WATER DAMAGE (pics)

[Seana30]

I am going to post some pics. Sorry if they come out huge, but I am not sure how to scale them down. They are of some of the water damage caused to our house from the flooding.

My concern is Courtney. Does anyone know if this can affect her lungs? Will mold have a negative affect on CFers?

We are going to the pulmo. doc today and I am hoping he can answer my questions.

Seana

<img src="http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/Seana30/roofdamage.jpg">

<img src="http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/Seana30/roofdamage5.jpg">

<img src="http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/Seana30/roofdamage4.jpg">

<img src="http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/Seana30/roofdamage3.jpg">

THIS ONE IS RIGHT ABOVE THE FIRE PLACE. YOU CAN SEE ALL THE SOOT SOAKING THRU THE CEILING. YUCK!
<img src="http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/Seana30/roofdamage2.jpg">

 

[EnergyGal]

Yes mold is a huge nightmare for Cfers. I would move her out to another place if at all possible asap. not to be an alarmist but that is what I would do.

 

[Seana30]

Thanks Risa,

We have contractors ready to come in a fix everything, but they can't do anything till the rain stops. We are expected to have rain for the next week so I am really worried.

Thanks for the advice.

Seana

 

[miesl]

Yes, mold can be a serious problem. Not just for a CFer - but for everyone. I would be concerned about her culturing molds. Some people have no problem with - and others have nasty allergic reactions. Not a good thing to be allergic to something growing in your lungs (heck, it's not good to have it growing there in the first place).

I second Risa's alarmist plan - get her out!

 

[EnergyGal]

I woulc call her Doctor. When we had a hurricane in Florida there was only damage to the floor and we had tile. It dried up quickly so there was no harm to me at that time but if I had carpet and it was wet, I would have moved out and stayed at a friends house.

 

[Seana30]

THANK YOU all so much for the advice.

Courtney's pulmo doc said that as long as the areas do not turn black (other than the area about the fireplace, that is soot) we should be okay.

I have spoken to the contractors and told them Courtney's situation and explained to them why I need them to get to work as soon as possible.

I think I will take your advice Karen and get a dehumidifer. I am TERRIFIED of mold. I am not a complete clean freak, but things like mold really gross me out!

Thanks again for all of the great advice!

Seana

 

[kayleesgrandma]

I'd use some bleach on the area's before the contracters seal it up. Maybe a spray bottle. I imagine they'll cut away the damaged portions. But bleach is good on mold. Have Courtney be in another room as bleach is nasty smelling.

 

[Jane]

Seana, I agree with using bleach in a spray bottle. Lysol will also stop mold from growing. Jesse has an allergy to mold so we are very cautious too. The beach house we were just at had l lot of mold growing when we got there (from the damp air), so we spent the first two day disinfecting. Its creepy.

A lot of companies will come and take care of moisture after a flood. You might want to call some professionals.

 

[Ratatosk]

Last summer our sump pump in our basement disconnected and got water on about a 6' area in our family room. We tried drying with the wet-vac, pulling up the carpet, fans, dehumidifier and because the water soaked into the pad and it was so humid in our area, the carpet started to turn and we HAD to get rid of it. This all happened over the 4th of July weekend, so we couldn't call our insurance company, we HAD to get that stuff out of there. DH hired an intern from his office to carry the carpet out of the basement and we disinfected and dried everything out.

Called our insurance company and explained DS had CF, we had to tear out the carpet 'cuz of the mold. We were told if something like that ever happened again to call a company that specializes in clean up for fires or flooding and have THEM clean up/dry out the mess. They've got stronger fans, etc and are able to take care of the problem.

In the meantime, have her avoid those areas that are damaged as much as possible. Insurance sometimes pays to stay elsewhere, too.

 

[Landy]

Seanna
I haven't watched the national weather lately, but hope things are improving for you & that you can get this taken care of soon so you can have a peace of mind & not have this in the back of your mind worrying you!
Please keep us posted.

 

[Purplelungz]

My mom has been redoing her bathroom and there was tons of mold behind the tiles of the bathtub. She did some research and found that if you put a little bleach with water in a spray bottle that is the best thing to do....after you remove most of whats mold in fected or take off the mold....then you spray it down. This kills off what mold is left and prevents more from coming back. I had also read regular peroxide sprayed on it does the same thing. But You do not have to have pure bleach. I think its a one to four ratio....but im not 100% sure. I believe a capful of bleach to a cup of water would be plenty probably alot. Just remember to watch what you spray it on, even if its diluted its still bleach. I think thats where I read pure peroxide (not diluted) just the 3% from the store does the same but not harmful to fambrics and such.

 

[thefrogprincess]

Even if you do not see visible mold you should still get the place checked by a mold expert about once a year because it can grow inside walls and such where you cannot see it. You can also ask that a mold panel be done on your daughter periodically as well. Better to be safe right?

 

[amber682]

I have a question about using bleach. I was doing research online
due to a very small mold prob compared to yours (but still scary!).
Most mold sites state that bleach is good for mold, but some sites
from companies that do mold clean up said to use borates. They said
bleach only kills whats on the surface, not the "root" of
the mold, and that bleach is mostly water, which actually waters
the "root" causing regrowth in a few days. What do you
think? Just trying to sell their product? Does anyone know what the
pros actually use? 

 

[JazzysMom]

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote><i>Originally posted by: <b>amber682</b></i>

I have a question about using bleach. I was doing research online
due to a very small mold prob compared to yours (but still scary!).
Most mold sites state that bleach is good for mold, but some sites
from companies that do mold clean up said to use borates. They said
bleach only kills whats on the surface, not the "root" of
the mold, and that bleach is mostly water, which actually waters
the "root" causing regrowth in a few days. What do you
think? Just trying to sell their product? Does anyone know what the
pros actually use? </end quote></div>


I guess I understand what they are saying & I cant really deny/confirm it. What I can tell you is that when I have used bleach it didnt come back. I would think that if the "root" of it isnt killed then it would return.