What’s that musty smell?  Usually the wet carpet and padding trap moisture and this can be a breeding ground for mold and musty smells.  Even if you try to extract the water from the carpet.  Other problems with flooring are that moisture can be trapped between the floor tiles or sheet vinyl.  This can cause mold issues or cause the flooring to delaminate from the substrate. 

Heavy mold contamination on large areas of wood studs or OSB sheeting can be cleaned with a dry ice blaster.  The dry ice blasters can often clean OSB sheeting and wood framing without damaging it.  Dry ice blasters should only be used by experienced remediation contractors as they can be very dangerous to the contractor and in occupied areas.  This is because when dry ice melts it produces high amounts of carbon dioxide and when still frozen can cause burns on skin that is not covered.  When using dry ice blasters fresh air usually needs to be blown into the contained area.  Pressure differentials should be carefully monitored when using dry ice blasters.  It is usually best to use this option on exterior walls and unoccupied areas.

Some tips for drying out large areas are to check with your remediation contractor to see if they have a desiccant dehumidifier.  This is a gigantic dehumidifier that often shows up to your site on a semi-truck trailer.  These dehumidifiers will dry out the whole floor or building the fastest.  They blow hot air with desiccant balls throughout the building.  Portable dehumidifiers should only used on areas about as large as a three or four bedroom house or in areas that aren’t as wet and may have asbestos in the building components.

Struggling with Moisture Intrusion? ACC is here to discuss your project needs