Crews at Barre Auditorium to hand out mold cleanup kits until they run out

As flood cleanup efforts continue, there are few things more pressing than making sure homes and buildings don’t grow mold.

As flood cleanup efforts continue, there are few things more pressing than making sure homes and buildings don’t grow mold.

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As flood cleanup efforts continue, there are few things more pressing than making sure homes and buildings don’t grow mold.

There are lots of reminders of last month’s flooding in the city of Barre.

Fortunately, there are signs of recovery too. At the city’s auditorium, first responders, city officials and nonprofit organizations are assisting flood victims.

“I think that at this point in our recovery in Barre and the surrounding areas, that people know it’s important to pay attention to the mold aspect of their home recovery,” said Joseph Aldsworth, deputy fire chief, Barre City.

Mold was discovered in buildings around the city, regardless of how much care and attention was paid to prevent it. The Salvation Army is handing out cleaning supplies to fight that exact problem to anyone who needs them.

“We were able to receive some mold eradicator and we’ve been able to push that out to the community, said Capt. Michael Buzzard of the Salvation Army. "Really the second wave of relief has come now in the need of recovery. With any kind of water damage, you’ll find there will be a lot of mold growth. “

If anyone has questions about how to use the kits, officials on site are happy to answer them.

“If you need some education, we’ll give you a short class on how to apply it. It’s a two-step process,” Aldsworth said.

Along with the actual mold sanitizing kits, they have white buckets filled with everything you need to keep yourself clean during the process.

“Those cleaning kits make sure you are prepared for the initial cleanup process or the ongoing cleanup process,” Buzzard said. “Each kit is manned with brooms, mops, squeegees, gloves and trash bags. Everything that you would need to handle a rural large-scale cleanup.”

They’ve handed out more than 1,500 cleanup kits in the entire region. And they’ll continue to distribute kits at the auditorium until they run out. They’ll also continue giving out free food boxes, gift cards and water.