Mold expert advises flood victims not to try remediation on their own

In the aftermath of local flooding, Patrick Kackert and his certified restoration team are dealing with everything from basements with an inch of water to commercial buildings with 6 inches of farm mud.

But once the obvious water is gone, Kackert's Aurora-based Restoration Techs is often asked to address the lingering hidden threat of mold.

Mold is always present to some degree. But there are at least three types that may form after flooding that can cause health problems. That mold starts forming two to three days after the water levels subside. That's when a harsh reality kicks in.

"In the situations we're seeing now, anything touched (by floodwater) needs to be removed and thrown away," he said. "Especially anything porous, like carpeting, padding, drywall - there's no way to salvage that. I know people think they can clean their carpets after this kind of flooding. In reality, there's no way you can get it clean with this amount of water and the material in the water."

Belongings exposed to floodwater are often a total loss, Kackert said, because the moisture is not clean water that fell from a fluffy cloud.

"People think of floodwater as rain water, but it's really not," Kackert said. "There's sewage in there, wild animal waste, pesticides. All of that contains parasites, bacteria and viruses."

Once that reality is addressed, it's time to open every wall touched by water to dry it out. Just exposing wet surfaces to air probably won't be enough. Kackert said dehumidifiers should be used to pull out all the moisture possible, eliminating one of the basic requirements for mold formation.

Then, everything should be cleaned with a detergent and sprayed with a bleach solution if access to professional cleaners and commercial-grade sanitizers is not possible, Kackert said.

Finally, everything must be dried out again.

"The problem right now is there are not enough dehumidifiers around for all the thousands of people impacted," Kackert said. "The small ones you can find are not powerful enough to suck that moisture out of the structure. So even after it's all clean, if you don't get that moisture out, you can end up with mold."

Kackert suggested hiring a professional to handle mold prevention or remediation. But anyone tackling it alone should take safety precautions to avoid exposure to the contaminants in the water and use gloves, masks, goggles and proper ventilation when cleaning with bleach solutions.