Two Steps To Take When Having A Water-Damaged House Deep-Cleaned

If your home was recently damaged by a leaking roof or a burst pipe and you'd like to have it professionally deep-cleaned, you'll need to take the following steps.

Use a residential mold testing service

Mold usually develops in damp conditions. As such, if many parts of your home got wet when the roof leaked or the pipe burst and these wet areas are still damp, then there could be mold spores in them. In this situation, you should use a residential mold testing service before having your place deep-cleaned. The reason for this is that if you get a cleaning crew to scrub, sweep or otherwise agitate areas in which there are mold spores, both you and these individuals could suffer the health issues that mold exposure can cause.  

Conversely, if you have your house tested for mold beforehand and this testing process confirms that there are spores in the building, you can use mold remediation services before having anyone clean the house. This will ensure that you don't put the cleaners or yourself in harm's way, and it will mean that the cleaners can be as vigorous as is necessary when deep-cleaning the house, without worrying that they will fling mold spores into the air by scrubbing certain surfaces too hard.

Ask the cleaning service to avoid using water to clean your house

When giving instructions to the cleaning crew, you should tell them to avoid using water when cleaning your home if or when this is feasible. For example, you should tell them to use dry cloths to dust, to use rubbing alcohol instead of bleach diluted with water to sanitize and to use vinegar instead of a water-based glass cleaner when cleaning your mirrors, shower screens and windows. If there are instances in which using water is unavoidable (such as when mopping the floors, for example), then you should tell them to only dampen the mop or other cleaning utensils very slightly.

The reason for this is that if there are still quite a few damp surfaces in your house that you're trying to dry out as quickly as possible in order to prevent further mold problems, then it would be best not to let any water touch these surfaces until you are certain that they are completely dry. This will ensure that you do not have to use the mold remediation service more than once.