After flooding damage, experts warn of mold risk
Originally sourced from WNDU.com
"People across Michiana were devastated by last week's record-breaking flooding. As they try to dry themselves out, experts warned people about the risk of mold.
"Mold is a huge problem and that's why for now, if you've been wet for what is now over a week, everything that has gotten affected basically needs to be thrown out," Michael Scott, account executive for First Response Disaster Restoration Specialists, said. "So you get a lot of demolition. Now for those people who do it themselves which is something we run into, because obviously if you have water in your basement and your told it's going to be a few days, naturally you're going to want to do something to help, so people have been taking out the water, but as I said, you need to have good fans, you need to get de-humidification, so as that moisture is getting in the air, you need a good dehumidifier to suck that air out."
Scott added the dangerous thing with mold is that oftentimes you won't see it, and that by the time you do or start to smell it, it could be too late.
"The bad thing about mold is a lot of times you're not going to see it," Scott said. "Right as it is starting, it's happening on the inside of your drywall, so you're not going to see it until it actually comes out to the outside of the drywall or you start to smell that musty smell. But a lot of times once you find it at that point, it could be considered too late, and it's not only in that area, but it could have spread. Now for those people that have a lot of water in their basement and it wasn't dried properly, your whole basement could be contaminated and then you have your HVAC units and things of that effect where it can spread and become a much larger issue."
Scott said it's important to have several fans and dehumidifiers continually going in affected areas, even if you think the area is already dry."
