Maybe before the water goes down too much homeowners should be tossing a bag
of "Pool Shock" into the home and closing the doors and windows. The
chlorine in the pool shock should kill all the bacteria and mold as well as
deodorize the interior. Wiring would still have to be replaced but it
shouldn't be a hazard for workers to work on the house.

Also, they should turn off the main breaker. In some cases if there is no
salt in the water drying out could be all that is needed.

Jeff Rigby wrote:
Maybe before the water goes down too much homeowners should be tossing a bag
of "Pool Shock" into the home and closing the doors and windows. The
chlorine in the pool shock should kill all the bacteria and mold as well as
deodorize the interior. Wiring would still have to be replaced but it
shouldn't be a hazard for workers to work on the house.

Also, they should turn off the main breaker. In some cases if there is no
salt in the water drying out could be all that is needed.

At the very minimum, the structures will need to be torn down to the
studs and inspected. The roofing should be OK unless the house was
totally submerged, and in a lot of cases the second floor areas aren't
soaked and could possibly be saved with a serious cleanup.

Once the framing has been exposed and allowed to dry out completely, an
analysis is in order. Any areas of previous rotting will have been
accelerated by standing in water. Any sort of pressboard (subflooring
or siding underlayment, for example) is probably ruined. A lot of
structures will require some attention to the framing and sheathing.
Spraying all of the exposed framing with a strong bleach solution will
help guard against future rot and
also help kill off the "swampy" smell that might otherwise linger in
the wood.

With all the plaster or wallboard down, it would be fairly easy to
rewire. Most plumbing should be OK, but this is a good opportunity to
replace old lead or galvanized pipes.

Homes built with a lot of cypress (a building material more commonly
employed down that way)may fare better than homes buit with mostly pine
or fir. Cypress trees grow directly out of swamps, and the wood is
exceptionally rot resistant in most applications.

wrote in message
oups.com...

Jeff Rigby wrote:
Maybe before the water goes down too much homeowners should be tossing a
bag
of "Pool Shock" into the home and closing the doors and windows. The
chlorine in the pool shock should kill all the bacteria and mold as well
as
deodorize the interior. Wiring would still have to be replaced but it
shouldn't be a hazard for workers to work on the house.

Also, they should turn off the main breaker. In some cases if there is
no
salt in the water drying out could be all that is needed.

At the very minimum, the structures will need to be torn down to the
studs and inspected. The roofing should be OK unless the house was
totally submerged, and in a lot of cases the second floor areas aren't
soaked and could possibly be saved with a serious cleanup.

Once the framing has been exposed and allowed to dry out completely, an
analysis is in order. Any areas of previous rotting will have been
accelerated by standing in water. Any sort of pressboard (subflooring
or siding underlayment, for example) is probably ruined. A lot of
structures will require some attention to the framing and sheathing.
Spraying all of the exposed framing with a strong bleach solution will
help guard against future rot and
also help kill off the "swampy" smell that might otherwise linger in
the wood.

With all the plaster or wallboard down, it would be fairly easy to
rewire. Most plumbing should be OK, but this is a good opportunity to
replace old lead or galvanized pipes.

Homes built with a lot of cypress (a building material more commonly
employed down that way)may fare better than homes buit with mostly pine
or fir. Cypress trees grow directly out of swamps, and the wood is
exceptionally rot resistant in most applications.


Spot on Chuck!

"Jeff Rigby" wrote in message
...
Maybe before the water goes down too much homeowners should be tossing a
bag of "Pool Shock" into the home and closing the doors and windows. The
chlorine in the pool shock should kill all the bacteria and mold as well
as deodorize the interior. Wiring would still have to be replaced but it
shouldn't be a hazard for workers to work on the house.

Also, they should turn off the main breaker. In some cases if there is no
salt in the water drying out could be all that is needed.


How do you salvage soaked wood in a city where it's almost always warm and
humid??? Bury the house in silica gel for a year?

Sure you can chemically dose the water to kill bacteria and molds.

One question would be will the chemical penetrate the wall cavities in
standing water to achieve a sufficient concentration to be effective.

The plasterboard and insulation would still need to be pulled to allow
the framework to dry. If the water level was within a foot or so of the
ceiling add the ceiling and insulation to the list.

If you strip the walls back to the framing, which has been soaking for
over a week is the framing likely to dry and maintain its shape or will
the drying timber twist or bend.

It would seem in my experiance that in this situation bulldozing and
rebuilding would be a faster option than renovation.

It certainly offers possibilities for multi-story structures where the
structural members are brick or concrete.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Sure you can chemically dose the water to kill bacteria and molds.


Our next door neighbors in Florida have a stick house that sustained severe
roof damage during one of last season's hurricanes. Enough water got into
the framing and walls that mold very quickly set in, meaning within days.
After an inspection, the house was declared un-inhabitable. They have been
tearing it apart and rebuilding for almost a full year now.

Eisboch

Jeff Rigby wrote:
Maybe before the water goes down too much homeowners should be tossing a bag
of "Pool Shock" into the home and closing the doors and windows. The
chlorine in the pool shock should kill all the bacteria and mold as well as
deodorize the interior.

This would help if the house was flooded with clean water to at least as
high a level as it had been with contaminated flood water, and left full
for at least as long as it was flooded. Otherwise there will not be
sufficient time for the chlorine to penetrate every place that has been
contaminated.

The health risk from flooded houses is considerable, a very large number
of flood damaged houses in NC had to be bulldozed completely because of
persistant mold. I know of at least a dozen cases in coastal NC where
the house was sealed up in a giant PVC envelope and gassed, and the mold
spores persisted.

Regards
Doug King

And, that much chlorine comes with its own set of issues.

"DSK" wrote in message
.. .
Jeff Rigby wrote:
Maybe before the water goes down too much homeowners should be tossing a
bag of "Pool Shock" into the home and closing the doors and windows. The
chlorine in the pool shock should kill all the bacteria and mold as well
as deodorize the interior.

This would help if the house was flooded with clean water to at least as
high a level as it had been with contaminated flood water, and left full
for at least as long as it was flooded. Otherwise there will not be
sufficient time for the chlorine to penetrate every place that has been
contaminated.

The health risk from flooded houses is considerable, a very large number
of flood damaged houses in NC had to be bulldozed completely because of
persistant mold. I know of at least a dozen cases in coastal NC where the
house was sealed up in a giant PVC envelope and gassed, and the mold
spores persisted.

Regards
Doug King