Hi, guys! I hope this is the best board for this question.

I am moving into a house that has been vacant for months. Sometime during the past month, the water line to the refrigerator ice maker sprung a leak at both ends. I discovered the problem today and immediately shut off the valve. My question does not involve replacing the line -- which should be a fairly simple job -- but the possibility of mold forming.

There was water seepage in a room backing up to the fridge. (Appropriately, the wet area is about as big as a refrigerator base.) I pulled up the carpet and pad, which is to be replaced before moving in anyway. I directed a fan on the floorboards and am in the process of drying them. I will scrub the area with bleach tomorrow.

I'm also worried about the area underneath. The water line ran into the floor and the crawl space below. A few boards are soaked. The rest of the water was absorded into the gravel and dirt base. I'm concerned about mold forming on the wood in the crawl space, where it's tight, there's already some duct work and piping, and it will be difficult to dry and disinfect all the wood.

Suggestions? Advice? Am I overreacting?

Please help!

I would take a gallon of bleach and pour it all over the affected area. Bleach kills mold and fungus. Good luck, Tom

Thanks, Tom.

I scrubbed the affected floorboards today with diluted bleach -- twice. Those are in good shape. I'm still worried, a little, about whether mold could form inside the wall behind the fridge.

A harder task will be disinfecting the crawl space, where the affected wood is in the ceiling, so I can't pour it on, per se. Also, I will have to work around ducts and cables. (A follow-up thought: Filling up a spray bottle with bleach should do the trick, shouldn't it?)

I took some photos today using my cellphone. If I can figure out how to do it, and I think it might help explain things better, I'll considering posting them later tonight.