They threw furniture and appliances flood ruined, torn carpeting, cabinets and drywall. Now the 125,000 or more homeowners who do not have flood insurance, and the 25,000 or so are made in the stages of disinfection and drying.
Louisiana Builders Association and the Federal Emergency Management Agency recommends to the Department of Housing and Urban Development United States - leader "rebuild healthy homes." The LSU Agricultural Center offers similar advice.
"This information is tried and true," said Ken Jones, team spokesman Disaster Recovery Louisiana Home Builders Association. "We have flooded to the people of North Louisiana 7,000 homes in the spring, and is very convenient to do here for the 156,000 affected households."
The first step after evisceration is to clean a house and disinfected. For disinfection of non-metallic surfaces colorfast, mix a quarter cup half cup of bleach to one gallon of water. Other solutions clean surfaces with no phosphate detergents. avoid phosphates because they can serve as food for the mold.
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Claudette Reichel, director of the Resource Center LAHOUSE LSU AgCenter said a useful step of disinfection is to get an exterminator, spray Bora-Care exposed wood. The treatment penetrates into the wood to provide protection against termites and decay fungi. A fungicide may be added to other types of mold on the Bora-care in hospital less wood, he said.
Owners should contact exterminators anyway, Reichel said, because when the tide, treatment occurs to termites on clean earth.
After disinfection, the drying can start. Both AgCenter and FEMA recommend that owners reduce any remaining plaster panel of 15 percent or less humidity of the asparagus and paper before they close to a wall, Jones said. The humidity inside the house should be less than 50 percent due to the dry air stabilize moisture contributes to suck from wet wood. A good dehumidifier or a dehumidifier should be able to get home on this level.
Dehumidifiers were in local supply by brief flooding. If you do not get your hands on a work, a combination of air conditioners, fans and portable heaters, Reichel said.
"Will be your electricity bill high, but is a lower priority," he said. The goal is to accelerate the drying process to prevent the form of the root.
Carol Smith, president of the Builders Association of the Capital Region, a moisture meter is required to keep track of how the wood is wet. The key is to get a good meter and spend more than $ 50, he said. Some of the more expensive meters can not lose moisture in concrete measuring carpets and floor coverings will make while moisture is still further on a plate.
The fact that the wooden structure was wet because of a flood is not something to be alarmed, Smith said. most of the houses were finally fall during the scoping stage. The problem is when the water enters the things that should not be wet - drywall, insulation and carpet pads.
Mike Pitts, Lowe Drive South Mall store manager, said his customers are more than 75 percent above the level of cleaning and reconstruction movement. People buy all doors and drywall vanities and accessories.
"My biggest advice to all clients is: Everyone faces this obvious tragedy ... just try to stay calm, to understand that everyone is trying to work together to get this," Pitts said.
After the owner of the water worked quickly to get out of their homes and wet plasterboard intestine, insulation and carpet, Reichel said its time to turn and ensure that sufficient drying takes courses. "Everyone was excited and traumatized," he said, "but we must be patient and follow the instructions."
After the moisture content falls below 15 percent, homeowners can start recovery of your home.
Owners can configure drywall, latex paint and other coatings permeable walls. Panels and cabinets are avoided until the moisture to 15 percent or less is significantly by Reichel. If you install mirrors or large tapestries, they must be installed to allow some air space. vinyl painted paper should be avoided, as the air can not pass through it. "The humidity should be able to go through," he said.
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If a house was flooded, owners are required to pass to potential buyers if the property is ever sell. This is a problem that affects the market value of a house, Reichel said.
The key is that the owners keep detailed records of what was done their home record. It also includes a list of all the products in the cleaning and restoration used to, used to dry the house to take pictures with the date and time of the moisture meter and specification of methods. If you hire a contractor to clean water treatment, which should be able to do, Reichel said.
There are reports of people on the sale of certificates of origin or without own form had been dedicated as much as $ 1000. warned officials, these scams.
"You can an independent third party (like us) you have to get an inspection and sampling the air and our view that the area is suitable for return to work, but without" certificate without mold ' "Wynn said White, a consulting engineer.
Local governments have taken steps to ease the burden of reconstruction. East Baton Rouge, Livingston, and Ascension communities have abandoned the building permit and / or examination fees for flood repairs. FEMA urges homeowners their local building codes to contact responsible before construction start that repairs meet all the requirements for flood management needs. FEMA also said homeowners should take all the necessary approvals, make sure obtain and follow all local building codes.
The requirements for building permits vary from one community to another, and the amount of flooding.
For example, in Ascension Parish, people who come to replace the drywall and insulation should not permit or control board Lavern Bourgeois will receive the building.
"We simply do not have the staff to go to every house and check. Just do not. We believe in the person's interest in their own properties to take care of this," Bourgeois said.
East Baton Rouge, permits are required when the water is higher than the outlets, if any one or more walls have to be replaced plasterboard, or air conditioning must be replaced, the deputy director Carey Chauvin management township said. The rules for obtaining a license has not changed. As rates have been eliminated, he said.
Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said the flood "absolutely not" insurance rates homeowners because since the late 1960s, the property insurers are not considered flood was affecting losses.
Donelon also provide an emergency rule for insurance companies, people can not punish affected in the parishes of floods to live in their damaged homes while repairs are underway. And state law prevents property insurers to drop a homeowner when coverage of the company has been provided for more than three years. The only exception is when an owner does not keep track of repairs and let deteriorates the property.
Bourgeois said Ascension advises homeowners who make their own repairs a process of housing and urban development in 10 AgCenter by the Association and the Capital Region Builders to follow recommended steps.
HUD steps safely and effectively remove mold, include do-it-yourself:
• Use protective equipment. People are exposed to mold spores breathing and skin contact. Respiratory protection wear gloves, goggles and a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health at Work Working N95 or later approved.
• Insulate the field work and vent to the outside. Boucher may moldy disturbing parts of the rest of the house by mold colonies lead a massive release of spores into the air. Open the windows and do not run the heater or air conditioner during cleaning. If you have the power, set a boxing fan in a blow mold and window air filled outdoors.
• Remove contaminated moldy or waste materials, including carpets, upholstery, mattresses and insulation.
• Clean and disinfect. Cleaning should remove, not only kill because dead spores can still cause health problems mold. The same applies to the contamination of sewage, a common problem with flooding.
Follow the instructions and warnings on the label, handle with care, wear rubber gloves, and never mix bleach with ammonia or acids. can kill many disinfectants, bleaching agents, including mold, but not to prevent the regrowth of new settlements if materials stay wet.
Pitts said many shops Concrobium control mold, product, sale and prevents future growth away and does not emit fumes that mold. It is also easy to use, because consumers should not worry about dilution with water. A gallon in a spray covers 1,000 square meters, and the company guarantees the product performance.
• Consider to treat wooden frame with borate treatment, provide resistance to termites and rot and can inhibit the growth of mold. The man who penetrates the wood over time offer the best protection.
• Ventilate. After cleaning and disinfection, the building air. Use to draw the outer mold spores window fan.
• Dry. All wet materials as quickly as possible Close windows and, if possible, use an air conditioner or heat and use a dehumidifier. If no current, keep the windows open.
• Be attentive mold. Next for signs of moisture and a new mold growth. Mold may form in only two or three days, when the materials are kept moist. Wood and other materials may be wet enough to support new growth, which appear dry.
• Do not reset until all materials fully dried. Wood moisture content should be less than 15 percent or less. To find out, get a moisture meter wood. Not vinyl wallpaper, oil painting or other surfaces inside the drying block use.
• Reconstruct the properties and flood-resistant materials. Use receives closed cell insulation foam that is not solid or impermeable timber water and building materials. Raise the wiring and equipment such as kettle and washer and dryer above the flood level. Consider remove without paper and cardboard. Let preventing space between the plates absorb water between the bottom, and two, such as ceramic tile, solid vinyl paperless, hardwood or stained concrete water tolerant. Some of the new wallboard materials more resistant to mold.
FEMA also recommends a sump pump with battery backup system to install or supplied with water in case of power failure. The Agency will respond professionals obvious mitigation on September 10 questions in a series of improvement stores like Home Depot home at 8181 Airline Highway in Baton Rouge; 2740 cajun Ave. S. Gonzales; 1700 NE Evangeline Thruway in Lafayette; and 40 Park Place Drive in Covington and Lowe shops at 1130 E. Landry St. in Opelousas and 142 Julia Drive by John Crowley.
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