It takes two to three days for mold to begin growing in a flooded building. It can take years to get rid of it. For most houses and buildings damaged by Hurricane Katrina, it already is too late to stop the mold invasion, say sources. And the longer there is no power in New Orleans to dry out buildings, the worse the situation will get. That means many buildings will have to be stripped to the bone to rid them of mold.
"It is too late already," says consulting engineer Joseph Lstiburek, a principal with Building Science Corp., Westford, Mass. "If drying does not start...within days, you can expect a complete gut job."