[spetznaz]

You will never get the stink, mold and mildew out of the wood, no matter how hard you work. Once the wood sits in water for three days or more, burn it.

I was wondering about that. How viable (time and cost wise) it would be to take care of the mold and other stuff once the water was out. I just pray for the people involved.

[Yellow Rose of Texas]

Last time my house flooded, 3 water leaks, I was out of town, I had to gut the whole house. We lost everything. Mold was growing on the walls, furniture, ceilings, everywhere.

The insurance company refused to replace the beams, so I did. I knocked out tile, wallboard, cabinets, everything because of the mold. Then I waited 6 months to let the contractor rebuild.

[Tarpon]

I bought a 30 year old house and reworked most of the interior myself. Took a year. Mold and mildew get into the wood fibers, you can't get it out. You have to rip it out and replace it.

In New Orleans, the house structure is wood, and that is what is sitting in the water. Not only does it stink, the wood looses it's strength when sitting in water for days, so the house walls become structurally unsound.

I have never understood why in Florida we built houses with concrete in Al, MS, and LA they build them out of wood. Wood makes no sense.