If you've experienced flood damage in your home, you may have dealt with water damage mold. Water damage mold is a severe problem that can be difficult to control and can lead to more significant issues for your property.
These spores can spread quickly and cause health problems if not dealt with properly within the first 24 to 48 hours. When water from flooding leaks into your home, it is vital to take steps to reduce the spread of spores as soon as possible.
In this blog post, we will talk about four different prevention strategies for water damage mold that you can use to stop the spread of water damage mold in your home after a flooding disaster!
At first glance, it may seem like recovering from water damage can be done by the property owner. However, issues can arise from improper or incomplete water removal.
Mainly, property owners risk water damage mold without proper complete water removal.
Water removal specialists identify and address hidden pockets of moisture that can contribute to mold growth. Specialized equipment and moisture readers ensure wet areas at risk for water damage mold growth don't linger after the flooding event.
Most of the hesitation for hiring a water damage professional comes down to the associated cost. However, insurance often covers most of the cost of professional water removal, and Living Solutions excels in helping our clients navigate the claims process.
The most significant risk from water damage mold comes from the health problems associated with mold growth.
Mold can further exacerbate problems for individuals with existing respiratory issues, and healthy individuals can develop difficulty breathing.
Additionally, mold can affect drywall and HVAC systems that haven't suffered any water damage, creating a more significant problem for complete recovery from the disaster.
Plus, recovering from mold damage often requires a much longer timescale than recovery from just water damage alone, meaning there's a potentially longer time before your life returns to normal after a flooding disaster.
While finding and hiring a professional is your highest priority when faced with flooding and water damage mold, there are a few steps you can take on your own to help minimize the spread of the spores.
Take pictures of the damage before taking any of these steps for your insurance claim—it will help your insurance agent determine the extent of the damage.
Experts may advise some or all of these steps on your initial call, but they are all a good idea if you are worried about water damage mold.
Turning the water off in your home is one of your best bets for reducing the water damage risk, especially if your home's plumbing is the cause of the flood.
When there's less water pouring into your home, there's less resulting water damage, which leads to fewer pockets of moisture where water damage mold can grow.
Mold spores travel through the air at all times, even without visible growth. When there isn't a flood, these levels are stable and aren't harmful—excess growth of water damage mold leads to the associated problems mentioned above.
These spores in the air can travel through your HVAC system and, in the presence of extra moisture via humidity, can grow in your HVAC system.
While the increased temperature from turning off your air conditioning can contribute to water damage mold growth, you're minimizing the risk of the mold finding a home in your HVAC system, where removing it can be costly.
Contacting fast-acting water damage professionals like those at Living Solutions ensures the experts are on the scene before the mold growth gets out of control.
Like the HVAC system issue, fans can spread mold spores throughout the home to areas where they can take root because of the increased humidity. Turning off fans in the flood area removes this risk.
Because of the added moisture in the home, water damage mold can grow on areas not associated with the initial flooding disaster, spreading the problem over a broader surface.
Water removal experts often use fans during their drying process, but they have the required moisture readers and dehumidifiers that ensure water damage mold growth doesn't occur.
Furniture and carpets that absorb water are hotbeds for mold growth. When you can, remove any still-dry contents from the flood area, so they don't take in water and become a host for water damage mold growth.
For furniture, consider raising them on wooden blocks if possible. Carpets are often beyond saving if they're already wet, but pulling back any that aren't entirely soaked could minimize your loss from flooding or water damage mold.
Professionals can help you determine what's salvageable. They can often save a surprising amount of your belongings, so make sure you consult with a water damage expert before throwing anything away!
Water damage mold can turn an already disastrous experience into an even greater headache. Consulting water damage professionals right away whenever you experience a flood helps get you started on the path towards getting your life back to normal.
While the above steps help minimize the risk from water damage mold, drying out the area on your own often leads to hidden pockets of moisture where mold can grow out of sight. This water damage mold growth can lead to health issues and create a problem that spreads into a far greater area than the initial flood.
If you experience a flooding event in the Baton Rouge area and are worried about water damage mold, call Living Solutions or reach out via our contact page. Our mold experts are here and ready to help you recover from the disaster so you can get your life back to the way it was before the flood!
