After a flood, there is a high risk of mold forming on the indoor furniture, walls, and any damp places. To prevent the damages caused by molds, you need to know how to prevent mold after a flood. You need to physically clean the affected area with disinfectants. After removing excess water, you need to dehumidify with air blowers until the surface becomes dry. It should be free from moisture to prevent further mold formation.
How to Prevent Mold After a Flood
Floods are one of the common natural disasters in the US that severely affects life and properties. It is important to know what to do when a flood occurs in your home. Its effect can be felt long after the flood water recedes. It causes water damage, soil erosion mold formation that impacts your health and property.
1. What are the damages caused by floods?
Among the damages caused by floods, the formation of molds lasts for several weeks and causes potential risk to your health and properties. It is important that you know how to prevent mold formation after a flood to protect your life and properties. It also helps you to prevent the formation of mold in the future. Molds can grow in any place where there is constant moisture left on the surface.
2. Why prevent mold formation?
If you have mold in your home, it is important to remediate it quickly. If molds are untreated, it can lead to health issues such as respiratory diseases, headaches, and prolonged drowsiness. Its growth on the properties and furniture damages its surface apart from causing an eyesore. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed that exposure to molds affects one’s health. It causes more damage to people who are sensitive to molds and have upper respiratory conditions.
It is very important to initiate the treatment of molds immediately after floods. Preventing and eliminating the molds in time helps you to control these challenges and also prevents further damages and deterioration of properties.
3. How to prevent mold formation?
Before you initiate the preventive activities, you need to sort the items that are exposed to flood waters according to their physical nature.
Porous materials such as wooden and upholstered furniture that got completely submerged in water should be discarded as much as possible.
Materials such as glass, metal, or plastic which are non-porous can be cleaned and reused. Molds do not form on these substances.
It is difficult to remove molds from carpets and rugs that are affected by floodwater. Carpets that got damaged beyond repair conditions are to be discarded to prevent further mold formation.
After removing the mold-infested items, the surface affected by molds needs to be completely cleaned and disinfected. Here are the steps to clean and prevent mold formation in your home.
- Before starting out to clean, wear protective equipment and suit that are of high quality and safeguards your lungs, eyes, mouth, and skin.
- Remove any excess water, accumulated dirt in the affected area and completely clean these areas within 24 to 48 hours.
- Scrub the mold affected area with a wire brush and wipe with disposable wipes.
- Clean the affected area with a good disinfectant solution and allow it to dry. Use disinfectants that are effective to treat the toxic area and also remove the bad odors caused by floodwaters.
- Remove any small traces of water and moisture and completely dry the affected area using air blowers or dehumidifiers. This ensures a complete moisture-free area and prevents further formation of molds.
It is important to keep in mind water restoration tips when you have flooding in your home. Mold after water damage is very likely; therefore, the above guide provides you brief details of molds, its damages and how to prevent mold after a flood. For a trouble-free and effective mold prevention, you can hire professional water damage contractors to handle mold control and prevention. They have complete expertise and equipment needed for post-flood activities and effective mold treatment and prevention.
- December 9, 2019
- Water Damage