A large part of my house got flooded. Concerned about Mold Toxicity.

[preventingdiabetes]

A large part of my house got flooded a few days ago and a lot of time has been put into getting the floodwater out. 

Even right now, my carpet is still soaked with water, despite us renting a water vacuum (some type of tool like that). It’s a deep carpet too, so I don’t know if it’ll ever completely get out.

It feels weird sleeping in my bedroom now, knowing that my carpet is soaked and that I might get mold toxicity.

The humidity levels in our house is very high, because the outside humidity is 90%+. So I’ve had had 80%-90% humidity inside my house, and it doesn’t reduce at all despite me trying to use fans and keeping all the windows and doors closed. 

I already have health problems and I have asthma, so that makes me even more susceptible to mold exposure.

I’m concerned about getting mold toxicity, and it seems like there’s a high chance I might get it.

What can I do about this? 

[Michael569]

can you move out? (or at least temporarily) 

can you get rid of that carpet? 

What you need is to have a powerful dehumidifier running 24/7 and potentially renegotiate the contract of your rent so you can terminate your rent agreement (do you own this place or rent btw?) Does your rental contract cover a force majeure case? 

Yes, mould is toxic and pro-allergenic; it will mess you up. Get the hell out of there

Edited January 29, 2023 by Michael569
spelling

[preventingdiabetes]

@Michael569

15 hours ago, Michael569 said:

can you move out? (or at least temporarily) 

No.

15 hours ago, Michael569 said:

can you get rid of that carpet? 

Hopefully insurance will replace it. No guarantees though. They are also very busy as the place I live in has had lots of incidents with flooding since a few days ago.

15 hours ago, Michael569 said:

What you need is to have a powerful dehumidifier running 24/7 and potentially renegotiate the contract of your rent so you can terminate your rent agreement (do you own this place or rent btw?) Does your rental contract cover a force majeure case? 
 

We own this place. We just got a dehumidifier today, but not fully sure how it works. What room should they be placed in? And are there any particular dehumidifiers that are good?

15 hours ago, Michael569 said:

Yes, mould is toxic and pro-allergenic; it will mess you up. Get the hell out of there

What if we can’t get out of there? 

[Michael569]

22 hours ago, preventingdiabetes said:

We own this place. We just got a dehumidifier today, but not fully sure how it works. What room should they be placed in? And are there any particular dehumidifiers that are good?

not sure which one you have but they usually only have on/off buttons and sometimes intensity setup. I'd just let it run constantly even at night in the room where you don't sleep. 

You should also turn the heating on to accelerate evaporation from the carpets. Heating also slows down spread of mould, I think. 

22 hours ago, preventingdiabetes said:

What if we can’t get out of there? 

you might even consider hiring some sort of agency that specialises in this sort of stuff - after flood rescue and drying up the flat. 

[preventingdiabetes]

On 31/01/2023 at 10:27 PM, Michael569 said:

I'd just let it run constantly even at night in the room where you don't sleep. 

You should also turn the heating on to accelerate evaporation from the carpets. Heating also slows down spread of mould, I think. 

Thanks @Michael569

On 31/01/2023 at 10:27 PM, Michael569 said:

you might even consider hiring some sort of agency that specialises in this sort of stuff - after flood rescue and drying up the flat. 

I’ve been told it can take a very long time (months apparently) as many other houses have been affected. Is there anything else I can do? 

[Michael569]

Maybe you can rent an industrial dehumidifier for a month somewhere?

Other than what i mentioned above I don't have other update.

Google what other people with similar issues did.