A mold that plagues some homes and should not be underestimated is Meruliporia incrassate. This is a fungus that causes a severe amount of rotting in the wooden parts of your home and this is extremely difficult to get rid of, since is has the ability to collect and retain water over a longer period of time than other molds. It typically extends itself through not only the wood, but other porous materials that make up your home and find the water that it needs in order to stay alive.
The news calls this a “house eating fungus” because it will eventually do just that if it is left untreated. The decay of the wood framing of your home is inevitable if this infestation is not removed as soon as possible. This usually shows up in the areas of your home that are the most moist, such as the bathroom, kitchen, and the basement. This mold appears as a somewhat yellowish dust on the areas that are affected. In order to keep this growth from returning, you will need to remove all of the materials affected by it and then some. Simply trying to clean this mold with disinfectants or bleach will not work under any circumstances. Cleaning any other kind of mold off of a porous surface with bleach or any other disinfectant is usually not possible, but this kind of mold cannot be gotten rid of in this way at all.
About two extra feet of infected material needs to be removed from the home before the infestation will be gone for good. This means if the visible infection spans about 4 feet of a wooden beam, then an extra two feet needs to be removed on each side of it to be sure that you get all of it. This mold likes to extend strands of itself out about this length in order to retain the water that it will use to keep itself alive. Getting rid of this extra material may seem like a waste, but it is really the only way to be certain that it does not come back.
As long as your previously affected area remains dry for a long time after the infected wood was removed, the infection should not return. Keeping the previously affected area as dry as possible may help keep the mold from coming back, even if some of the wood remained infected after you removed the majority of it.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
What to Throw Out After a Flood
After a flood has made its way through your home, you are going to be doing a lot of wondering about what you need to try and repair and what needs to be just thrown away. There are a number of items in your house that are going to be better off thrown out instead of you trying to repair them or refurbish them in any way.
One thing that is going to need to be definitely thrown away is food. Any foods in your home will need to be thrown out, including everything in the refrigerator and in the cabinets, even if they did not come into contact with the water directly. If the home was under water for more than 48 hours, the humidity in the home will have gotten so high that it is likely that they have started to mold or at the very least, have become contaminated.
Items such as bedding that is full of padding, like pillows, will most likely need to be thrown out. These thick items are difficult to disinfect entirely and dry out. Not only bacteria have likely contaminated these items, but sewage and other chemicals, as well. Trying to clean these items is probably going to be more trouble than it is worth in the long run and simply purchasing new bedding may be more efficient.
Children’s toys that are porous such as stuffed animals will need to be thrown out. Items contaminated with sewage and chemicals like this or have been contaminated with mold will need to be thrown away because getting them completely safe to be played with again is very difficult. The padding inside these items soaking up soil, sewage, and other chemicals is what makes them so difficult to clean. Plastic toys can be disinfected with cleaners such as Lysol or bleach.
Wooden furniture may become molded if the flood water and the chemicals that it may contain penetrate the finish. These will need to be disinfected and refinished after the flood is over.
Upholstered furniture will usually need to be thrown out if it has been sitting in flood water for more than 24 hours. Soil and sewage will penetrate the outer fabric after a while and be extremely difficult to clean. Much like carpet padding, it will need to be thrown out. Upholstered furniture can be re-upholstered, but this usually comes at a great expense and it is often much easier to just buy a new couch or chair.
One thing that is going to need to be definitely thrown away is food. Any foods in your home will need to be thrown out, including everything in the refrigerator and in the cabinets, even if they did not come into contact with the water directly. If the home was under water for more than 48 hours, the humidity in the home will have gotten so high that it is likely that they have started to mold or at the very least, have become contaminated.
Items such as bedding that is full of padding, like pillows, will most likely need to be thrown out. These thick items are difficult to disinfect entirely and dry out. Not only bacteria have likely contaminated these items, but sewage and other chemicals, as well. Trying to clean these items is probably going to be more trouble than it is worth in the long run and simply purchasing new bedding may be more efficient.
Children’s toys that are porous such as stuffed animals will need to be thrown out. Items contaminated with sewage and chemicals like this or have been contaminated with mold will need to be thrown away because getting them completely safe to be played with again is very difficult. The padding inside these items soaking up soil, sewage, and other chemicals is what makes them so difficult to clean. Plastic toys can be disinfected with cleaners such as Lysol or bleach.
Wooden furniture may become molded if the flood water and the chemicals that it may contain penetrate the finish. These will need to be disinfected and refinished after the flood is over.
Upholstered furniture will usually need to be thrown out if it has been sitting in flood water for more than 24 hours. Soil and sewage will penetrate the outer fabric after a while and be extremely difficult to clean. Much like carpet padding, it will need to be thrown out. Upholstered furniture can be re-upholstered, but this usually comes at a great expense and it is often much easier to just buy a new couch or chair.
Well Water Sanitation
There are thousands of people in the United States that have to rely on well water instead of a city water system for the water that they both bathe and drink in. While there are some filters that you can have installed onto your well to rid the water supply of rust, soil, or other particle debris, there are not really any filters currently that disinfect your water and rid it of bacteria that may be growing in it, such as E. coli. Cleaning the water yourself manually, though, is always an option by simply using unscented chlorine bleach.
Most people chlorinate their well water to disinfect it after some kind of repair has been done, after the well has not been utilized in a long time (like with a summer or winter home), to get rid of bacteria living in it, or to remove hydrogen sulfide buildup.
Before you start the process of cleaning your well water, you need to get enough water put back in jugs or buckets in your house to last the occupants of it for at least the next 24 hours. The water system in your home should not be used during this 24 hours period at all.
You need to use an unscented bleach for this job. This will have around 3 to 5 percent of sodium chlorite. You will need to use a different amount in your well depending on how deep and how wide your well is. If the well is under 50 feet in depth and about 6 inches in diameter, you will need to use between 3 and 4 liters of bleach.
Your water supply should not smell like chlorine after the 24 hours is up. If it does, you will need to wait longer for the chlorine to be flushed from the system. You should not drink the water until it no longer smells like bleach.
If you notice a significant change for the better in the quality of your water supply after you finish this process, but the issue returns in the next couple of weeks or longer, the process will need to be repeated and you should probably add a bit more bleach to the water. Repeat the process until the results last or seek help from a professional. It will be worth it in the long run when you do not have to worry about the safety of your home’s water supply.
Most people chlorinate their well water to disinfect it after some kind of repair has been done, after the well has not been utilized in a long time (like with a summer or winter home), to get rid of bacteria living in it, or to remove hydrogen sulfide buildup.
Before you start the process of cleaning your well water, you need to get enough water put back in jugs or buckets in your house to last the occupants of it for at least the next 24 hours. The water system in your home should not be used during this 24 hours period at all.
You need to use an unscented bleach for this job. This will have around 3 to 5 percent of sodium chlorite. You will need to use a different amount in your well depending on how deep and how wide your well is. If the well is under 50 feet in depth and about 6 inches in diameter, you will need to use between 3 and 4 liters of bleach.
Your water supply should not smell like chlorine after the 24 hours is up. If it does, you will need to wait longer for the chlorine to be flushed from the system. You should not drink the water until it no longer smells like bleach.
If you notice a significant change for the better in the quality of your water supply after you finish this process, but the issue returns in the next couple of weeks or longer, the process will need to be repeated and you should probably add a bit more bleach to the water. Repeat the process until the results last or seek help from a professional. It will be worth it in the long run when you do not have to worry about the safety of your home’s water supply.
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