Avoiding Mold in Schools

My classroom at school experienced a “flood” of sorts. Water leaked in from windows 15 feet up on the wall, ran down the wall and soaked the entire carpet quite thoroughly. My concern is how the school is addressing the clean up. The water ran down the wall, but they are not removing the black boards to clean and dry the wall. The carpet is on a slab, with no padding. The excess water was removed, but no fans or dehumidifiers used to hasten the process. Their plan is to simply clean the carpet.

Am I right to be concerned that the carpet was never pulled up to dry? What about mold build up underneath the carpet (even though it is a concrete floor). What about mold growth behind the blackboard.

Our Answer

You do have a good reason to be concerned. Bacteria can develop within 24 hours and mold develops within 48 hours once the material that got wet can support mold growth. Wall board and carpet are two items that mold grows on pretty easily.

The amount of mold development is dependent upon time the material remained wet or damp, the type of material that got wet and how well they dried the material once it did get wet.

If odors are present and even more so after the room has been closed up over a long weekend, then mold is there. The areas behind the blackboard can also be an issue if they did not dry this out well.

My suggestion is to demand that they test the air for mold. It is their duty to protect not only the workers in the room, but the kids who may have all sorts of health issues such as asthma and the like. Mold can aggravate ear infections sinus infections and cause skin rashes.

I would bring this up to the management of the school and demand that they take action. If the parents ever get wind of this issue and the school did not do their best to protect the kids, We all will see this on the evening news as the management gets hauled to court to explain why they did not do their job.

I am really surprised that they have carpet in a classroom. There are countless articles written on how unhealthy carpet can become when it gets dirty. And vacuuming or cleaning just does not get the stuff clean. They should rethink the use of this type of flooring in an environment where kids learn and put something down that can be properly cleaned and sanitized for every ones health.