More Mold
Prevention & Repair Steps if Your Home or
Building Has Been Damaged by
Hurricane Katrina
If your home, condominium, apartment, office, or other building has suffered
serious structural and water damage because of a Hurricane Katrina, you would be wise to take the following
preventive steps to reduce the resulting mold infestation that will surely
grow from the damage your home or building has suffered.
1. Prior to any repairs, photograph and videotape from every appropriate angle all
Hurricane Katrina damage
that has been happened to your home or other building. You may need this
photographic evidence to help collect for the water, structural, and mold
damage.
2. Use do-it-yourself mold test kits from a large hardware or home
improvement store, or the Scotch tape lift sampling technique
[explained in the mold testing section of
Mold Inspector], to test any visible
mold growth so that you can send the mold test kits to a mold laboratory for
analysis and mold species identification. Also, use mold test kits to mold
test the air of each room, attic, basement, crawl space, and the outward air
flow [if electricity is on] from each heating/cooling duct register for the
possible presence of elevated levels of airborne mold spores, in comparison
to an outdoor mold control test. You should repeat this testing of the air
every 7 days so that you can determine if the mold situation is under
control or out of control. You should also be photographing and testing any
new mold growths.
3. Read your insurance policy very carefully to see in what ways the
insurance company could try to restrict or reject your insurance claim for
mold growth damage and for the expenses of mold inspection, testing, and
remediation. If you don’t understand the policy, have it explained to you by
your agent, the insurance company claims adjuster, an independent insurance
adjuster [who works solely on your behalf against the insurance company on a
commission basis], or your attorney. You may need to have the home or
building inspected and tested [with a written report of the inspector’s
findings] by a
Certified Mold Inspector. The goal of the Certified Mold
Inspector is to document that there is new mold growth that was directly
caused by the sudden and accidental, insured event such as a
hurricane, typhoon, tornado, windstorm, fire, or water line break. If you
believe your insurance policy should cover the water and mold damage, but
the company refuses to pay, you definitely need to have professional
representation by an independent insurance adjuster or an insurance-oriented
attorney. You should also read the in depth book
Mold Legal Guide.
4. Cover or close in securely with tarps all broken windows, damaged roof
sections, damaged siding sections, and other storm or fire building damage
to keep as much rain as possible from entering into your home or building.
The more water that enters your home or building, the worse the mold damage
your property will suffer.
5. Spray at least two wet coatings of a
mold home remedy fungicide [with drying in between, assisted by a fan after the fungicide
has worked for at least one hour] into all damaged building areas and on all
exterior and interior surfaces [attic, basement, crawl space, each room on
the walls, ceilings, and floors, plus into each heating/cooling duct
register]. If there is no electricity, use either a hand pump sprayer [about
$40 from Home Depot, Lowe’s, or a hardware store], or a small electric
sprayer connected to a small electric generator. Spray all of your
furnishings and carpeting and personal possessions with the
mold home remedy. For
every week that your home goes unrepaired, repeat this fungicidal spraying
of both the home and your possessions.
6. Learn and utilize the 25 steps required for safe and effective mold
remediation, as explained at
Mold Removal. |
