There’s a time in late March and early April, just before the break of spring, when it rains almost every day here in Northwest Washington.

Since I’ve lived here most of my 39 (almost 40 now) years, I’ve become used to it.

I like to think of it as “curl up with a book or movie” rain. It’s the type of rain that stops you from going out, and makes you want to hang out on the couch.

Sort of like the late-fall rain, the spring rain is miserable, but at lest you know sunny weather is just around the corner (yes, we do get some sun in Washington once in awhile).

But for some, the rain means big mold problems.

The other day I got a call from my friend Jim, and as it turned out, the April Showers had left him with a basement full of water.

He’d already gone to the store and picked up a sump pump in order to deal with it, but now he was concerned about the 3 bigger problems.

Where in the heck was all the water coming from?

How do I stop it?

And…

Am I gonna have a black mold problem on my hands?

After talking with the employee at Home Depot, he had images of backhoes digging up the yard, paneling being ripped off the wall, and black mold.

I commended him on taking fast action and offered to go take a look at the situation.

After nosing around for a bit, we found that one of the downspouts was detached from the tubing that carried water away from the house.

I reattached it for him.

“Presto”, Jim said, “problem fixed”.

“Not quite”, I responded, “Now we’ve got to get that basement dried out, and we’ve got to do it fast. Otherwise you WILL end up with a serious mold problem on your hands”.

Luckily for Jim, he took fast action and we were able to get the problem fixed in less than 2 days, and as a result, we prevented a serious would-be mold problem.

So, the moral of the story is…

When April showers make their way inside your home, take fast action. But more importantly, don’t just stop the source of the water intrusion. Make sure you treat all affected areas to prevent mold growth and then thoroughly dry damp materials.

By doing so, you’ll get the job done right the first time around, protect your home and save thousands of dollars in the process.

If April showers have invaded your home, you’ll get all the help you need when you head on over to the Wipe Out Mold Now Resource Center

You may also want to join us for the next No-Charge Consumer Awareness Tele-Seminar