Do You Need to Call SERVPRO of Branford/Shoreline for Water Damage?

8/14/2019 (Permalink)

Mold in an unfinished basement

You can need water remediation and not even know it.

That’s the message Paula Schenk of UConn Health has been trying to get to the people of Guilford ever since Hurricane Sandy.

Even if you don’t have big, black, inky blobs of mold growing in your house...

Where There’s Water Damage, There Is Mold

How do Connecticut-based researchers know that thousands of homes along the Shoreline are infested with untreated mold? Ms. Schenk says it’s simple. Where there has been water damage, there’s mold.

During a storm like Irene or Sandy, rain and tides can transfer molds, bacteria, viruses, and parasites directly through the force of the wind.

After a major storm, mold spores travel through the air and land on damp wood, fabric, and paper. Professor Schenk says it’s a safe bet that any structure that has been flooded or has been surrounded by water for more than 24 hours has mold.

It’s not hard to make a safe guess as to whether you have a mold problem.

• Mold smells musty. The assault of musty odor on your nose is a sign that mold lurks somewhere in your house.
  
  
• Mold comes in multiple colors. While the most toxic mold is black and forms large blobs, less dangerous forms of mold may be white and thread-like or form small black dots.
  
  Mold growing behind wallpaper may be pink, purple, or orange. Some molds are gray, green, or brown.
  
  
• Discolored walls, floors, or ceilings, as well as peeling wallpaper or paint, are signs of water issues, which are almost always a harbinger of mold.
  
  Bulging, bumpy, or bowed walls or floors are a sign that water has penetrated them, creating an environment for growing mold.
  
  
• Condensation on windows or metal pipes can feed mold. Where you see drips and watermarks, look for mold.

Professional inspectors can find mold. Sometimes the solution to a mold problem is as simple as buying a dehumidifier to get rid of excess moisture.

Mold grows in damp conditions. Superstorm Sandy left a lot of houses in damp conditions. 

UConn’s Paul Schenck was quoted on WebMD as saying “Mold is an indicator of a whole soup of biological material. Unhealthy exposure to these bioaerosols is very possible after a flood from a hurricane and especially during cleanup efforts 24 to 48 hours after the storm.”

Biohazards from floodwater affect primarily the lungs and skin, but their effects may not be noticed right away.

All of this means that means there are hundreds of thousands of people probably living in tens of thousands of structures that need water remediation.

If you have a history of water in your home, you almost certainly have mold.

Water Damage Restoration Usually Isn’t a Do-It-Yourself Project

How can you know whether your home needs professional water restoration or whether you can take care of the problem yourself? Here’s a handy rule of thumb:

If you have visible mold, the best indication of whether you need to call in professional help is the size of the discoloration.

• If the area of mold is less than 30 square feet, about the size of a kitchen table, it’s probably safe for do-it-yourself water damage remediation.
  
  
• If the area of mold is between 30 and 100 square feet, larger than a kitchen table but smaller than the side of a panel truck, then you need to take additional precautions.

• If the area of mold is larger than 100 square feet, the size of a child’s bedroom or a small office, or if you have the results of a test that show you have one of the two species of “black” mold that occur in Branford, East Haven, North Branford, Guilford, and the Connecticut shoreline, then you need to call a professional water restoration contractor like SERVPRO.

You also need a contractor who can take special precautions when you are demolishing a building you know to have been contaminated by mold.

There’s a long list of necessary precautions you have to follow when you are doing water damage restoration yourself. You may be putting your health and the health of your family and pets at undue risk if you try to do repairs on your home if you aren’t able to follow this entire list.

• No one can stay in a room in which you are doing water restoration or mold abatement. If the area affected by mold is greater than 30 square feet, then you also need to vacate rooms adjacent to the one where you are working.
  
  
• Members of the household who have asthma or allergies need to stay outside the building while you are working.
  
  
• Seal ducts and grills before you kick up dust that may contain mold so the mold does not get into the whole building’s ventilation system.
  
  
• Open windows or use exhaust fans while you work.
  
  
• You need to cover the face, hands, arms, legs, and feet while working with mold.
  
  
• Wear an N, R, or P-95 respirator, long sleeve rubber gloves, unvented goggles, and disposable overalls while you work. Don’t forget your disposable hood and booties. Dust and surgical masks are not enough to protect against mold spores. The mask has to be held against the face with multiple bands that keep it tight, not just a single pull string. Make your respirator seal fits snugly.
  
  
• Mist mold with soapy water before work to minimize the generation of dust.
  
  
• Put debris in plastic bags for removal. Seal the bag and take outdoors.
  
  
• Remove dust with a vacuum with a HEPA filter.
  
  
• Don’t attempt to clean fabrics and wallboard that have been soaked with water. Throw them away.
  
  
• Wet wipe surfaces after you have removed the mold-affected wood. Use soapy water, not Clorox water, unless there is a problem with contamination from sewage or manure. Paula Schenk of UConn Health says that the additional irritation caused by Clorox offsets its germ-killing power unless you are dealing with bacterial contamination like that from sewage backups.
  
  
• Dry the area with a fan.
  
  
• Avoid eating, drinking, or smoking in any area where you work.
  
  
• When you finish work, remove coveralls first, then gloves, then goggles, and then respirator. It is best to remove protective clothing outdoors
  
  
• Disposable respirators and disposable coveralls can be discarded after use. Gloves and goggles should be washed with a mild detergent in warm water and then dried before they are reused.
  
  
• When not in use, respirators need to be placed in a sealed plastic bag.
  
  
• After work, take a shower, washing your entire body thoroughly, including nails, hair, and scalp.

Those are just the precautions for low-hazard mold removal. High-hazard mold removal requires an even more stringent protocol.

If you’re not willing and able to take these precautions, you really need to call a professional water damage remediation service like SERVPRO of Branford/Shoreline.