Flooding May Foster Mold Growth
Release Date: May 24, 2003
Release Number: 1464-35
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Nashville, TN -- People affected by the recent flooding should be on the look out for mold growth in buildings. Water from recent heavy rains can cause mold to grow on many things.
Water-damaged carpets, wallboard, insulation, padding, and upholstery are materials that are subject to mold growth. These items or other porous materials may need to be thrown away if they were saturated with water and mold has begun to grow. If wet or damp materials or areas were dried 24-48 hours after flooding occurred, in most cases mold will not grow.
Many different kinds of molds are part of the natural environment. Most molds are harmless, but some can cause hay fever-like allergies in allergic people. People who are allergic to mold and have asthma or other respiratory problems may be most affected by exposure to molds.
If your home or business was water-damaged in recent floods consider these steps to prevent or clean up mold:
- If the floodwater was contaminated with sewage or other wastewater, call a professional who has experience cleaning and fixing buildings damaged by contaminated water.
- If large areas of the building were damaged by floodwater, call a professional who has experience cleaning and fixing buildings damaged by water.
- If you decide to fix the building yourself, wear rubber gloves and eye protection when using bleach and made sure the area is well ventilated.
- Consider using an N-95 dust mask, available at many hardware stores, if heavy concentrations of mold are already growing.
- If flood-damaged carpet, pads, mattresses, upholstered furniture, drywall, or other absorbent or porous materials were not quickly and thoroughly dried, they may have to be thrown away.
- Wall studs, where wallboard has been removed, should be cleaned and allowed to dry thoroughly.
- Floors, concrete or brick walls, countertops, plastic, glass, and other non-porous materials should be scrubbed with soap and water or with a diluted bleach solution (about one cup of bleach to one gallon of water).
- Materials that cannot be cleaned should be placed in sealed plastic bags to prevent the spread of mold spores.
Health and environmental professionals do not recommend testing for mold. If mold can be seen or smelled, the source of moisture should be eliminated and the mold cleaned up. There are very few reports that toxic molds inside homes or buildings can cause unique or rare health conditions, such as pulmonary hemorrhage or memory loss. These reports are rare, and no one has shown that the presence of toxic mold caused these conditions.
For further information, call the Environmental Protection Agency at 1-800-438-4318. Good information can be found at the following Internet sites:
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/airpollution/mold/
http://www.acoem.org/guidelines/article.asp?ID=52
http://www.doctorfungus.org/
http://www.epa.gov/ebtpages/airindoormold.html
Last Modified: Tuesday, 27-May-2003 11:34:33