Dark Spots After a Leak in Cartersville, GA

Four habits that keep a damp room damp

• Waiting to see whether it spreads. EPA's window for heading off mold is 24 to 48 hours of drying; days later is a different job.

• Mixing cleaners. CDC says to use no more than 1 cup of bleach per gallon of water, and never to mix bleach with ammonia.

• Closing the door on a damp room. If a flooded house stays shut up for several days, CDC says to assume mold is growing, and it wants air pushed out through a window or door.

• Ordering a test first. CDC's mold page does not recommend testing.

Around Cartersville

• CDC's mold page does not recommend testing, and it notes that people with asthma or allergies may react severely.

• EPA uses about 10 square feet, a patch 3 feet by 3 feet, as the size to compare against. It also says to check a contractor's mold experience and references.

• EPA's brief guide puts the humidity line at 60 percent, with 30 to 50 as the target. A hardware-store hygrometer shows where a room stands.

On the visit itself

1. Call (678) 288-4775, say where the water was and how long ago, and the contractor can arrange a visit.

2. A look at the dark spots, the wall behind them and the nearest water source.

3. A measure of the area, since EPA's dividing line between a small job and a larger one sits near 10 square feet, or 3 feet on each side.

4. A plan for pulling out whatever cannot be cleaned: soaked carpet, ceiling tile, drywall.

5. A plan to dry the space and trace the moisture to its source.

6. A talk about what stays, what goes and who does the rebuilding.

Sorting dark spots by size and source

1. Is the spotted area smaller than about 10 square feet?

   EPA uses that as the size to compare against. A larger patch, or sewage-wet material, is a call to a professional.

2. Did sewage or floodwater cause the damp?

   EPA says to call a professional experienced with it. See backed-up drains.

3. Does anyone in the house have asthma or allergies?

   CDC says they may react severely. Keep them out of the room.

4. Is the material soft, such as carpet or ceiling tile?

   EPA says porous materials may have to be thrown away.

5. Is the source still wet?

   Stop the source first. See split pipes and supply-line floods.

Which materials EPA says may not come back

• CarpetOn EPA's list of porous materials that can end up in the bin
• Ceiling tileSame list
• DrywallCDC lists drywall among the items to throw away after floodwater
• Hard, non-porous surfacesThe pages here give no steps; the contractor decides

Where a damp room usually starts

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  Stained, dripping or bulging ceilingsWhen the dark spots are overhead

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  Appliance and water heater leaksWhen a slow leak sits behind a machine

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  Wet basements and crawl spacesWhen the damp is below the first floor