTION Preventing Future Mold After a Flooded Building Cleanup
  FLOOD DAMAGE RFERENCES References on Mold Prevention and Flood Damage
  FLOOD VENTS How to Use Flood Vents for Structural Protection from Flooding - Flood Venting in Foundations and Enclosures Below Design Flood Elevation
  SEPTIC SYSTEMS & FLOODS What to Do after a Flood - Septic Flood Response, Safety, Health, Maintenance, Repair Advice
  SEWAGE CONTAMINATION IN BUILDINGS how to detect and respond to sewage backups
  SEWAGE PATHOGENS in SEPTIC SLUDGE what are the contaminants in sewage
  Wind Damage to Roofs how to assess and identify wind damage to roofs

• Mark Cramer Inspection Services Mark Cramer, Tampa Florida, Mr. Cramer is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors and is a Florida home inspector and home inspection educator. (727) 595-4211 mark@BestTampaInspector.com 11/06
• Hankey and Brown home inspectors, Eden Prairie, MN, technical review by Roger Hankey, prior chairman, Standards Committee, American Society of Home Inspectors - ASHI. 952 829-0044 - hankeyandbrown.com 11/06
• Arlene Puentes, a licensed home inspector, educator, and building failures researcher in Kingston, NY. 11/29/06

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