Mold Concerns Rise As Waters Recede
Specialists Say If It's Wet, Get Rid Of It
 
TheBostonChannel.com
 
POSTED: 7:40 am EDT May 17, 2006
UPDATED: 8:01 am EDT May 17, 2006
 
BOSTON -- Bay Staters bailing out after days of flooding were cautioned to
be mindful of dangerous mold as they start cleaning out homes, businesses
and basements.
 
NewsCenter 5's Liz Brunner reported that it takes a few days for mold to
form.
 
"If you've got mold growing in your house in places, for a lot of people
that's very unhealthy" said Harvard-trained scientist Jeffrey May, who has
authored several books on mold and inspects buildings for mold problems.
 
May said after a house is pumped out, it's wise for residents to dry the
area with heat or a good de-humidifier.
 
"One of the big mistakes people make is they try and ventilate the basement
using air from the house. They'll have the door to the basement open and
they'll have all these fans and if there's mold situation, they're actually
going to be blowing all those spores all over the basement and then in to
the house," May said.
 
For major flooding, May said, residents should just cut out soaked dry wall
and baseboard, even if looks clean.
 
"If you've got dry wall that's gotten really saturated, it's just got to be
removed. A hundred percent of the time, in a basement anyway, it's just
going to get moldy," May said.
 
Residents should also make sure to take all items out of the basement,
drying them out and wiping down furniture, boxes and children's toys. If
there are any rugs that are wet, they should be thrown out.
 
"I've sampled hundreds and hundreds of basement carpets for molds and I
could count on two hands the number of carpets that didn't have some mold,"
May said.
 
Floors should be washed with a solution of two capfuls of bleach to each
gallon of water.
 
 
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