Due to heavy rains and humid conditions in the Fox Valley recently, several people have asked me about how best to clean up mildew and mold. For houses that were actually flooded last week, the best thing to do of course, is to consult professionals familiar with floodwater cleanup. In addition to professional help though, organizations like the Red-Cross and the EPA provide online cleanup information. Some examples are the Red-Cross’s “Repairing Your Flooded Home” page and the EPA’s “Flood Cleanup” page. There are PDF booklets on these pages that can be downloaded and printed, in addition to the online help.
For people who want to do minor cleanup with commonly available, effective, low-toxicity household chemicals, there are also some good online resources. These include the Washington State Department of Health‘s page called “Got Mold?”, and the Dakota County (MN)‘s page called “Green Household Cleaning Recipes”. These sites offer practical information on how to clean up mildew and mold around the house. They also have downloadable PDF booklets of their information in addition to the online help.
Whether you have professionals do your cleanup or you do it yourself, continue reading…
