Central New Yorkers might be worried about flooding over the next few days…with rain in today’s forecast coupled with the recent snowmelt. One expert in flood repair has a very personal connection to a hidden threat of water damage.
Sheri Osborne might have lost her life to illness from mold a few years back.
“I lived in and out of bed, bedridden for seven years, five kids so they were constantly getting sick. (There were) Many surgeries for my children, for myself, didn’t have anybody to call, didn’t know anybody who could help me.”
She was constantly asking professionals,
“Is there something wrong with the house? Do we have a sick house? (and was told,) ‘No, it can’t be.’”
That ordeal showed her and her family that most companies that take care of flood and water problems in a home don't really know how to find or handle mold. So Osborne and her husband decided to become professionals, certified in finding and mitigating mold in households, though their business Redeeming Restoration.
She’s seeing a perfect storm of problems coming up given the forecast.
“When this rain starts to hit, the ground, it can’t soak anything else up. So where does the water go? It’s going to start flooding your basement. So the more rain that comes, the more disasters are going to happen. And this is what I’m seeing; people aren’t prepared for this.”
She recommends people get anything important or valuable off the floor of basements, stored in plastic bins.
ADVICE FROM REDEEMING RESTORATION FOR RESIDENTS EXPERIENCING FLOODING
- Remove as much water as possible by mopping, blotting, opening windows to speed drying.
Credit redeemingrestoration.comRedeeming Restoration's Sheri Osborne says even after water is cleaned up there can be the threat of mold. - Remove all valuables from flooded area.
- Punch holes in sagging ceilings with containers underneath to catch water.
- Put all valuables in plastic bins and get larger items off basement floors with something underneath.
- Don’t just treat the obvious water damage; make sure to eliminate mold or have it assessed professionally to avoid health problems.
- Assess and prevent invading moisture to reduce further problems.
Osborne further advises anyone who does experience flooding, to not wait for government help.
“You can’t always just depend on FEMA and the government, (some say) ‘oh they’ll pay us.’” Osborne adds, “well talk to any of the people who went through the flooding this last time, how long and tedious it took. Now some people did get money, some didn’t. But it’s a long process before you can get that and you can’t wait because the longer you wait, then you’re going to have the situation of mold.”
And if there is mold, Osborne learned all too first-hand to take it seriously.
Redeeming Restoration does mitigation and recovery work in Onondaga, Oneida and Herkimer counties.
