Replies

OK, I know that some homes and people have had to evacuate their houses due to mold. It does happen all over the country but I was skeptical about the mold coming on so quick. I guess with all the moisture and heat, the mold would take off in a hurry. These doomsday stories are getting old, maybe accurate but old.

It seems the insurance companies won't have to pay a dime on all these damages. If you don't have flood, hurricane and mold coverage, then you're screwed.

How do you handle mold on such a large scale?

"How do you handle mold on such a large scale?"

Strip it down to the studs, treat and seal the studs (or replace them if warped too badly) and then put the wallboard back up again. I know people, though, whose houses were flooded by hurricane Floyd, who still have a musty, swampy odor inside the house that they can't get rid of. Same thing can happen with housefires, as far as odor.

You destroy the houses. People can't understand the scope of this problem from TV, and yes, the media has made things much worse by crying wolf for the past month about everything from the violence in New Orleans to the supposed racism of the recovery. I can tell you several things.

First, the physical devastation in Mississippi is WORSE than the media is reporting. All of the attention has been given to New Orleans, but in Mississippi, some communities are simply GONE. I credit this under reporting with simple laziness on the part of the media as well as politically motivated focusing on New Orleans which can more easily be placed at the feet of the Feds (for some reason that I'm still trying to understand).

Second, I saw zero evidence of racism among the relief workers. People of all races were working together to improve the situation, but things are pretty dire. It will take YEARS to rebuild.

Third, the mold is a very real problem. Please don't shrug it off as more media hype. I was there. The pictures above are accurate. A forty foot wall of water came through the areas of coastal Mississippi where I was working. In that environment, where daytime temps were routinely in the mid 90's and humidity hovered around 90%, mold grows like grass. Don't believe me? Take a wet towel and throw it in a high school locker for a week. Remember the smell? It's EVERYWHERE down there.

Fourth, are the homeowners screwed? You betcha! Few people have the right insurance in those areas and those who do are underinsured in most cases. Many of them have hurricane insurance, but the insurers won't pay because they don't have flood insurance.

Lastly, what can you do about the mold? You have to go in, remove EVERYTHING from the houses (furniture, flooring, drywall, kitchen cabinetry, toilets, shower inserts, etc.) and spray the 2X4 skeleton of the building with a bleach solution. That will get rid of a LOT of the mold, but you have to be diligent and several applications are necessary. Even then, there are no guarantees. Then, if they're like most American counties, the authorities will need to come in after about a month and do a moisture reading of the building (usually between 15 & 17%). They won't let you hang one sheet of sheet rock until you meet this minimum. And even then, there's still a very real possibility that you'll have mold problems and have to destroy the building.

But ask yourself, if it was you're house wouldn't you want to at least try to save it? Most people would.

The stark reality is that the MAJORITY of the homes along the coast and in New Orleans will need to be destroyed and rebuilt over the next few years. That news may be getting old, but it's got to stay in front of us.

One last thing, please don't blame these people because they built in a flood plain. The people who had houses on the coast lost EVERYTHING. Their homes are simply gone. They aren't the ones we're talking about. In some areas of Mississippi the flood waters came into areas that are ten miles inland and have NEVER FLOODED BEFORE. NO ONE expected this. I worked in a home that was located fifteen feet above sea level AND was built on ten foot stilts AND STILL had six feet of water in the structure. Katrina really was unprecedented.