Flooded House from Roof Leaks
I knew that my roof was in poor condition, but I didn’t expect my house will be flooded from the first heavy rain for the year! I had placed buckets all over the house to protect the wooden floor and carpets from wetting but unsuccessfully! Just in two days my home was ruined! Everything inside was covered in water – the walls, the gorgeous carpets and the upholstered furniture. As soon as the rain stopped, I called a roofer to fix the broken places on my roof. He did the job for two days and I thought the problem is solved! It took me a week to clean everything inside the house. However, even after I finished all the cleaning and collecting the water, the whole house smelled of humidity. It took me a week to dry the carpets and upholstered furniture, but after all, the effect wasn’t satisfying at all!
After the flood, my house and everything that was inside was looking depressing. I tried to restore many of my things but in fact I had to throw away some favorite pieces – pillows, a carpet and a couch that was too damaged from water.
A few weeks later, after the bad smell inside the house didn’t go away, despite all the ventilation and opening the windows, I started looking for the source of the awful smell. It turned out there is mold on different places inside the house. Mold had covered rugs, insulation, walls, even wooden and brick frames. I read that when it grows uncontrollably, the mold can gradually destroy the surface on which it is located and make it unusable.
After I found mold, I started digging for information about this problem. I found out mold strikes these surfaces to such an extent that the only alternative is the change of surface.
Mold develops in dark and humid places where oxygen is lacking. It produces allergens that can cause allergic reactions and asthma attacks in people allergic to mold. Other forms of mold are known to produce powerful toxins and irritants. Potential health care is an important prerequisite for preventing any outbreak of indoor mold. If the mold develops uncontrollably over a long period of time, the only solution can be scrapping the improper property and burning the structure to the ground.
Many people, like me, think that once the mold has dried out and removed, the danger has passed. Actually, dried particles of mold can be carried by air from your cellar through the ventilation system and from the internal walls, and to breathe in. Inhalation of these highly toxic particles can cause irreversible damage to the lungs and even infect the body and cause death!
So how I tried coping with the mold problem? I tried cleaning the affected places with bleach but I immediately got a headache. I couldn’t stand that smell! After that, I read about how ozone generator can destroy mold so I tried this method as well.
Ozone destroys mold spores by attacking their source. Ozone is the second most powerful sterilizer in the world and has the ability to destroy bacteria, viruses and odors. The first thing that needs to be understood is that the mold can not be destroyed by air-purifying ozone levels. The mold can be destroyed only through devastating amounts of ozone in rooms not occupied by humans, pets or plants by the use of shock ozone doses.
In order to have positive effect from ozone treatment, I had to remove as much of the moisture as possible in the room. If you are going to use this method, you have to know that ozone is most effective in dry, warm spaces. Once the moisture is removed, all visible mold must be removed. Surfaces that can be cleaned with a solution of bleach and water should be washed. Wearing protective clothing, including gloves and breathing mask, is strongly recommended. Do not touch the mold with your bare hands. Any mold can endanger health, so please be very careful when removing mold. The amount of ozone and the length of the required treatment depend on the size of the room and the level of contamination with mold.
The more ozone is concentrated in a space, the more mold and bacteria will be destroyed. It is important to use as high a level of ozone in the room as possible.
In order to destroy the mold and remove the strong smell, it is necessary to have as high a concentration of ozone in the room as possible. Since ozone decomposes within 15 to 30 minutes, it is important to maintain large quantities of ozone in order to keep the ozone concentration at a sufficiently destructive level.
However, I couldn’t use this method effectively, because it can be used only in areas free of people, pets and plants. Also, I couldn’t cope with the moisture problem! So I decided it is high time to turn for help to Water Damage Repair San Francisco! After I consulted Water Damage Repair San Francisco specialists I felt very sorry I hadn’t done this earlier! With their help I would have overcome this problem long ago and probably I would have prevented the appearance of mold!
I have to say that scheduling a service was extremely easy! Water Damage Repair San Francisco is great professionals and definitely those people have great experience with situations like mine! When they came home, they were wearing special equipment and protective clothing. They dried everything inside the house, leaving all the services in perfect condition. Also, they made evaluation of the situation and a mold map which was extremely important for me because that was the main reason to contact Water Damage Repair San Francisco. After making the mold map, they treated the places affected by mold (and they were many). I don’t know what products they used for mold removal but I am completely impressed by the results! They totally removed the mold from my home and the offensive odor was gone! I am extremely grateful and recommend Water Damage Repair San Francisco to all of you who have had flood in your homes!