Homeowner's Insurance, Cleanup company, and bad results

[fgs]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? AL
A few weeks ago we had a pipe burst in our kitchen. The kitchen area was flooded as was the basement area underneath the kitchen. Water also flowed into the air ducts from the floor vent in the kitchen.

The homeowner's insurance was contacted and they sent a company to do cleanup, dry the wood flooring and other permanent strucutures, clean out the affected duct (the one I told them had water pouring from it into the basement), and in general dehumidify the area. They brought two big machines to dehumidify and dry the area and left them for about 3 days. When they came back to check, they said everything was fine.

A few weeks later I noticed fuzz growing on things in the basement. I contacted the insurance company and the company they hired but nothing's been done yet. When I first mentioned mold to the insurance adjuster he said mold doesn't grow that fast (about 6 days at that point) so the leak and subsequent flood didn't cause it. It is obvious that the mold is now airborne because it shows up now on things on the opposite side of the basement from the flood. I don't run the central air conditioning that sits in the basement anymore because I'm afraid it will just send mold spores throughout the upstairs.

I'd like some advice on the steps to take. Should I call the city or health department to get them to test for mold growing all over my basement? Should I get something at the local Home Depot to clean it up myself? Recontact the company insurance company hired? Only go through the insurance company? Or something else?

Thanks very much for any input.

[uswcdh44]

get some bleach and mix it 50/50 with water. put it in a spray bottle. get a rag and go to town. mold usually takes longer than 6 days to grow, but it can grow that fast. Did you notice that the items that have mold on them were wet, or do you think that the water caused mold to grow somewhere, then the spores got on other things and grew? either way, without looing at the stuff, it's hard to tell.