Have never lived in one and wouldn't stay beyond one flood if I were dumb enough to have bought a house that was flooded because of the mess. All I know is there are thousands of wood homes on the banks of the Ohio River from P'burgh on down (and that's not even counting the ones on the creeks that feed the Ohio because the water is for the most part much cleaner than the river used to be.) I took piano lessons once per week for 14 long years in one of the monstrous wooden Victorian behemoths on Wheeling Island except for the times it was under water and the clean-up, and when they moved it to make way for a bridge, and I don't recall any strange sights or smells except for the new furniture, carpeting, etc. after every flood that taxpayers bought!