My hot water tank overheated and flooded about 2" of water throughout my basement. I have linolium flooring which are not sealed at the ends so water run up under them. My concern is MOLD....they stated it was too cold on the cement floor under the linolium to cause Mold, plus the fan's should do it....is this true and how would I know if mold was happening under the linolium anyway, They finally put a 50-gallon tank in on Sunday and the repair guy turned the thermostat up full and stated that was the only way to get enought hot water.
Answer:
As long as water is not frozen there will be mold forming so let's start there. Everything that was soaked by the flood has to be properly dried out. This means that because of wicking, if the water came up two inches, at least 26-inches of the wall should be dismantled and discarded. Furniture that was soaked should also be either dried out properly or removed. As far as the setting on the hot water tank goes, you might want to look at the tank's ownership manual to determine where the thermostat setting should be. If you have a power dishwasher you'll want it over 140F degrees but if you don't, 130F is plenty.
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