Last week we had a tremendous storm in the Northeast and my finished basement took in some water. I'm not too concerned since this was the most rain we've had in 15 years. The carpets are still a little damp and I have some mold forming on the drywall near the baseboards. This is the first time this has happened.
I put a dehumidifier down there and the room is drying up. How should I go about cleaning the mold? Aside from cleaning off the mold, what else should I be doing?
suro252007-04-23T06:35:08Z
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You need to run the dehumidifier on high for a while to dry up the basement. you should use bleach to take care of the mold good luck suro
Hi...i had water problems in my basemen last spring. Firstly, yes to the dehumidifier..but also run fans on hi speed where the damage is. This will GREATLY assist the drying process. The more fans the better. Mold can be best soved with bleach wtaer and a cloth. Unfortunately as some have mentioned before your drywall has been comprised. It is a wick for water and moisture. I would personally cut up 1 or 2 feet up from the floor a straight horizontal line and remove punky drywall and inspect insulation and studs..remove if necessary and allow to air out with fans taking care to bleach the entire area. Replace drywall VApour Barrier and insulation accordingly. Make sure you cut in increments which will best utilize a standard 4X8 sheet of drywall Ie 1 or 2 feet or sixteen inches. Less waste. Consider insulating in the future with Roxul...it does not aborb water. Good luck
Using bleach and the dehumidifier is a start. It really depends on how your wall is constructed. Is there insulation behind the drywall? If so, the insulation is also water damaged and you will be growing mold behind the wall. Fiberglass insulation tends to wick the water upward, so you don't know how bad the problem is.
I was part of the reconstruction team that was in Mississippi right after Katrina, and there was a lot of flooded homes there. Because of the mold growth behind the walls, the moldy drywall had to be removed. You may also have to do this, depending on the severity of the problem. The insulation has to be removed, the wall dried out, spray with bleach, and reinstall the drywall.