Tips on How to Clean Up and Prevent Mold After a Flood

Water damage in the flooded basement usually leads to mold if not cleaned and dried immediately and properly. Water damage and mold are two quite common issues most homeowners will face in their lifetime. Though neither can be prevented 100% of the time, some tips can minimize the threat. Why can not water damage or mold be prevented entirely? Straightforward. You can’t control Mother Nature. 

We all know that everything about us gets old and starts to rust. That is the life process everything must undergo. Trees grow, drop over eventually, and begin to decay. Streams cut into the earth and eventually, a Grand Canyon is shaped. Temperature changes cause the earth to contract and expand and rain makes the dirt swell.

With all these things happening around us that you have to be observant of these changes occurring and take proper actions. To begin with, let’s concentrate on basement flood and water damage. We all know that when water enters the home, it needs to be cleaned up immediately or harm can happen. Your finished basement walls will absorb the water like a sponge and induce the warmth to deteriorate, eventually, crumble right before your eyes. Wood flooring also can absorb this water and swell, buckle and twist. The trick is never to allow water to enter your home except in restricted situations like when you’re cleaning the ground or cleaning. Check these things around the house to prevent water infiltration. Visit this website to learn more.

• Check your gutters and clean them after the leaves have ceased falling. This will ensure that winter snow can melt and drain properly without obstruction. Additionally, check your gutters in the spring so you are prepared for the winter storms.
• Exterior drains. Places like your patio may have storm drains that have to be clear of obstacles.
• Assess your window seals around the inside and out. Older homes typically have caulking that could have dried out and deteriorated. Water can get inside and cause hidden damage involving your inner wall and the exterior wall.
• Assess your taps don’t drip. Water damage starts with just one drop of water that may grow into a flood. Besides, if your outside faucet drips before the winter freeze, the moist soil can expand and place enough strain on your home base to create a fracture. Then when the spring thaw comes, all that frozen dirt can drain to your basement in the shaped crack.
• Check all of your interior faucets and hoses. Ensure faucets don’t drip or have rust and hoses aren’t cracked or chipped.
• Check the humidity in your home during winter. Your windows and outside-facing walls may sweat if it is too humid. Most windows can handle this condensation but \it is excessive it can cause problems. Keep your humidity steady throughout the entire year. It’s ideal to keep it around 30-35 percent.

Now let us talk about mold. This is something every town, state, and also the country has. You can’t get rid of it but you can learn how to control it. Mold needs a cool, dark, and moist environment to flourish. As mentioned previously, maintaining your house humidity between 30-35 percent is the first step to restricting the moisture level in your home. Secondly, is ventilation. If your house is airtight and you have no airflow, you have a house ideal for mold. Ceiling fans, box fans, and even opening your windows permits air to circulate that helps prevent mold growth. It sounds counter-intuitive because opening windows will allow mold spores to go into your home. True, but spores are not a problem as long as you don’t give them an environment to grow.

Cleaning your home so you don’t have mold growth is somewhat of a science but also some good old fashion remedies also. The very first thing to remember when cleaning is never to leave the water to the surface more than necessary. What that means is to wash and dry completely. For instance, in case you’ve got wood flooring and use a mop, you expose the wood to moisture that causes it to consume and sometimes collect under the timber. Always use the recommended wood cleaning solutions. The hints here would be to help prevent mold from growing and cleaning present mold until it gets out of control. In case it gets out of control, you’ll need professional assistance to remove it.

• Always use wood cleaning products on your wood floors. Never mop using a wet mop.
• Should you spill water on your carpet or wood flooring, wipe it up and dry it as soon as you possibly can. Blot wet rugs with paper towels until no more water can be absorbed after standing on the paper towel with the heel of the foot.
• The kitchen and bathroom countertops should be wiped dry after use. Water that accumulates from the seams of the walls or back-splash is breeding grounds for mold.
• Keep your fridge dry. Never place hot items into the refrigerator because they will cause steam.
• Inspect your bathtub and bathtubs to guarantee the tile grout and seals are in good shape. Vinyl bathtub surrounds needs to be sealed.
• If mold is found on a nonporous surface, bleach or ammonia may be utilized.
• If mold is located on a porous coating, 35% hydrogen peroxide can be used on the mold. Permit to penetrate the surface for a few minutes and then wash to remove the mold. Wipe the surface dry. The exact amounts to be mixed depending on the amount and type of mold you’re cleaning. Note: 35% hydrogen peroxide can lead to bleaching and can cause burns. Read the warning labels and instructions which come with 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide.

Some businesses specialize in water damage restoration and mold removal that have some high tech tools and chemicals to combat mold. Normally, these organizations are called when it is too late to attack the problem yourself or you aren’t able to do it yourself. Their job would be to clean the affected area so that mold spores aren’t spread to other locations.

Unfortunately, most individuals aren’t aware they have a problem before it has become serious. In case you’ve got a circumstance, where it’s beyond your skills to repair or clean, it’s ideal to speak to a professional water damage restoration or mold remediation company. They typically utilize your insurance provider to ensure they pay for cleaning and repairs.