Trask Research, Inc. - Mold Problem Solving

Mold Remediation from Flooding

By: Thomas Jenkins, Sr. Mold Remediation Specialist

REMOVE - the dead mold; and

PROTECT - the cleaned out area against future mold infestations.

Flooding either by rain, hurricane, or leaking pipes is a top cause of mold infestation in a home. Allowed to go ignored, mold can cause up to a total loss of a home or office, and can create a health hazard for families or employees.

Before entering a mold infested area, be sure to have the proper personal protection equipment: P100 respirator, gloves, goggles, and protective clothing. In houses or other buildings that have been flooded, the safest thing to do would be to go ahead and get hold of Tyvek suiting, or similar disposable coveralls. Remediating flood areas is very messy work, and the idea is to keep mold and mold spores from reaching the skin.

1.) Locate and fix all sources of mold-causing water intrusion such as water damage/flooding, roof leaks, recurring flooding, plumbing leaks, poor drainage, etc. Get the home or office as dry as possible using fans and dehumidifiers, water pumps to dry it out. If the home or building is a multi-story building then the area leading up to the second floor or other rooms not contaminated should be closed off an d c ontained with plastic sheathing so that mold spores do not migrate to areas that do not contain mold. The HVAC system should be either shut down or vents closed off to prevent further contamination of the rest of the home or building.

° Use a fiber optics inspection device, a hidden moisture meter, and internal wall an d c eiling cavity mold testing to search for hidden mold growth or water if you can not see it or feel that it may be present.

° Mold can start growing in as little as 24 hours after water damage! Remove any drywall and insulation that has gotten wet up to 6 inches from the waterline as soon as possible. Bag all material in 6ml plastic and discard it safely outside the home or office.

° Allow the area to be 100% dry. Be patient as flood damage can take weeks or more to completely dry out. Run HEPA filters and adequate dehumidifiers to aid in the process.

° Being 100% dry is VERY important to support the next step which is the use of an EPA registered fungicide to kill the roots of the mold. If it is not dry then the fungicide can not penetrate to kill the roots of the mold and the mold may return.

° Before beginning to work in the mold-afflicted areas, contain the moldy work area (and thus contain the toxic mold spores that will be released into the air by opening up mold-contaminated areas) by using wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling plastic sheeting as containment walls. Use 6 mill thick, clear plastic sheeting that you can buy at a hardware store or home improvement center.

° After the installation of air tight mol d c ontainment walls, dry the work area especially if still wet from flooding or a now fixed water leak with one or more large dehumidifiers or an industrial size dehumidifier. Improper fan drying can spread mold spores to cross contaminate an entire building and its heating/cooling system. Inside the mol d c ontainment area, use a large fan in the window to exhaust air directly outside on a continuous basis to expel airborne mold spores and remediation-caused dust or an industrial HEPA filter to filter out mold, with a flexible hose directly venting the exhaust air flow to the outdoors. You need to exhaust more air to the outside than is entering the containment area to create negative air pressure.

10.) While working inside the mol d c ontainment area, always wear effective protective gear. All of the following items are available on our web site:

· Tyvek protective coveralls, or long sleeve shirt and pants.

· Gloves: either disposable latex, Nitrile or good work gloves. Avoid touching mold or moldy items with your bare hands," recommends the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

· Avoid breathing in mold or mold spores. Wear a P100 respirator mask using organic vapor cartridge filtration.

· Wear goggles. Wear eye goggles with no holes if you are not wearing the P100 one piece, full face breathing respirator. "Goggles that do not have ventilation holes are recommended. Avoid getting mold or mold spores in your eyes," advises the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Pump spray or fog the areas that have visible mold growth with Oxy Mold MX-501™ two times letting it naturally dry in-between sprayings.

IMPORTANT OZONE WARNING: Do not use an Ozone Air Purifier/Ozone Generator to kill mold. Ozone is ineffective in killing mold. Ozone can only kill what it comes into contact with. Ozone cannot get at, and thus cannot kill, mold growing INSIDE drywall, wall, carpeting, upholstered furniture, wall cavities, ceiling cavities, and floor cavities. Besides being ineffective at killing hidden mold [the worst type], a high ozone treatment can easily damage all rubber and plastic parts it comes into contact with such as rubber and plastic components of appliances, electronics of all types, exposed electric lines and extension courts, and HVAC controls. Ozone is also unhealthy to humans according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which specifically discourages the use of ozone for mold remediation. For more information on the ineffectiveness of Ozone and the Ozone Air Purifier to kill mold and other indoor air contaminant, read the highly-informative U.S. Federal Appeals court decision: Federal Trade Commission and the Court of Appeals.

2.) If you have to, you can use bleach to keep the mold under control until you can get an EPA registered fungicide to kill it permanently. Bleach will not kill the roots of the mold. It will simply keep it under control until you can get a biocide on the area. Bleach is not an effective or lasting killer of toxic mold growth and mold spores on an inside porous, cellulose building materials such as wood timbers, drywall, plasterboard, particleboard, plywood, plywood substitutes, ceiling tiles, an d c arpeting/padding. Bleach also destroys the wood that holds your home together.

° Unfortunately FEMA has recommended to flood victims that bleach should be used to kill the mold, this will appear like is has worked, and the individual will replace the insulation and drywall an d c lose it back up only to find that the mold will be growing through the very drywall they just replaced in 3-6 months. The job will have to be done again using a proper fungicide and techniques for mold removal. Do you really want to go through this again?

3.) Once the area is completely dry, then either fog with a mold fogging device or pump spray the entire area with an EPA registered Mold Killer. Be sure to soak all studs, flooring, affected drywall that is salvageable. This will have to be done two times letting the treatment dry in between. Generally this takes 24-48 hours to completely dry.

Fogging can be accomplished by breaking your rooms into 15' x 15' areas.

The fogging device is filled with 1 1/2 gallons of EPA registered mold killer, and then allowed to run for 30-45 minutes per 15' x 15' area. Use a cheap timer to shut the machine off after the 45 minutes has passed. Always wear proper protective equipment when fogging.

4.) When doing mold remediation of a house or building, the heating/cooling (HVAC) mold problems should be fixed first, and then you can seal tightly with plastic sheeting all inward and outward duct registers. Do not run the system until the rest of the home has been effectively remediated of mold and the building has passed mol d c learance tests done by an independent Mold Professional not involved in the mold remediation work, or by your use of our EZ Mold Test Kits.

5.) Do not paint over mold problems. Mold uses paint as food. Don’t expect to kill mold successfully by using paint containing a mildewcide [it is too weak to kill existing toxic mold infestation] or with a paint primer sold to hide water damage stains. Do not rely on Kilz to kill mold; it’s not a fungicide, and it does not kill mold, and the product is NOT EPA-registered. However, Kilz is an excellent product to hide or camouflage defects like water damage stains prior to painting over problem areas.

6.) After the mold remediation is completed, mold test (clearance testing) all of the remediated surfaces plus the air of each room in the basement, and the outward air flow from each heating/cooling duct register to find out if those areas are now mold safe prior to rebuilding the cleaned out areas with new building materials.