Aftermath of flood damage

[XD45ACP]

I am among the many who had flood waters enter their home. We did not have flood insurance, as we are far from the nearest flood zone (poor decision on my part). We were lucky in the sense that, we only had about 2" of water and we hadn't actually moved in yet, so our belongings are fine. At our place, the water receded in about 12-15 hours. We were there Sunday morning with shop vacs sucking up remaining water and pulling carpet and baseboards, the next day went in and removed drywall up to 4ft. The demo is done, but now we are trying to figure out the best way (cost being a huge factor) to treat/kill any remaining mold etc. We have had fans and one industrial De-himidifier running non stop since things have dried out. Professional mold removers want to charge me $1200-1500 to come do their thing. Home inspector wants about 500 for inspection/ treatment. Local exterminators want about 300 to come out and spray (probably the same chemicals from Lowe's). Most people tell me to treat with chemicals on my own and call the home inspector to give me some sort of "clean home certificate". I'm currently leaning toward the last option, as I'm thinking an official certificate will only help me at resale.

Any advice would be appreciate, especially from someone who may have been through this before...

 

[shrxfn]

did you also pull the insulation when you did the drywall as it can mildew from what I understand pretty easily.

To kill the mold I would be good with going to Home Depot/Lowes and buying whatever mold killer they have in stock and would spray it very liberally all over everything then let it dry. If it was cheap enough I would do it multiple times.

The courthouse my mom worked at in California was built incorrectly by the contractor so they had a mold issue that they found after a few years. By that time everyone in the building started having health issues and they had to demolish the courthouses they had just built a few years before because they had it so bad there was no remediation option. You don't want to mess around with that stuff.

they also sell kits that you can buy to test for mold in the house. I remember seeing them at Home depot or Lowes as well.

If the pro's come in a treat the house what is their warranty on their work once they certify it is mold free?

Good Luck.

 

[swampfoxx]

I have a friend who does flood mitigation. He sprays bleach, then when that dries, follows with a fungicide Microban. Biggest thing is to make sure it is dry before going back with the sheet rock. This is a common mistake.

 

[Whitebread]

Bleeches is a no go. It will NOT kill mold it only bleeches it. Go to lowes and buy a moldacide. Do NOT I repeat do not use bleech. You will regret it. The good stuff is only $30 per gallon its an investment worth making.

 

[Whitebread]

http://m.lowes.com/pd/Concrobium-128-fl-oz-Liquid-Mold-Remover/50053505

I sprayed this stuff as the house was being dried last time and when we ripped sheetrock we were one of only few who flooded twice and didnt have mold.

 

[bigtattoo79]

When it's 100% dry let it dry another week! Do not cover anything wet!!

 

[fng]

do NOT use bleach. let it all completely dry out then treat with Boracare w/ Moldcare.

 

[PPBart]

When it's 100% dry...

That could take a long time! Wood moisture content just needs to be under 15% to be considered "dry".

 

[LACamper]

I have a friend who does flood mitigation. He sprays bleach, then when that dries, follows with a fungicide Microban. Biggest thing is to make sure it is dry before going back with the sheet rock. This is a common mistake.

went through this During Katrina. Had a long talk with a relative that teaches med school level microbiology. Said to use bleach. Microban, etc. is an added insurance. Let it dry well. Run your AC. Keep in mind we're in LA with 80% humidity, so it will never completely dry (dehumidifiers will pull moisture out the air as long as they're on). You can actually overdry your home (sheetrock cracking, etc. or so I've been told).

After I closed the walls I wondered if I should have taken advantage of the opportunity to add some extra concrete anchors to the bottom of the walls to further anchor to the slab (we had salt water though...).

 

[paddle007]

I fortunately have not had the opportunity to test it but I read this on the internet. Sounds logical. Put a 3"X3" piece of visqueen on your slab with air moving over it. Leave it for 24 hrs and check for condensation. Goodluck with your project.

 

[bigtattoo79]

That could take a long time! Wood moisture content just needs to be under 15% to be considered "dry".

I'm talking to the avg homeowner touching walls doing his/her own repairs.

 

[bigtattoo79]

went through this During Katrina. Had a long talk with a relative that teaches med school level microbiology. Said to use bleach. Microban, etc. is an added insurance. Let it dry well. Run your AC. Keep in mind we're in LA with 80% humidity, so it will never completely dry (dehumidifiers will pull moisture out the air as long as they're on). You can actually overdry your home (sheetrock cracking, etc. or so I've been told).

After I closed the walls I wondered if I should have taken advantage of the opportunity to add some extra concrete anchors to the bottom of the walls to further anchor to the slab (we had salt water though...).

I've seen people running dehumidifiers with open windows.