A large, powerful winter storm is moving its way across the region, shutting down airport runways from Chicago to Detroit. The system is expected to dump an inch or more of wet, heavy snow per hour on much of the Midwest as it moves eastward. This is the same storm that caused havoc in Colorado earlier this week, prompting avalanche warnings. The storm system is expected to ignite severe thunderstorms across parts of the Ohio and Tennessee valleys early Friday and it capable of producing damaging winds and possibly even a few tornadoes in that region.

Cities on the end of accumulating snowfall include Milwaukee, Chicago, South Bend and Detroit. Conditions in the Detroit area are expected to worsen through Friday morning which will cause the workday commute in the Motor City to be very hazardous. Drivers are being warned across Detroit to travel with extreme caution and to allow themselves more time to arrive at their destinations. Central Michigan is in the storm’s bulls-eye as the state capital of Lansing could see up to eleven inches when all is said and done. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for the southern and central portions of the state which will remain in effect through Friday evening at least. Michigan’s midsection could receive two inches of snowfall per hour which will negatively impact Friday commutes.

Many municipalities in southern Michigan have not gotten much use out of their snowplows and salt trucks this winter but this storm is changing that. Official’s in Detroit’s Wayne County are prepping trucks and loading them with salt so that they are ready to battle the storm. All 106 trucks in the fleet will be on the roads all day Friday to try to keep interstate highways and surface streets cleared of snow and ice.

The powerful snowstorm will be followed by strong gusting winds which could be in excess of 50 mph. Those types of winds can take out trees and power lines which could result in widespread power outages.

Unfortunately, scores of homeowners have found widespread mold and mildew growing inside their damp, deserted homes upon their return to finally be able to see what damage occurred. As if that is not enough to deal with, Iowans are now being warned to prepare for the possibility of more serious flooding as a large frontal system is heading their way and it contains an awful lot of moisture.

Heavy rains are in the forecast this week for the entire state of Iowa. The rain may turn to wet, sloppy snow Tuesday as temperatures are expected to dip before the wide weather pattern moves in an eastward direction across the country. The last time Iowa received over one inch of rain in a twenty-four hour period was in late September. However, that record will most likely be shattered as this storm system will be dumping a lot of rainfall very quickly.

Hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland was flooded earlier this year in Iowa which devastated many areas in this Midwestern state. There has been a lot of finger-pointing in Iowa recently as residents and politicians are demanding better forecasting and quicker emergency assistance as many people were left to fend for themselves during the worst of the summertime flooding. Just last week the US Army Corps of Engineers has stated that the history-making floods are now officially over, but those people who were affected by it argue that the impact will be felt for many years to come.

The large wet weather system is forecast to bring with it very heavy rainfall and the possibility of thunderstorms. Southern winds accompanying the storm will help the system pick up more moisture in the Gulf of Mexico. The rain is going to increase in intensity and coverage by this evening or later tonight making tomorrow and Wednesday a very wet day for the state of Iowa.

1. Open the basement door and windows for a few hours so that the overpowering smell can fizzle out.
2. Dead, decaying animals and plants can also lead to highly repulsive odor and filth. Mice and rats are pests that hide and eventually die in basements. Their rotting bodies can fill the air with disgusting odor that can last for days. So, as a part of the cleanup process, you have to wear rubber gloves, remove the bodies and dispose them in a garbage bag and dispose it away.
3. To remove mold from the basement, you can mix one half of bleach in one gallon of water. Oxygen bleach is safer than chlorine bleach and can kill mildew, mold and other forms of fungus. Fill the spray bottle with the mixture and soak the mold. This mixture can remain on the mold for fifteen minutes before you wipe the surface well with a wet cloth.
4. Sprinkle baking soda on basements. This product is a natural deodorizer and can remove mold odors that are trapped in the dirt without the need to use harsh chemicals. You can reapply the baking soda whenever you want.
5. Take a few bowls and fill them with charcoal briquettes. The charcoal has the property to absorb mold odor from the air.
6. You can also fill bowls with white vinegar and keep them inside the basement.
7. You can also use deodorizer granules; sprinkle them on the basement floors. These granules can be recycled, reused and are non-toxic in nature.
8. Use a few onions and cut them in half on plates. Set these plates inside the basement in different areas. Let the onions remain in the basement for 12 to 24 hours. These onions will remove the offensive, mold odors.
9. Molds and mildews tend to be in places that have poor ventilation. So get a good flow of breeze in by opening the windows and doors; so that the smell is carried away on the outside. You can also turn on a big fan or many fans to promote air circulation. The chemical cleansers that you use will work much more effectively in this manner. Another benefit of ventilation is sunlight which can be very good for removing mold and mildew smell. If you use keep the shades and blinds open for quite a few days, it can be very good not only for the room but also for your skin and overall health.
10. One of the best cleansings agents is a disinfectant like Lysol that can not only kill mold and mildew but also remove the smell. You just have to dilute the product and spray them in areas that are affected as well as potentially affected. You have to wear rubber gloves and protective mask while doing this, because mold spores can cause diseases and respiratory problems. You can sprinkle baking soda in the areas that are prone to mildew growth and let it remain there for a day. This will take care of too much smell. There are some products that will conceal the odor, making the air pleasant but may not kill the mold. Such air fresheners like Febreeze can be used at the end of the mold treatment.

Chicago also was hit hard as the winter storm and brutal winds led to over 2,000 flights being canceled. Several buildings in downtown Chicago suffered flooding and roof damage as well as they could not hold the weight of the snow. Bone chilling cold swept across the Great Plains and Midwest over the weekend and early this week, shutting down schools and wreaking havoc with travel plans as temperatures plunged to sub-freezing levels as far south as Florida.

In Atlanta, Georgia, the blast of arctic air hitting the metro area caused frozen pipes to burst all across the metropolitan region on Tuesday. Plumbers say that homeowners are neglecting to make sure that their heating systems are in good shape. Malfunctioning blowers are one of the main causes of fault in older furnaces which have to work extra hard to heat a house in cold temperatures. Residents are being urged to unhook garden hoses from their homes there to prevent the water backing up, which could cause pipes leading into homes to freeze and burst.

Florida homeowners, not used to below freezing temperatures have an increased chance of fires starting in their homes. In Orange County, two residents can attest to that as fire officials responded to several calls of home fires, two of which was caused by space heaters being placed too close to curtains. Floridians are being urged to leave at least three feet of empty space around space heaters being used. They are also being advised to turn off space heaters when leaving a room or when sleeping.

Another problem with space heaters is the fact that often people plug them into extension cords and then into power-strips which is a big no-no. Power strips should only be plugged directly into wall outlets. Florida fire officials say that they have recently inspected several residences wherein multiple items were connected to one, single power source. Television news reports have told people in Florida to avoid making these mistakes and to be sure that the power strips and extension cords they buy are “UL approved”.

A flash flood warning was issued Tuesday, Sept 21st for the region and some damages have been reported. Run-off from the rain may trigger flash floods in Ames as well as in several other towns and cities in the already rain-drenched region of the state. It has been a very wet week in a greater portion of Iowa as frequent, heavy thunderstorms have pounded the state.

Sully, Iowa was especially hard-hit on Tuesday. The National Weather Services said that a section of the town’s middle school roof was thrown fifty to one hundred feet from the building as a severe thunderstorm ripped through the area at around 1 p.m. as students were eating lunch. Witnesses reported that it was not raining at the time the damage occurred but that they saw debris falling from the roof. School officials rushed to get students out of the gymnasium. Some trees were also damaged as was the baseball field’s dugout.

ESPN’s Sports Nation was set to be hosted on the University of Iowa campus Tuesday as about one thousand students and supporters gathered at Hubbard Park to watch the show. Heavy rain began to fall and a threat of hail delayed the production and sent most of the crowd running for cover. Thankfully the rain calmed and the threat of hail subsided so the taping went on an hour later.

The Sioux Falls area typically only sees just over 2.5 inches of rainfall during the month of September but rainfalls are expected to be heavy today through Friday meaning that the city and much of the area could see as much rain with this storm as it typically receives all month. The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls predicts that many areas to the north and east of the city could very well receive up to four inches of rain. Locals are advised to travel with extreme caution during the next couple of days because low lying areas are expected to flood.

It is always best to call in an Iowa flood damage cleanup team to get the job done quickly. If you have flood insurance then the bill will be taken care of. If you are not insured, you can do some of the work yourself in order to save on costs.

The first thing that must be done is to get that water out of your house ASAP. The longer you allow dirty, standing water to remain inside, the more damage will be done, which will push your clean-up costs through the roof. You can rent a sump pump and start the process yourself. If you have hired a company to come and clean up for you, it still would be fine to start the pumping out process yourself because you are literally fighting the clock when it comes to cleaning up flood water. Mold can begin to grow in as little as one day and once mold takes a hold and begins to spread, you are guaranteed to have major problems down the road. Some molds are so dangerous in fact that you may end up having to move out of your home while the mold is being dealt with.

You can also begin to remove water damaged items from your home. While you probably cannot tear up wet carpeting yourself, you surely can remove wet clothing, electronics, furniture, curtains and personal paperwork. Take everything outside so that it can begin to dry and so that you an inspect your items to see if they are worth saving. Quite often clothing and curtains can indeed be saved if washed in hot water and detergent. Stuffed furniture, mattresses and pillows cannot normally be saved simply because you cannot get them dried very quickly. Mold and mildew can begin to grow inside these items, making the dangerous to keep.

Once the experts arrive, they will first go around your home and make an assessment regarding the level of damage. They will take special care to see if water has penetrated inside walls, under flooring and in hard-to-reach areas like the backs of closets and in small crawl spaces. They will then begin to clean the affected area using sophisticated machinery and industrial strength chemicals. Large blowers and dehumidifiers will also be moved in to get the moisture out of the air. If drywall and insulation has been soaked with dirty flood water, it will be removed and discarded.

In the Country Estates Village mobile home community, several residents were forced to leave when the water had reached their top porch step and many residents there had said that they have never lived through anything like this even after being in the area for up to forty years.

The greater Des Moines area has been drenched with around eight inches of rain since last weekend. This week, hot and humid weather during the day has been followed by nights that brought pounding rains all across the central part of the state. The relentless rain has caused the Four Mile Creek and Walnut Creek to produce record water levels on the west side of Des Moines, leading to officials asking nearby residents to evacuate. The sewer system in the city is also backing up into many basements in the city with the south and east sides seeing the worst of it.

Residents who have storm water backing up into their basements are being warned by the local health department that the water is most likely contaminated and to use extreme caution. Police patrol units are being deployed to those neighborhoods that have been evacuated to guard against burglaries and break-ins. Rescue workers were busy Wednesday seeing to it that everyone who needed to be taken to dry land got a lift on a boat.

In Ames, flooding caused a water main to burst, which forced the city to shut off water to its population of 55,000. The Iowa State University basketball arena was submerged in five feet of dirty flood water and it is unknown when the facility will be open again as cleanup efforts and a full evaluation must be done to assess the degree of damage sustained. The National Weather Service has put a flash flood watch into effect for parts of Iowa from Thursday through Friday night. New storms moving into the area could result in three more inches falling in the already heavily saturated regions of the state.

Over twelve inches of rain flooded the post office in Dewar which forced the mail service to moved to the nearby Gilbertville P.O. Governor Culver is requesting that eighteen counties get individual assistance and that thirty-two to receive public aide. The Waterloo area saw the worst of the damage as six inches of rain fell, flooding basements,local streets and roadways. In Cedar Terrace, many residents were sandbagging their homes with the hopes of keeping flood waters at bay.

The 2010 spring and summer rains have cost the state of Iowa a large amount of money. De Moines officials report that the cost of fighting this year’s floods is $1 million. Half of that was spent to shore up levees, build temporary levees and to fix sewer systems. The other half of the money went towards labor. Des Moines has been on alert for more than seven days as the rain swollen Des Moines River threatened a levee protecting a neighborhood near the downtown area in the beginning of July. Officials are beginning to breathe a bit easier however as the river levels are dropping, allowing them to put an end to around the clock levee inspections.

Numerous showers and thunderstorms developed over the central portion of the state earlier this week as they moved up toward the northeast. Due to the nearly six inches of rain that fell, flash flood warnings were put into effect in numerous cities and towns. Flash flood warnings remained in effect for several days for many Iowa counties located in the eastern part of the state.

A flood warning was issued by the National Weather Service for the Little Sioux River at Linn Grove. Residents were asked to take precautionary measures and preparedness action. Locals are being asked not to drive their vehicles through flooded areas as the water depth and road conditions may be hazardous. The flood warning is extended until 7 pm on Saturday July 10th so anyone living in the area should prepare their homes by moving valuables up to a higher level in the house and sandbagging foundations.

Why you shouldn’t Leave Mold or Mildew Untreated

The idea of crawling back up into your attic to deal with mold or mildew probably isn’t going to appeal very much to you. It will appeal even less if you have recently spent a lot of time up there trying to sort out the mess of a flood. Maybe you might be tempted to leave it for a bit and see what happens. This is always a bad mistake and leaving these fungi to their own devices can cause you big problems in the future. The spores from some molds have been shown to exacerbate conditions like asthma and there may even be a link between black mold and cot death. Mold has also been associated with other health problems. It is also important that if mold is left too long it will become too big a job for you to put right and you may have to pay professionals a lot of money to put things right. Never delay with this type of problem; it is just too risky.

Getting Rid of Mold or Mildew from your Basement

Assuming that you haven’t allowed things to progress to far you should find mold fairly easy to get rid of. Make sure that you are cautious while tackling the problem and cover your whole body in clothing; you also need to ensure that you don’t inhale any spores or allow them to get into your eyes. You can either spray on or soak the area of mold using a bleach or vinegar solution. If you want to be sure of getting rid of the problem for good though, you are probably best to use one of the liquids that have been especially designed for dealing with this type of fungi.

We have been in the business of dealing with wet basements for over three decades. We specialize in cleaning flooded basements resulting from storm damage such as residents in Nashville are experiencing as well as: broken pipes, sewage problems and flooding. Our emergency response team will arrive at your premises quickly to repair and restore your property in this time of disaster. We employ highly trained IICRC technicians who have the expertise necessary to help clean up and make the repairs in a short amount of time.

Our company has an extensive history of arriving on the scene at some of the worst natural disasters that have occurred in the United States including Hurricane Ike and Katrina. Our background in disaster relief in areas that have been declared state of emergency zones by FEMA is what is what is needed to swiftly assess your basement flooding in order to implement a quick plan of action and to ensure that the entire area is dried thoroughly so that things go back to normal in your home or business as quickly as possible. Whether your property disaster is in Boston, Rhode Island, Florida, Tennessee or Iowa we will arrive quickly to begin assisting with cleanup and recovery.

We bring trunk-mounted water extraction machines with us that are capable of removing 20,000 gallons of water per hour, TES drying machines and high powered fans to get the job done efficiently. We understand the importance of thoroughly drying behind walls, in crawl spaces and around plumbing fixtures are these are the places that damaging and potentially health threatening mold can quickly begin to develop and spread. We know the horrid damage that mold can do inside a structure. You will be given the peace of mind knowing that mold has no chance of developing as a result of your flooded basement. We bring along industrial grade desiccant dehumidifiers that are extremely effective in absorbing the moisture from the air which will eliminate the possibility of mold from ever having the chance to begin developing.

We are experts at cleaning and repairing the items in the affected area that have been subjected to water damage. We use the latest cutting edge technology and cleaning solutions that are proven to restore water damaged items of all types. We will clean what is salvageable and let you know which items you should throw away as some types of stuffed furniture and thick carpeting for instance cannot be dried quickly enough to avoid the possibility of mold and mildew developing.

Time is of the essence when your home or business has been subjected to basement flooding. Shortly after you contact us, our team of professionals will arrive on the scene and take control of the situation.