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Ten Flood Mold Mistakes To Avoid
1.
Using chlorine bleach to kill flood-caused mold. Do not use ineffective chlorine
bleach to try to kill mold growth and mould spores. Bleach is too weak even
when freshly manufactured to kill mold. Bleach that sits on store shelves
and in your home continually gets ever weaker over the passage of time. In
addition, read the manufacturer’s usage directions on the bleach container.
The manufacturer does not recommend its use to kill mold. Bleach is NOT an
EPA-registered fungicide. Learn all of the reasons why bleach is ineffective
for killing mold at
Bleach Mold Myth.
"Professional cleaning contractors use one of
three hospital-strength disinfectants: Sporicidin, Benefect and
Microban, and all three are Environmental Protection
Agency-registered, said Hill, but chlorine bleach is not registered with the
EPA as a disinfectant to kill mold,"
advised John Hill of The Cleaner Depot on Polk Avenue in Nashville,
in an interview at
http://www.wsmv.com.
2. Using other ineffective products to kill flood mold---such as Kilz,
regular paint, paint containing a mildicide element, any paint, Lysol,
ammonia, and other household cleaners and disinfectants. Painting over a
mold problem does not solve it---it only hides the problem temporarily and
gives the mould something delicious to eat---the paint itself.
3. Assuming that after a wet or flooded area is dry, that it is then mold-safe
or mold-free.
Mold needs moisture to grow and to multiply as its eats your home building
materials and personal possessions. This moisture can come from regular or
flood-caused high indoor
humidity (above 70% some or all of the year), roof leaks, siding leaks, and
plumbing leaks. If mold spores and mold colony growth run out of moisture,
they do NOT die. Instead, they become dormant, and can wait millions of
years for access to high humidity or a future water intrusion. Even dormant mold
can make mould-sensitive persons sick. Even the smell of dead mold can
make some people very sick.
4. Assuming that there is no flood mold problem because of no visible mould
growth. The worst flood mold infestation problems are often the ones you
cannot see INSIDE floors, ceilings, walls, basement, attic, crawl space, and
the heating/cooling equipment and ducts. Airborne mould spores are
invisible to the eye, very light, and are easily carried in air current
movements or in the air flows of your heating/cooling system to mold
cross-contaminate your entire house from just one hidden mold problem. Use a hidden moisture meter
to scan all walls and floors for hidden water problems. Use a fiber optics
inspection device to check for mould growth inside wall, floor, and ceiling
cavities. If the flood made walls wet on the outside of, or inside the
wall, for more than 24 hours, there is likely to be mold growth INSIDE the
wall.
5. Trusting that mold remediation contractors or water damage restoration
companies know what they are doing.
Many mold remediation and water damage restoration companies cause and leave more mold problems AFTER
the alleged water damage restoration and/or mold remediation than existed before their work because of: (a)
failure to find and fix all of the wet spots and mold infestation locations in a home or
building due to incomplete water detection, mold inspection and mold testing; (b)
poor and inadequate training; (c) failure to utilize proper mold
containment procedures and effective mold remediation techniques during the
water damage restoration and mold removal tasks; (d)
taking shortcuts that undermine the remediation effort; and (e)
sometimes fraud and dishonesty on the part of the contractor. Insist on
hiring only a
Certified
Mold Inspector and
Certified Mold
Remediator for flood mold inspection, testing, and remediation.
6. Trusting that industrial hygienists and government agencies are
experts in flood mold prevention, inspection, testing, and remediation. The
only people who truly care about your family’s health and home investment
are yourself and your family. Although there are many mold knowledgeable
and mold experienced mold inspectors and industrial hygienists, most are not. Hiring an
industrial hygienist (trained in industrial safety and health) to find and
fix mould problems is often like hiring a dentist to treat your heart
problems. Hire a
Certified Mould Inspector or
Certified
Environmental Hygienist if you value
your family’s health and home investment. Some government websites often
promote ineffective and outdated mould remediation ideas like using bleach
to kill mould. Government employees do not have the personal mold
training and on the job experience of
having to work in the real world to find and kill real mould that is often
hidden in home walls, ceilings, floors, heating/cooling systems, attic,
basement, and crawl space.
7. Spraying something on the flood mold will take care of the problem.
You need to kill AND REMOVE all visible and HIDDEN mold growth in a house or
building for effective mold remediation. All of the visible and hidden flood water and mold damaged building materials
need to be removed safely, thrown out, and replaced with mold-free building materials
that have been treated with an antifungal protective coating. Learn all of the steps required for safe and effective mold
remediation at
Mold Removal.
8. Ignoring possible mold health
symptoms being suffered after flooding or water leaks by one or more family members or co-workers.
Be concerned about possible mold problems after flooding or a
water leak problem even if only one or more occupants
is suffering from unexplained health problems such as an ongoing itchy eyes,
bloody nose, sinus problems, headaches, nose congestion, runny nose, skin
rashes, skin sores, coughing, breathing difficulties, difficulty in
remembering things and in thinking clearly, feeling disconnected from the
world around you, and/or chronic fatigue. Please remember that some
occupants may experience mould health symptoms from flood mold, while others may have none,
with all living or working in the same mold-infested area. People differ
significantly in their sensitivity to mold.
9. Thinking or wishing that there is no mold infestation after a
flood or big water leak problem. If there is a flood or water leak that
has wet building materials INSIDE a floor, wall, ceiling, crawl space,
basement, or elsewhere, there will be a mold problem. Take action to
find mold growth when the mold problem is still small and manageable shortly
after the flooding or water leak problem surfaces. Read "FEMA warns of post-flood mold problems."
10. Waiting too long to check for water damage and mold growth.
Mold begins growing after just 24 to 48 hours of wetness of building
materials or other cellulose materials. If there has been a flood or water
leak, take action immediately to dry out areas such as inside wet walls and
to apply anti-mold protective coatings to wet building materials. |