Once the floodwaters of Irene are gone from your house, they leave behind a nasty parting gift: mold. Stinky, pervasive, sickening mold. Here’s how to get rid of it.

The key to fighting mold is to get all the moisture out as quickly as possible. So you’ll want to open up all the doors and windows you can and strategically deploy fans on the wet and soggy areas.

OSHA says that after you clean down surfaces that have a light covering of mold with soap and water, give them another washing with a mixture of 1/2 cup of bleach into a gallon of water. That should kill the mold.

Anything that has been soaking for more than 48 hours and can’t be cleaned, get rid of. This is especially true of porous and soft furniture and carpeting.

Not all mold is visible, and it can even grow between walls. You may want to hire a restoration or remediation specialist, whose popularity in this crisis is likely to turn the “R” section into the most well-thumbed of the Yellow Pages.

Hurricane Irene creates a perfect storm for mold [Consumer Reports]

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