It can cause major health issues especially for young children and the elderly.
Rita Mullally and her husband Dan watched the water rise to 4 feet in the basement of their Rockaway home. Now they want to make sure they don't end up with mold in the walls, especially important for Dan who has Pulmonary Fibrosis which makes it tough to breath.
"I'm concerned especially for his health condition and the kids," said Rita.
They brought in Bill Southern to check out their basement. He's the Chief Investigator for Microecologies, an environmental company that specializes in mold and water damage.
Bill says you don't need a moisture meter of your own if the flood water was there, assume it's still wet and mold will form over the next two weeks even if you can't see it.
"We will find mold behind the base molding sometimes serious levels or on the backside of the sheet rock," said Southern.
Mold can cause immediate symptoms when you inhale spores, they irritate airways. Or if you don't address the problem and breathe in mold over the years you can become allergic to it.
Now is the time to prevent the mold from forming in the first place. The first step is remove your wet belongings. Then, Bill says you have to remove all the wet wall boards, the sheet rock or in this case, the greenboard. Next, check the insulation
Then use fans and dehumidifiers for a few days to dry out the entire space before you rebuild. It's a costly and time consuming process, but far cheaper than paying a professional company to deal with mold once it forms.
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