Re: Mold threat lurks after hurricane

[Guest guest]

Reduce the indoor relative humidity to <50%RH ASAP!!!

If high humidity persist, mold will cover everything.

--- In , " tigerpaw2c " <tigerpaw2C@n...>

wrote:

> Mold threat lurks after hurricane

> http://www.news-

> press.com/news/weather/hurricane/stories/040821moldmain.html

>

> By DICK HOGAN, dhogan@n...

> Published by news-press.com on August 21, 2004

>

>

> Think fast when it comes to dealing with the threat of mold in a

home

> damaged by Hurricane Charley.

>

> That's the advice of experts who say insurance companies will be

> scrutinizing exactly what policyholders did to make sure the

initial

> harm to the house wasn't compounded by neglect.

>

> Mold is a hot-button issue nationwide as homeowners file lawsuits

> alleging damage from mold and insurance companies respond by

limiting

> coverage or dropping customers who file claims.

>

> The claims have barely started in places such as Sanibel and Fort

> Myers Beach, where many homes sustained water damage. Some owners

> have already begun tearing out walls and ripping up carpet.

>

> " I think most insurance companies' policies state the owner needs

to

> take due diligence for water leakage and mitigate it himself as

much

> as possible, " said Fred Sylvester, owner of Accredited Building

> Consultants in Fort Myers.

>

> But, he said, it brings up some interesting questions. " If you're

in

> an area that you don't need to evacuate for rising flood waters, I

> think most emergency managers are saying stay in your home. "

>

> Someone in that situation who was scared and left anyway may have

to

> defend his actions to the insurance company if quicker action could

> have avoided damage, Sylvester said.

>

> The same could be true for winter residents who were up North when

> their Florida house was hit, he said. " You can't just keep a gaping

> hole in your house and make them pay for a new house, but maybe you

> also can't just drop work and go flying down. "

>

> Molds produce allergens, irritants and sometimes toxic substances

> that can cause breathing problems.

>

> Dick Luedke, a State Farm Insurance Co. spokesman in Winter Park,

> said his company considers " each case on its own merits. So that

> person in Michigan who may find out his house has been damaged and

> may not be able to immediately make the repairs, we understand

that. "

>

> But, he said, " At the same time, we ask for due diligence. We owe

it

> to all our policy holders. Every dollar we spend adversely impacts

> somebody. "

>

> For example, he said, State Farm has to figure out in each case

> whether the hurricane actually caused the mold as opposed to a

> maintenance problem, which isn't covered. " Insurance is meant to

> cover sudden and accidental incidents, like a hurricane. "

>

>

> Mold patrol

>

> Local residents cleaning up after the storm were on the lookout for

> mold.

>

> " A couple more days and there's going to be plenty of it with

> everything as wet as it is, " said Tim Gardner, a Sanibel resident

who

> has a scientific background and had a long career with the U.S.

> Environmental Protection Agency. " Then it will dry up and you won't

> know it's there, but it's still there. "

>

> Gardner said his home sustained water damage so he's expecting to

see

> mold before long. His approach will be to " hose it down and get the

> big crud out, then hose it again, then clean it with swimming pool

> chlorine. "

>

> Bob Bunting, a real estate agent with Century 21 Tripower on Fort

> Myers Beach, spent Friday taking out carpets and furniture in a

> rental house he owns on Chapel Street that took 20 inches of water

> from storm surge.

>

> " We're going to have to strip the interior walls and exterior walls

> and clean everything out and spray the studs with some kind of

> solutions " to prevent mold from taking hold, he said — getting the

> job done fast is urgent because the tenant has nowhere to go and is

> temporarily staying with friends.

>

>

> Be aggressive

>

> Bill Selvia, chief building inspector for the city of Cape Coral,

> said the main thing is to be aggressive about getting rid of

possible

> sources of mold such as carpet and floor padding, drywall and

> insulation.

>

> " Anything in that house that's wet and not portable, strip that out

> of there, throw it away and get new. Of course that causes the cost

> of repair to go up but I personally don't want to live in a house

> with mold. "

>

> Houses aren't being condemned for mold because there are no legal

> standards for contamination of air in residences, said Bob ,

> deputy director of development services for Lee County.

>

> That makes it a hard issue when it comes to deciding whether mold

> contamination exists after a storm, he said. " If you've found it, I

> don't know what exactly you do. "

>

> — The News-Press reporter Anne contributed to this report.

[Guest guest]

Reduce the indoor relative humidity to <50%RH ASAP!!!

If high humidity persist, mold will cover everything.

--- In , " tigerpaw2c " <tigerpaw2C@n...>

wrote:

> Mold threat lurks after hurricane

> http://www.news-

> press.com/news/weather/hurricane/stories/040821moldmain.html

>

> By DICK HOGAN, dhogan@n...

> Published by news-press.com on August 21, 2004

>

>

> Think fast when it comes to dealing with the threat of mold in a

home

> damaged by Hurricane Charley.

>

> That's the advice of experts who say insurance companies will be

> scrutinizing exactly what policyholders did to make sure the

initial

> harm to the house wasn't compounded by neglect.

>

> Mold is a hot-button issue nationwide as homeowners file lawsuits

> alleging damage from mold and insurance companies respond by

limiting

> coverage or dropping customers who file claims.

>

> The claims have barely started in places such as Sanibel and Fort

> Myers Beach, where many homes sustained water damage. Some owners

> have already begun tearing out walls and ripping up carpet.

>

> " I think most insurance companies' policies state the owner needs

to

> take due diligence for water leakage and mitigate it himself as

much

> as possible, " said Fred Sylvester, owner of Accredited Building

> Consultants in Fort Myers.

>

> But, he said, it brings up some interesting questions. " If you're

in

> an area that you don't need to evacuate for rising flood waters, I

> think most emergency managers are saying stay in your home. "

>

> Someone in that situation who was scared and left anyway may have

to

> defend his actions to the insurance company if quicker action could

> have avoided damage, Sylvester said.

>

> The same could be true for winter residents who were up North when

> their Florida house was hit, he said. " You can't just keep a gaping

> hole in your house and make them pay for a new house, but maybe you

> also can't just drop work and go flying down. "

>

> Molds produce allergens, irritants and sometimes toxic substances

> that can cause breathing problems.

>

> Dick Luedke, a State Farm Insurance Co. spokesman in Winter Park,

> said his company considers " each case on its own merits. So that

> person in Michigan who may find out his house has been damaged and

> may not be able to immediately make the repairs, we understand

that. "

>

> But, he said, " At the same time, we ask for due diligence. We owe

it

> to all our policy holders. Every dollar we spend adversely impacts

> somebody. "

>

> For example, he said, State Farm has to figure out in each case

> whether the hurricane actually caused the mold as opposed to a

> maintenance problem, which isn't covered. " Insurance is meant to

> cover sudden and accidental incidents, like a hurricane. "

>

>

> Mold patrol

>

> Local residents cleaning up after the storm were on the lookout for

> mold.

>

> " A couple more days and there's going to be plenty of it with

> everything as wet as it is, " said Tim Gardner, a Sanibel resident

who

> has a scientific background and had a long career with the U.S.

> Environmental Protection Agency. " Then it will dry up and you won't

> know it's there, but it's still there. "

>

> Gardner said his home sustained water damage so he's expecting to

see

> mold before long. His approach will be to " hose it down and get the

> big crud out, then hose it again, then clean it with swimming pool

> chlorine. "

>

> Bob Bunting, a real estate agent with Century 21 Tripower on Fort

> Myers Beach, spent Friday taking out carpets and furniture in a

> rental house he owns on Chapel Street that took 20 inches of water

> from storm surge.

>

> " We're going to have to strip the interior walls and exterior walls

> and clean everything out and spray the studs with some kind of

> solutions " to prevent mold from taking hold, he said — getting the

> job done fast is urgent because the tenant has nowhere to go and is

> temporarily staying with friends.

>

>

> Be aggressive

>

> Bill Selvia, chief building inspector for the city of Cape Coral,

> said the main thing is to be aggressive about getting rid of

possible

> sources of mold such as carpet and floor padding, drywall and

> insulation.

>

> " Anything in that house that's wet and not portable, strip that out

> of there, throw it away and get new. Of course that causes the cost

> of repair to go up but I personally don't want to live in a house

> with mold. "

>

> Houses aren't being condemned for mold because there are no legal

> standards for contamination of air in residences, said Bob ,

> deputy director of development services for Lee County.

>

> That makes it a hard issue when it comes to deciding whether mold

> contamination exists after a storm, he said. " If you've found it, I

> don't know what exactly you do. "

>

> — The News-Press reporter Anne contributed to this report.