Huge water leak in new barn

[sawtooth]

Well haven't been able to enjoy the new barn much before first major issue. Last month a fitting burst and dumped 358,000 gallons of water into the building. This is because I was traveling away for close to 30 days before noticing the issue. Will have to repair a few things but thankfully the poured wall foundation is better protected than other alternatives. Problem I have though is the entire lower portion of barn (heated interior space) has a slight appearance of black mold starting. Very faint but one can see a tint of black on most of the plywood interior. So my question is that since it's now drying out do I need to be worried or will drying it out resolve the issue?

 

[davesl708]

Wow. Sorry to hear about your new barn. A mild solution of chorine sprayed on the concrete should take care of the mold.
Maybe one tablespoon of Clorox per gallon of water.

 

[Hiltz]

Black mold is a serious health issue. If you have insurance on your building, or the budget, let a professional come in and clean your building. If you don't have either and have to do it yourself do some research and make sure you kill it with chemicals. Servpro company even paints all surfaces with some type of mold killing paint after spraying a mold killer. Mold is a really bad issue.

 

[EddieWalker]

Probably not black mold this quickly. More then likely it is just staining on the wood from the water. Either way, bleach works the best at either killing mold, or reducing the coloring of the stain. There are thee basic grades, or strengths of bleach that you can buy at the store. The weakest is laundry bleach. Next is outdoor cleaning bleach sold at Lowes or Home Depot. The strongest, and what I use on jobs that I get with mold or black coloring is swimming pool shock in the liquid form. Home Depot has it in the swimming pool section, but I would guess that you can get it from any swimming pool store. It is so strong it will make your eyes water. Be sure to have plenty of ventilation when using it. Open all the doors and windows!!!!! I pour it into a spray bottle and just soak everything. Sometimes it takes two or three applications to get rid of all the black coloring. If that doesn't work, nothing will.

 

[boggen]

spray things down with bleach or other chemicals, then wipe it / mop it per say.

just spraying and not wiping the stuff off, kinda like pouring bleach on plates, bowls, knives, spoons, forks, etc.... and then re-using the stuff with crusted on food on everything *yuck!*. wiping / moping everything should help remove the residue. and at same time making sure you work the bleach down into things a bit better.

check with insurance and see if anything is covered. water damaged homes can be a big issue. and it is just not simply spraying / wiping down the surfaces, but gutting it, and ripping out all the stuff that is bad, and putting in new. other words metals / concrete = good, wood on other hand = bad.

sooner you clean things up better off you will be. letting the stuff set there for a couple weeks = more problems you may have to deal with.

 

[s219]

Be very careful using bleach around any metal building materials. It will lead to corrosion on wiring, plumbing, HVAC, fasteners, etc. Can be catastrophic in fact. I have hosed down stuff with a bleach mixture many times, and now realize it was a mistake. There are safer alternatives. HD sells a product called Concrobium (sp?) that will neutralize mold without potentially destroying other materials. It can be used in a mister to fog an entire room to neutralize the mold.

Did the water get into any closed areas, like inside walls? Those are the tough ones to deal with. Sometimes you will have to tear a surface off to deal with the mold inside.

 

[Cord]

I'd spray it down with a bleach solution using a garden sprayer and then set up some barn fans to get the air moving through it.

 

[Sprinklerman]

Add some dish soap to the mix , its a surflactant , helps it stick to the surface .

 

[sawtooth]

Wednesday I purchased a 70 pint dehumidifyer and it's working great. Due to poured wall foundation there is very little damage. Water bill is $2800 though which really pisses me off being that it's not my fault and insurance won't cover it. Seems like the guy with least money always foots the bill while the big company always walks away free and clear. How is that? Lol

 

[Gator6x4]

When I am going to be away for any length of time I turn the water and hot water heater off. Nothing like being gone for a week or two and when you drive in the garage see water running across the floor. Gets ones attention fast.