Knowing How and Where to Begin with Hurricane Mold Remediation is Overwhelming, But Focusing on the Basics Gets the Job Done.
Because this is a blog centered around mold and environmental illness, I cannot neglect an obvious and pertinent topic any longer—the recent flooding, storms, and severe damage caused by Hurricane Florence. This topic has been on my heart and mind for sometime now, and will continue to be as Florence is only the first BIG hurricane of this season. Until now, I have felt largely helpless in doing anything for those affected from my home and insulated life in Memphis. Just the other day, though, it dawned on me that I DO have something of value to offer by way of this blog. I can draw from what I know and lend some insight into the inevitable mold aspect if the hurricane equation. More specifically, I feel I can help those dealing with the aftermath learn how to better address and mitigate fungal and bacterial growth in their homes and communities after extreme water events and flooding has occurred. In this post, I will try to walk readers through a more defined way of handling the clean-up aspect of the disaster so that such a daunting piece of reclaiming their lives may come a little easier and may seem a little less hopeless or overwhelming. Experience has taught me that if you begin this kind of task with mold eradication as a major chunk of your efforts, you will have greater success and a safer home in the end.
To accomplish this monumental task, I am going to take this time and this post to give you all I know and have learned from the best in the business (restoration, remediation, health, indoor air quality, building safety, etc.) in the way of advice, support, and direction on mold as it relates to hurricanes and flooding. I feel it important to note this distinction, because mold growth after flooding and a hurricane is an entirely different animal than what I usually write about on this blog, even though, in the end, the health repercussions of not dealing with it correctly are much the same—sickness, infection, and, in extreme cases, permanent damage to body systems and function or death. (I am sorry to have to go there, but bacterial and fungal infections for the immunocompromised, children, and the elderly can be THAT grave.)