Flooding Causes Mold in Your Basement in Springfield Missouri

Springtime in the Ozarks brings the potential for heavy rains and serious flooding. If not properly waterproofed, our crawl spaces and basements are susceptible to major water intrusion which can lead to major mold damage.

The first step to controlling mold in your basement is to keep all areas of your home dry. But, sometimes you don’t know that your home is susceptible to flooding until after the water intrusion happens. So what can you do to control mold in your basement after the flooding has already occurred?

Mold needs water to grow, so the first thing to deal with after a flood situation is to dry out the area as fast as you possibly can. Within 24-48 hours, the water needs to be completely removed and everything dried as much as possible.

If you can remove the water and dry everything out within that time period, you are probably going to be in pretty good shape in regards to stopping any mold growth.

But this can be easier said that done depending on your building materials. Drywall and carpet soak up more water and can be a major challenge to dry completely without professional equipment.

If you don’t get everything dry in time, then there are going to be some additional steps to take. If you see mold growth on walls, furniture, etc, then you should call a certified mold remediation company to assess the situation.

If you start tearing out sheetrock on your own, or carry furniture through your house with mold all over it, then you could be spreading mold throughout your home and risking your family’s health at the same time.

Accidentally spreading mold is a harder problem to clean up than letting a mold professional assess and mitigate the situation before anything gets moved.

After a mold remediation professional assesses your situation, then the mold cleanup can begin. If your certified mold inspector has found minimal mold growth, they can explain how to take care of the problem yourself if you wish. This will involve steps such as:

• • Cleaning furniture and other surfaces with distilled white vinegar.
  • Running dehumidifiers and fans to continue to dry things out.
  • Properly disposing of small items that have mold growth, but can’t be salvaged.
  • Properly disposing of items that can’t be dried out completely to prevent future mold growth.

If there is more than a homeowner should clean up themselves or if you want to leave the mold remediation process up to the experts, then you’ll need a certified mold remediation company to follow all necessary EPA guidelines to get your home dry and mold free.

No matter how or why your crawl space or basement floods, calling the mold remediation professionals to give you an estimate can be crucial on knowing your next steps to fix the problem.