Heat Can Help After a Flood

September 5, 2019

Hurricane Dorian is camped off the coast of the Carolinas with the looks of being a major threat to parts of the southern East Coast. Hurricanes leave catastrophic and costly damage behind them. In the aftermath of a devastating storm, or even something as relatively common as a backed up sewer pipe, flooded basement, or overflowing toilet, Total Shield Bed Bug Treatments offers a solution that can save the structural integrity of a home by drying it out and killing wood-destroying organisms and— often most importantly!— other dangerous microbes.

In 2017, there were 16 separate billion-dollar or greater climate events, including hurricanes Maria, Harvey, and Irma, with water damage from rains and flooding being a major cause of the destruction. Even if a home is left intact post hurricane, structural damage from the effects of water will eventually destroy a property if left untreated.

According to the EPA, along side the damage to your home, flood waters can also affect your health. If your property remains wet for more than two days, mold can flourish causing adverse health effects, including allergic reactions. Flood water typically also contain other potentially harmful microorganisms, such as bacteria or chemicals. These flood waters are microbially very similar to a sewer backup or an overflowing toilet’s effluence— it’s all bad news!

Total Shield Bed Bug Treatments offers a solution that could save the health and property of those residing in a structure after a flood event. The heaters we use to kill bed bugs and other insects can help.

Disinfection is an added benefit of drying a structure after dirty water damage. Whereas submerged contents of a structure may be a total loss, treating the frame and subflooring of a building with heat will kill bacteria, mold, and other dangerous organic contaminants. Structural drying with Total Shield Bed Bug Treatments equipment may kill most organisms living in the interior spaces we inhabit. In the laboratory, Stachybotrys chartarum, also known as toxic mold, is killed in 30 minutes of 140°F (Domsch, 1993, pg. 745). E. coli rarely survive beyond 10 minutes of 150°F (Padhye and Doyle, 1992). Hantavirus is rendered inactive with exposures of 30 minutes of 140°F (Manual of Hemorrhagic Fever and Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome. WHO. p. 196).

The likelihood of the Baltimore and Harrisburg area getting hit by a hurricane might as well be zero when compared to the occurrences in Florida and other locations on the coast, but water damage is still a common occurrence. If you are in an area prone to repeated flooding, or own mutli-unit structures in a flood zone, having a relationship with Total Shield Bed Bug Treatments might be the right move. Call us at 717-478-HEAT to find out more how we can help you in the aftermath of a dirty water event: be it a hurricane or a just burst pipe. In the event you never experience water damage, we know all your bed bugs and other insects will be dead.

Don’t take our word for it

One month later and haven’t spotted a single bug! Couldn’t be any happier with service and everyone was so helpful and answered every question I had.

Melissa
5 Stars: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
May 18, 2018