During home inspections it is not uncommon to see the odd example of a small scale flood. It's good that most people are aware of water stains and what they can represent, but often the type of staining is misunderstood. It's pretty safe to say that most people think of water supply piping failure when they see a localized stain. Often that's not the case when a flood occurs, usually flooding happens on the waste side of the plumbing system or because of our activities like watering plants or maintaining a fish tank.
Q. We have a 100 gallon fish tank and have woken up more than once to find the filter pump to have pumped most of the water on to the floor. How should we clean the mess up?
A. Well, the good news is the source flooding stops as soon as you turn off the pump.
Now, it's time to move quickly to mitigate the water damage. Water damage can be more than just destructive, it can transform into unwanted mold and not the good kind that makes penicillin or yoghurt.
In some scenarios, you may have to pull up any carpets (wall to wall and area rugs) and under padding. You may be able to save the carpet if you get it cleaned and dried out in time, but it’s unlikely you’ll be able to save the under padding, which acts like a sponge and absorbs a lot of water.
Get rid of the water.
There are several ways to get rid of the water. Use old towels, buckets and mops to soak up as much water as possible. A wet/dry vacuum can be used too. (Note: be very careful to plug it into outlets far away from water.) Don’t use an extension cord as the connection could also short out and give you a nasty shock. Water and electricity don’t mix! Getting rid of all the water and drying out the area is the most important thing you can do to prevent mold growth.
Dry out the affected area.
Once you’ve mopped up all the water, use fans to help dry out the area. Open your windows or use a dehumidifier to help dry out the area. There is a possibility that you’ll probably have to cut away the areas of drywall that were touched by water as the drywall will crumble and the paper backing is a good source of food for mold. If you have baseboard trim, take it up first, and if it’s made from pressboard it will likely not be salvageable. If it was wood, you might be able to save it.
After the area has dried out, including wood beams, insulation, drywall, etc., use a good wood preservative to prevent the possibility of mold growing. There are a number of commercial products available, don't use bleach as it will not penetrate the wood sufficiently.
This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.