Despite hurricanes, insurance may not cover mold
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Mold needs five things to grow, says Jeff Bishop, technical adviser for the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification, a nonprofit organization for the flooring inspection, floor covering, mold remediation and disaster restoration industry. The first is food, and your house is full of it in things like lumber, the paper on the drywall and the paper covering insulation. It also needs moisture, the right temperature, stagnant air and time.

"The longer you wait, the worse it gets," he says.

An ounce of prevention
In determining whether to pay a mold remediation claim, insurers will look at whether the homeowner performed the appropriate cleanup to minimize damage, assuming it was safe for them to go back in the house, says Kathi Giaramita, a water-damage restoration and mold expert at Memphis-based ServiceMaster Clean.

If there's standing water, homeowners should try to remove it, along with anything that's sitting on a wet surface, such as furniture, area rugs, book cases or cardboard boxes.

"If they sit wet, the damage will be much worse to correct," Giaramita says.

Some items will be easier to clean than others, Bishop says. If clothing can be washed, it can be restored, he says.

"Anything you can run through a dishwasher, you don't have to worry about," he says. "The heat in a dishwasher completely kills germs and bacteria."

It will be very difficult for the average homeowner to dry out stuffed materials, such as mattresses, box springs, upholstered furniture, carpet and padding. If ceilings are sagging, have them taken down before they collapse. Water in the ceiling generally means that water has run down walls as well. That may be harder for a homeowner to find.

Mold can even grow on concrete block houses built on cement slabs if there is a layer of dust. To prevent mold growth, Bishop says to spray it off with detergent, dry it and "get some air movement on it."

(For more information on cleaning up after water damage, read the Water Damage Recovery Guide at the Institute for Business and Home Safety Web site.)

Pass on the test
One way to save money during the cleanup, Giaramita says, is on testing for mold.

"I know the environmental testing companies will come out of the woodwork, but testing your home for mold is completely unnecessary," she says. "If you have mold, you can smell it. You just need to clean it up. There's no reason to know what it is or what color it is. You just need to know where it is and the techniques to clean it up. In those instances where it is a covered loss, let the insurance company make that decision to do testing."

Oh, and for the record, Giaramita says, just because you smell mold doesn't mean you've been exposed to deadly toxins.

"Unless you or someone in your family has an allergy, there is no reason to fear going back in your home," she says. "If you go into the house and your eyes are itching and you're sneezing, that's a pretty good sign to stay with a friend or in a hotel. You don't need to be afraid you'll catch a fatal disease."