It never rains, but it pours [Telecom]

Hopefully you don't have a finished basement otherwise you'll be cutting down wallboard and studs so as not to let mold get a hold on your basement. It's happened to two people I know and it isn't pretty.

I don't, but thanks for the advice: let's suppose I had a flood that affected my PBX room at work, and I'll ask the readers to answer these questions:

1. Isn't there a way to prevent mold and/or kill it after the equipment dries out?

1. Does controlling humidity always prevent mold?

2. Would insecticide gas work as well? (Can't remember where I heard this)

1. What's the environment least attractive to mold? Temperature, Humidity, whatever.

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Pretty much clean everything down with a 5% solution of bleach to water. That'll kill most spores then dry everything thoroughly. There are firms that will do this for you.

It does wonders, since mold needs a certain amount of water to replicate. I know we had a little water leak in a server room once and the air conditioning system pretty much evaporated the water in a matter of a half hour.

I dont' know about that. But with flooding you might actually get some critters so it probably makes sense to dry it, bomb it, then

Keep it around 72F, and less than 5% RH. You don't want it too dry since you want to be able to disappate static charge.

The secret is the "three V's" -- ventilation, ventilation, and more ventilation. `

_As_asked_ the answer is "no."

A constant 98% +/- 0.05% *IS* "controlled humidity".

See for 'more than you really care to know' about 'practical' dealing with small-scale mold issues.

For dealing with large mold problems, see:

Appropriate fungicides _do_ work.

{from healthandenergy.com, mentioned above }

_Dry_ (humidity under about 45%), temperatures below about 45F, or above 130F,. circulating air, lots of UV light.

T wrote in :

First step: talk to the insurance company and the PBX service company. The service contract on the PBX may become void when the humidity has been outside normal levels.

I've heard of flooded server rooms where no direct damage was done but all equipment was scrapped because service contracts became invalid due to the extremely high humidity in a running environment.

(but that is all at the 'PBX room at work' level. Hope you have no long-term damage at home)

Koos van den Hout

Been there done that. I know what a mess that is and how hard to clean up afterwards. Unfortunately, preventing mold buildup is difficult because water gets into hard-to-reach places. Good luck.

Re Qq. 1 and 4: If the surfaces you'd apply it to can stand it, Clorox wiped on those surfaces can often be a good mold-killer. Needn't be full strength, but ask around for recommended dilutions. I've used 1 part Clorox to 4 parts water successfully on old-fashioned hair-plaster walls.

Good luck recovering. Cheers, -- tlvp