Mold can begin growing on wet materials within 24 to 48 hours. That window is the difference between drying a house out and rebuilding part of it.
In the first 48 hours
- Stop the water source if it is still active.
- Get air moving. Open windows if the weather allows, and use fans to move air across wet surfaces and out.
- Remove standing water with a wet vacuum or pump.
- Run dehumidifiers if you have power or a generator. Drying is about humidity as much as water.
- Pull up wet carpet and padding. Carpet padding is essentially impossible to dry and should go. Photograph it first — see Document Damage Before You Clean Up.
- Remove wet drywall that has been soaked, typically to a foot or so above the water line. Porous materials that stayed wet do not dry out reliably.
- Separate and dry what can be saved — hard furniture, solid wood, metal, glass.
What to throw away
Porous items that were soaked and cannot be dried within a day or two: mattresses, pillows, upholstered furniture, carpet and padding, cardboard, paper, and most drywall. Attempting to keep them usually produces a worse problem.
Protect yourself while doing it
- N95 respirator or better, gloves, eye protection, long sleeves.
- Assume floodwater is contaminated with sewage. Wash thoroughly afterwards.
- Do not mix cleaning products. In particular, never mix bleach with ammonia — it produces a toxic gas.
When to call a professional
If the affected area is large, if it was contaminated water rather than a clean supply line, or if mold is already visible, a licensed mold remediator is the safer route. In Florida, mold assessment and remediation are licensed by DBPR (MRSR/MRSA). See our water mitigation and mold listings and confirm the licence at the DBPR lookup.
General information from CDC and FEMA guidance, not medical advice. If occupants have respiratory conditions or immune suppression, consult a clinician before doing the work yourselves.