Q. We had a catastrophic mold homeowners claim last year
resulting in our home testing positive for toxic mold and 3/4 of our home
being gutted and re-built. With that said, the contractor did not obtain a
building permit and the mold remediation company hired an HVAC cleaning
company that did not insulate the ductwork properly resulting in a huge
condensation problem that has now ruined all of our ceilings again and
everywhere that the ductwork runs has tested positive for the toxic mold
again. During our last claim, our insurance company made us leave our home
in the middle of the night and not return until almost 4 months later when
the work was finished. This time they had us remain in our home the past 3
weeks until the test results returned and now say maybe we should have left
a few weeks ago, but definitely have to leave again so our home can be
remediated again. We have a 6 year old child that has been sick from
allergy symptoms and a fever for the past few weeks and he has to be tested
by an allergist next week to see if he is having a reaction to the mold. He
is fine during the day at school, but gets sick within hours of returning
home each day. My question is how can we determine if we have any adverse
health consequences from this second exposure? And do we have any legal
rights concerning the property damage that has occurred a second time due to
the negligence of the contractor for not obtaining a building permit that an
inspector would have caught the improper insulation and also against the
HVAC company for not insulating properly and causing this second exposure
for our home to mold? Also, our insurance adjuster forgot to include
replacing the insulation that was removed throughout our home and the
contractor is claiming that the adjuster is at fault also and that's why he
did not replace the insulation that contributed to the humidity and
condensation problem. We are absolutely at our wits end over this
situation, but are not sure if we should seek legal counsel. Thank you for
all your insight into the medical implications we could be facing. [Sept.
15, 2005]
A.
Your very sad letter has several lessons that all property owners should
realize: 1. Pay for or do your own independent mold investigation, testing,
and remediation both prior to and after mold remediation to learn the extent
of the mold infestation and to make sure the water and mold problems are
definitely taken care of in the remediation process. 2. Hire only a mold
remediator specialist contractor that has the experience and training to do
the mold remediation property. 3. Do not represent yourself in making a mold
insurance claim----utilize either an independent insurance adjuster who
works on a commission basis of what is collected from your insurance company
and makes sure the payment and scope of work are sufficient to get the job
done, or an attorney who specializes in collecting on insurance claims. 4.
Living in mold infestation, even for a few weeks, can cause severe health
problems, including the possibility of permanent health problems.. Your
family members should have every possible mold medical diagnostic step done
for each of them. Learn all about mold health and available medical mold
diagnostic and treatment procedures in the in depth ebook
Mold Health Guide As
to your possible claims against the mold remediator and the insurance
company, you should learn what rights you may have by consulting with an
environmental or insurance-oriented attorney. Learn about mold legal claims
in the in depth ebook
Mold Legal Guide.
Q. My parents are renovating an area
of the house, and today when they took down the interior ceiling (they
have a leaking roof), they discovered the framing work was black with
mildew, but the mold around that was white. They are wearing masks as a
precaution, but we've never heard of that type of mold before, let alone
not knowing if it's as hazardous or worse than black mold. Any
suggestions on how to handle this? [April 22, 2005]
A. Any mold in elevated levels indoors can cause severe health
problems for occupants. Molds come in many colors beyond black. White mold
is actually very common, and very unhealthy like all other molds in
elevated levels indoors. Your parents were smart to wear protective masks
while working on their mold removal project. The best protective masks are
3M brand full face breathing respirators with organic vapor filters,
available form large hardware or home improvement stores, or from a safety
supply store. To guide your parents in their mold remediation efforts,
suggest that they read the 25 steps for safe and effective
mold remediation. It is likely that the mold growth is actually bigger
than your parents may think it is because it is likely that the mold may
have grown internally into adjoining walls, ceilings, and floors. In
addition, airborne mold spores from the mold [especially after the ceiling
was opened up if there were no proper
mold containment procedures] may have traveled in air currents to mold
cross contaminate the entire house and its heating/cooling system. For
this reason, your parents should mold test their entire home by
using do it yourself mold
test kits from a large hardware, home improvement, or safety store---or with a
Certified Mold Inspector.
Q. If mold can be seen on sheetrock in
a bathroom - does the sheet rock need to be replaced or can it be cleaned?
[March 9, 2005]
A.
Your first step should be to repeatedly clean and scrub the moldy wall
with Borax laundry detergent, a natural mold cleaner, in warm water to
remove as much of the visible mold growth as possible. You can use low-cost
Mold Home Remedy Recipes
available at Mold
Mart. Then watch the wall for one to two months. If the mold
problem does not return, the mold problem was only on the surface and your
mold remediation is complete. If the mold does return, replace the sheet
rock, and do the 25 steps recommended for safe and effective
mold remediation. You need to find the water source that enables the
mold to grow, such as high humidity or a plumbing leak inside the wall.
Another potential problem is that is likely that airborne mold spores from
the bathroom mold will have traveled in air currents to mold cross
contaminate your entire house and its heating/cooling system. You ought to
mold inspect and mold test all around your home.
Use do it yourself mold test
kits from a large hardware, home improvement, or safety store, or hire a
Certified Mold Inspector.
Q. We are looking at a house that has
been closed up for six months, and the house has mold everywhere. We are
looking into ice blasting have you ever worked with this? Is there a
better way to remove the mold? How can you test for mold inside the walls?
[Feb.26, 2005]
A.
Ice blasting is an effective way to remove mold growth from wood, but be
sure that all mold is removed completely, leaving clean, mold-free
timbers.
You can use a low-cost Mold Home Remedy Recipes and other Mold
Killing and protective products available at
Mold Mart. If there is mold growth inside walls and ceilings, you will
need to remove and discard the drywall to gain access to the wall and
ceiling cavities to do ice blasting or any other form of mold remediation.
To learn where there might be internal wall and ceiling mold growth, use
fiber optics inspection by either a
Certified Mold Inspector or buy your own fiber optics inspection
device [about $300 on the internet]. Learn the 25 steps for safe and
effective
mold remediation.
Q. I am a Canadian living
and working in Moscow, Russia. Recently I bought an apartment here and now
we are starting to do renovations but we have not moved in yet.
We
discovered some mold on the walls under the wallpaper on the exterior
walls, mainly around the windows. The apartment is on the 21st floor and
the previous owners kept it quite humid. Our contractor claims the source
of the mold is probably the exterior of the building, and the mold
penetrated through the concrete. Buildings here are notoriously poorly
built, so the exterior concrete is likely truly porous and/or has cracks.
The main question for us now is what to do to prepare the apartment to be
lived in. The contractor says the best thing to do is to clean off the
mold, then put drywall over the moldy walls leaving a 5mm space between
the exterior wall and the drywall to isolate the mold. I worry that if we
do that, the mold will simply grow between the wall and drywall the later
work its way though the drywall and eventually reappear. He says this
would not happen. Nevertheless, I would prefer to find a way to clean the
mold and keep it from re-appearing. He says this is not possible because
the whole outside of the building is likely moldy and there would be no
way to keep the mold from coming back. What do you think about this? What
would you recommend to do? (Keep in mind that the range of products you
find in the US are not available here.) [Feb. 20, 2005]
A. The
contractor is likely to be correct in his analysis, but not in his
proposed cure. Learn the 25 steps for safe and effective
mold remediation so that you can kill and remove all
indoor mold as
the first step in solving the mold problem. You can make Russian mold
killers by following the recipes in our special report
Mold Home
Remedy Recipes, available from
Mold Mart. One item you will need to find in Russia or import is a
good quality waterproofing compound to be mixed into concrete. Why?
Because you will want the contractor to apply about a one inch thick [or
thicker] cement coating [containing plenty of waterproofing compound] to
the inside of your masonry exterior walls to stop future water intrusion.
Your doing this interior cement liner wall can compensate for the porous
and cracking nature of the exterior wall surface. If the ceiling above
your apartment is the concrete floor of the apartment above, you should
also apply a similar cement coating to your side of the concrete floor
above. You would be wise to mold test your entire apartment and its
heating/cooling system air flow but before and after mold remediation to
make sure your apartment is mold-safe for occupancy.
Use do it yourself mold test
kits from a large hardware, home improvement, or safety store
Read the how to book
Do-It-Best-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing, and Remediation.
You would also be wise to operate a programmable dehumidifier to keep
indoor humidity to a mold-discouraging 30 to 40%.
If you have any mold follow up questions, please email at your
convenience.
Q. I hired a contractor to
build a master bedroom addition over our existing garage. The structure
was completed in November and the insulation was completed in early
January. All the work was per code and approved by the local building
inspector prior to continuing. Last Friday during a cleanup session the
contractor noticed that there were some water stains on the cathedral
ceiling area of the bedroom. He contacted the roofer to check the roof
for any leaks or damaged shingles. According to the roofer there was no
apparent damage to the shingles (nor is any visible from the ground.) The
shower portion has not been finished yet so we decided to pull off all
the insulation and see if we can tell where the damage was coming from.
When we did that, we noticed that there was mold on the roof plywood. Not
all the area was visible so we took off the recessed ceiling light cans in
the bedroom to see if we could ascertain any more information. It was
determined that the rear side of the bedroom (including the bathroom) has
mold damage, apparently from water entering the ceiling area although we
are not sure how the moisture entered that space yet. The front side of
the bedroom appears to be free and clear of all damage. My questions
are---have you ever heard of anything like this happening before? How
would you recommend that damage such as this be remedied (the contractor
is suggesting removing the shingles, plywood and insulation from above and
re-installing with new material, the work would be done from the outside
to avoid disruption on the inside)? Can the damage be fixed without
demolishing the roof? [Feb. 10, 2005]
A. The
contractor’s recommendation of fixing the problem from the outside is your
only workable solution, but the entire exposed roof work area needs to be
completely protected with waterproof tarps against possible rain until the
new roof is installed. If the plywood was, in fact, accessible from inside
[not your situation], you might still have to remove the moldy plywood
roof sheathing [and therefore the roof] if the moldy roof sheathing could
not be cleaned of mold by labor-intensive use of a power planer, grinder
with wire brush attachment, and power sander. Read the 25 steps for safe
and effective
mold remediation.
Q.
I am writing from Massachusetts, USA. We had flooding in our home and now
have a mold problem. I have no idea where to begin to have testing done
to determine what kind of mold is growing, and if there is a possibility
for toxic mold to be growing in our home. Also, the mold growth is
extensive, and my husband thinks he can remediate on his own, without any
help. I think we need a professional to do the remediation, but have no
idea how to find such a company. Please help! We have a 9 month old baby
living in this house and I am worried about her health. Should I move out
of the house with the baby while the mold cleanup is being done? [January
3, 2005]
A.
To protect the baby and your entire family, it would be wise to move to
a temporary mold-safe place until the home has been completely mold
remediated, and your home passes "clearance testing" afterwards to
document that there is no remaining mold health threat. Learn how to do
safe and effective
mold remediation. So-called professional mold remediation is often bad
in results because of poor worker training and because of numerous
shortcuts taken by many mold contractors. You would also be wise to
mold test the visible
molds [for mold lab analysis], the air of each room, the air of the
basement/crawl space/attic/garage, and the outward air flow from each
heating/cooling duct register to determine the possible presence of
elevated levels of airborne mold spores, in comparison to an outdoor mold
control test.
Use do it yourself mold test
kits from a large hardware, home improvement, or safety store. Become
your own effective mold expert to improve your personal home or apartment
environmental safety and/or the environmental health of your investment
properties by reading all three of our mold advice, email delivered books
[Mold Health Guide, $15; Mold Legal Guide, $15; and
Do-It-Best-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, & Remediation, $15]
for $49.
Q.
I live with my partner & 4 year old daughter. Last month we discovered
lines/circles of green, blue/green & black mould in our bedroom, either
side of the bay window (the 'lines' seem to come from the side not from
above or below). I am so worried about the effects our mould problem is
having on our health & my sanity! Every room seems to have strange grease
marks or lines, lumps & bumps appearing on walls & ceilings and our
furniture has mould growth -including our beds & bedroom furniture. Our
daughter is having to sleep on a bed (bought new in July 2003) which has
green growth on the metal brackets holding the head & foot boards to the
base, any metal is tarnished and the grain in the wood seems more apparent
to me. Strange marks have appeared on the top & bottom wooden posts on our
bed and the metal frame is 'bent' now so that part of the bed doesn't
actually sit on the floor, every single piece of our furniture in every
room seems to have a chalky coating & chalky marks/grease marks are
visible on every wall in every room. There are new lumps & bumps coming up
on the walls, skirting boards & ceilings, the stairs have split in places,
the grain is raised and horrible dark or wet looking marks are coming up
on every step; even the laminate flooring upstairs seems to have a chalky
or grey/green cast, the grain looks 'spidery', a definite change in the
pattern & it has moved or dropped a lot. Many things don't work as they
used to and the smell is ever present and actually makes me retch! I have
a constant cold trickle at the back of my throat which gives me an
extremely bitter taste all day, every day. I have medical problems and my
partner and I are ready to kill one another; god knows what’s happening to
our daughter without our knowing - I asked our insurance/ building
surveyor if mould was toxic or damaging in anyway as I was and still am
unhappy about staying here (Oh, I forgot to mention the water drip lines
running on the wall in the gas meter, electric meter, fuse box, and
cupboard under the stairs) without testing anything he told me it was
SAFE to be here and that the problem - he told us that the cause was
condensation - every room & cupboard and their contents is damaged,
permanently?? Hence no insurance payment as 'condensation' is not covered
in our top of the range policy - surely it has to be a deeper rooted
problem than that - water suppliers main sewer overflowed during flash
floods in August this year and our house & garage sat in a moat of 9
inches of water & god knows what else. I am convinced this is the
trigger, but maybe I'm wrong. I just know I feel 'vague, tired,
irritable, sickly & at the end of my tether. We put everything we had into
the house, over 20k to get the house the way we wanted it, we worked liked
trojans to restore, sand, prepare, paint & clean (1935 semi-detached
house, it needed updating a little - to say the least, the house was empty
for nearly 12 months before we bought it in November 2003, moving in 'at
last' in July of this year) the house - we spent a lot of time & money
restoring the original Parquet flooring downstairs - black marks are all
over the floors downstairs, the kitchen floor tiles are uneven and the
grout has either come out or turned
white/chalky or brown/green We have had so many things go wrong here, a
lot of which were problems caused by bad workmanship via the 'builder' we
employed to do the renovating. [December 10, 2004]
A. Your family's adverse
health situation and the huge mold infestation problem mean that your
family needs to move out immediately to a mold-safe place to live. Don't
harm your health further by staying another day in mold hell! Do not move
your clothing and personal possessions anywhere without first washing them
outside of [or away from] the mold hell with Borax laundry detergent [a
natural mold cleaner] mixed into warm water. It is very likely that you
are going to have to open up all walls, ceilings, floors, heating/cooling
system, etc., to do full
mold remediation of the house to save your home
investment. Learn the steps required for safe and effective
mold remediation. You would be wise to
read our two books Mold,
Fungus, and Health Guide and
Do-It-Yourself-Mold-Book, both available at at our
online mold products catalog You
need to have your entire family's health checked out immediately by a
neurologist [for brain damage], ear/nose/throat specialist [ENT], and a
pulmonary physician [lung doctor]. As for the insurance coverage, most
policies exclude any form of mold insurance coverage. If there is mold
coverage, you usually have to prove a sudden and accidental insured peril
cause for the mold growth, not something like poor building maintenance
[the number one cause of mold problems]. You might want to have your
insurance policy and factual situation reviewed by an independent
insurance adjuster who represents only you against the insurance company
on a commission basis.
Q.
My husband and I went down to my parents’ home in Florida several weeks
after hurricane Jeanne. The home had some water damage inside and smelled
very moldy and due to a lack of anywhere else to stay, we spent four
nights in the mobile home. FEMA suggested that we put the air conditioner
on 75 degrees to kill the mold. After a few days, the smell was less,
however, I am wondering if we put ourselves in danger by staying in the
house so long. What health risks are involved? We both feel fine right
now but I wonder if mold can be growing in our lungs, etc. I would
appreciate any information you can give us. [November 15, 2004]
A.
Running the air conditioning did NOT kill the mold, but only served to
widely distribute airborne mold spores to mold cross-contaminate the
entire house. Learn the 25 steps for safe and effective
mold remediation. Learn about handling
hurricane mold problems. It is
very likely that you breathed in elevated levels of airborne mold spores
during your 4 day visit to the moldy mobile home. Of course, your parents
are at even greater risk because of the cumulative effective of living in
mold contamination. You need to watch your health for any
mold health
symptoms. You should also read our
Mold
Health Guide, available at the
online mold products catalog.
Q.
I am looking at buying a home that HAD mold remediation
done to it. Should I have any concerns of the mold
returning? [9/15/04]
A.
Yes, you need to be very concerned. Most mold remediation jobs are done by
companies and employees who are poorly trained in safe and effective mold
remediation. In addition, most mold contractors take many job shortcuts
that result in mold still remaining, and often, leaving more mold problems
AFTER mold remediation than beforehand due to mold cross-contamination by
poorly-done mold remediation in violation of required cross-contamination
and safety precautions. Property owners seeking to hire
experienced and knowledgeable
mold remediators need to
locate a
Certified Mold Remediator. What you need to do is your own "clearance
testing" by paying a
Certified Mold Inspector to carefully physically inspect the home or
building for mold infestation and to mold test the air of each room,
basement, crawl space, and the air outflow from each heating/cooling duct
register for the possible presence of elevated levels of airborne mold
spores, in comparison to an outdoor mold control test. You can use a
Certified Mold Inspector or our do-it-yourself mold test kits for the air
testing described above. Learn the 25 steps required for safe and
effective
mold remediation.
One very helpful mold inspection step that a
Certified Mold Inspector can
do for you is to use fiber optics inspection techniques and mold testing
INSIDE walls, ceilings, and wood floors.
Q. I
have suffered major water damage in my home. A service
company
came in and pulled what the insurance adjuster would let
them and dried the house. He does NOT want to pull the
sheet rock from the outside wall even though it was wet
2 feet up for over 10 days. I am sure the insulation was
wet for that long as well. He is telling me that as long
as they get dry readings there is no need to concern
myself with future mold problems. My son is asthmatic
and when I walk in to the house....the smell of
mildew/mold is extremely evident. I am afraid of what
will happen if I am unable to convince my adjuster to
remove the sheetrock and insulation! HELP!!! Do you have
any information on the statistics of how long something
must be wet before mold appears? [Sept. 1, 2004]
A.
The drywall,
paper backing on insulation or cellulose insulation and
the wall and floor timbers can start having serious mold
growth after just 24 hours of wetness. You will need to
remove and discard at least the bottom 4 ft. of all
affected drywall so that you can do thorough and
complete mold inspection and testing, plus mold repairs.
Learn what is required for safe and effective
mold
remediation.
If you represent yourself against the insurance company,
you will fare poorly in getting money. Hire an
independent insurance adjuster who works on a reasonable
commission basis solely on your behalf to collect the
claim Check your Yellow Pages locally and neighboring
large cities to find one. You also need very much to
read our in depth
Mold Legal Guide, available at
Mold Store
You also need to know the true extent of the
mold
contamination through out your house. Your first and most affordable mold investigative step to
learn the severity and the extent of the possible mold
infestation
by
using do it yourself mold
test kits from a large hardware, home improvement, or safety store [with self
observation of results over a 5 to 7 day time period, or
send the collected mold samples in the mold test kits for
mold lab analysis]
to mold test the air of each room, attic, basement,
crawl space, and the outward air flow from each
heating/cooling duct register for the possible presence
of elevated levels of airborne mold spores, in
comparison to an outdoor mold control test which you
should also do. If you see any visible mold growth, from
each moldy area, scrape some of the mold particles into
a separate mold test kit per testing location for
observation over a 5 to 7 day time period, and/or for
mold lab analysis. When scraping mold into a mold test
kit,
you would be wise to use a breathing air respirator
[Home Depot or Lowe’s or a safety store] so that you
don’t breathe in extra mold spores that you put into the
air by scraping some mold-like substances into each mold
test kit. Mold test kits come with detailed use
instructions to
make your tests informative and helpful in mold problem
diagnosis. Learn how to do your own, self-observation
analysis of mold test kits results at
Mold Test Kit
Interpretation.
You can also read online the copyrighted form “Self-Analysis
& Interpretation of Visible Mold Growth in
Do-It-Yourself Mold Test kits.”
Learn how to do Scotch tape
lift tape sampling as
an inexpensive way to collect
mold samples for mold
lab analysis.
Q.
We just recently noticed mold and mildew
growing on the drywall in our coat closet. We think we have figured
out when and where the moisture came from but are unsure of what to do
about the mold in on the drywall. I say we should have the
drywall taken out and disposed of. My husband thinks we should clean
it and put a paint sealer on it. Neither one of us is really
sure what we should do. Any help would be appreciated.
[Feb. 22, 2004]
A. Use proper safety procedures to protect your health, you
need to remove the drywall and discard it, and fix any interior wall
problems, and use low-cost Mold Home Remedy Recipes available at
Mold Mart. Learn detailed
mold remediation instructions.
Q.
I HAVE NOTICED MOLD GROWING ON THE
CEILING IN MY UPSTAIRS BATHROOM , IN ONE GENERAL AREA. THIS AREA
IS NOT BIG, BUT I DON'T WANT THE PROBLEM TO GROW. IT SEEMS TO BE BLACK
IN COLOR AND SORT OF "SPOTTY", JUST SOME BLACK SPOTS ON THE CEILING.
WHAT IS THE BEST HOME REMEDY FOR GETTING RID OF THIS? PEOPLE HAVE SAID
JUST PLAIN BLEACH....WILL THIS SOLVE MY PROBLEM? [Oct. 6, 2003]
A.
You need to stop the water
problem that enables the mold to grow. Your humidity in the
bathroom may be too high during showers, etc. Make sure you have
an exhaust fan running that vents directly outside to control
humidity building up during showers and baths. Buy a digital
hygrometer for about $30 from the thermometer section of a large
hardware store or home store. Your humidity through out your
house needs to be 30 to 40% year round to inhibit mold growth.
If the humidity level is 50 to 60% or higher, you are going to
be able to grow great crops of mold, both visible as well as
hidden inside walls, ceilings, floors, and heating/cooling ducts
and equipment. Use an effective mold fungicide on the present bathroom
mold after you have cleaned off as much as you can with Borax
laundry detergent mixed into distilled water. Visit:
Mold Store
You need to know
how seriously and where your home, business, or place of
employment might be mold contaminated. Samples of any visible
mold should be collected using the Scotch tape lift sampling
method explained on
Mold Mart.
Your next step to solve the problem is to mold test the air of
each room, basement, crawl space, attic, and the outward air
flow from each heating/cooling duct register for the possible
presence of elevated levels of airborne mold spores, in
comparison to an outdoor mold control test. Elevated mold levels
signify a possible serious mold infestation problem and health
threat.
Use do it yourself
mold test kits from a large hardware, home improvement, or
safety store. Or hire a
Certified Mold Inspector. To know how to do mold
remediation safely and effectively, please visit:
Mold Removal. You
should also read our 3 ebooks: (1)
Do-It-Best-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing, &
Remediation; (2)
Mold Health Guide; and (3)
Mold
Legal Guide. Bleach is not an effective mold killer. Learn about
bleach
and mold.
Q.
My wife and I
offered a bid on a cozy 1300 safe house and the seller accepted.
Since this would be our first home a FHA inspection was
required. The seller (a bank) had the lights turned on and
the water so the inspector could come. I decided to go
check on the house since it had been turned on and discovered
they had cut the water line to the house itself on as well and
flooded the house where a dishwasher line was left on with no
dishwasher attached. I immediately reported the problem and
demanded it be cleanup. Water sat in the floor for the
next 9 days before they cleaned it up. Now there is black
and grey spots throughout the carpet and you can smell the mold
in the air. Can the carpet and padding be cleaned free of mold
or must it be replaced? Since the air vents are in the floor,
must the duct work be cleaned also? Since we haven't closed on
the house, and the damages occurred while under contract is the
seller legally obligated to clean these items?
[Sept. 18, 2003]
A. With
water sitting in the house for 9 days, there is going to be
possible mold infestation through out the house, including
INSIDE affected walls, floors, ceilings, and heating/cooling
ducts and registers. Mold grows by both physical growth of mold
colonies and by air current movement of very light airborne mold
spores generated by mold colonies during their spore
reproduction. The carpeting and the padding are throwaways, but
that is the least of the house mold problems. The costs of
mold
remediation will probably range from thousands of dollars to
more than the value of the house. Learn the steps required for
effective and safe
mold remediation. If
you buy this home, in addition to a huge remediation problem,
you face likely family health problems and great difficulty in
ever-reselling a house with a mold history. If you are still
interested in purchasing this water damage and mold hell, you
should hire the services of a
Certified Mold Inspector for a thorough mold inspection and mold testing including INSIDE
walls, ceilings, floors, and heating/cooling equipment and
ducts. A comprehensive inspection will cost from $1000 to $2000
including mold lab analysis of collected mold samples and
air samples. As to your legal rights against the seller, you
need to consult with a local attorney. You can also learn about
legal issues in the buying and selling of moldy houses and other
real estate in the in depth book
Mold Legal Guide.
Q.
Would you consider doing a
mold inspection and possibly removal
services for a split foyer home in Chattanooga. Our home
has a garage under half the house and a finished basement room
under the other half. The finished basement has old shag
carpet on the floor, paneling on the three outside walls, sheet
rock on the other wall, and old fuzzy Armstrong ceiling panels.
The house is 30 years old and so is the stuff just mentioned in
the basement. We had a water problem about 12 years ago and did
extensive outside work including digging to the bottom of the
foundation along two sides of the room, tarring and putting up
plastic panels on the outside walls, filling in with lots of
gravel and a French drain that goes all the way to the street.
We did not do any work inside. Over time we have had more
and more damp smell occur in the basement and the air
conditioning system brings some of the smell up throughout the
house in the summer. When the heat is used it is not
noticeable. We just had a heating & air conditioning
company do a complete duct cleaning where they found lots of
mold around the AC unit. We plan to remove all the carpet, walls
and ceiling panels and to have the walls and floor disinfected
and cleaned. But, before having someone just rip all this
out, we'd like to know what we have in the home and would like
to take appropriate measures to clean it up. We need
someone who knows how to do mold remediation effectively. [June
5, 2003]
A. To know all of the steps required for effective
mold remediation, please read our easy to follow tips at:
Mold Remediation.
Besides mold testing through out your home [including
heating/air conditioning ducts] with either a
Certified Mold Inspector
or
using do it yourself mold test
kits from a large hardware, home improvement, or safety store.
You should remove and throw away
all basement carpeting, paneling and drywall. Test before and
after such removal. With all of these materials removed, you or
a
Certified Mold Inspector can do a better job of inspecting and
testing for mold [e.g., mold growing on the floor joists and in
the floor above the basement]. If you find visible mold growth,
it will have to be removed completely prior to
use a low-cost
Mold Home Remedy Recipes available at
Mold Mart.
Q.
My husband's shop was tested for airborne mold. It came
back saying it contained cladosporium sp. and penicillium sp.
How would we go about cleaning his tools, storage cabinets
(metal & wood), etc? [May 30, 2003]
A. Your first step is to find the water problem that has enabled
the mold infestation to grow. Maybe the shop has sometime during
the year high humidity of 60% upward that facilitates mold
growth. Maybe there is a roof leak, siding leak, or plumbing
leak that needs to be found and repaired. If there is any
visible mold growth, it needs to be removed in accordance with
the directions provided at
Mold Remediation. The tools,
storage cabinets, and other equipment can be wiped off with
either denatured alcohol-wet cleaning cloths or with a mixture
of 2 cups of Borax laundry soap per one gallon of distilled
water. Borax is a natural mold cleaner and mold killer.
You can use low-cost
Mold Home Remedy Recipes. If there is a
heating/air conditioning duct going into the shop its air flow
should be tested for elevated levels of airborne mold spores by
using do it yourself
mold test kits from a large hardware, home improvement, or
safety store.
Q.
After some recent window water damage to some of my windows
I had an Environmental Firm come out and do a review of some areas of my
home. They ended up saying that my sub floor and joists had a good deal of
mold. This house is only four years old, we are the original owner, and
there has been no water damage to the floors of the house. The consultant
thinks the mold has been there since the house was built. I am sure this
will be expensive to clean up and my insurance company now has an
exclusion for this. [May 19, 2003]
A.
Your first job is to stop the water problem that caused the mold growth.
If these joists and sub floor are over a crawl space or a basement, you
may have a humidity problem sometime therein sometime during the year that
allows the mold to eat your home. If the humidity is above 60% in that
area for more than 1 day, mold can begin growth. The higher the humidity
above 60% the worse the problem. You also need to investigate the
possibility of water intrusion from the ground [no effective moisture
barrier over bare dirt] or water leaking or seeping inside that area.
You can use a low-cost
Mold Home Remedy Recipes available at
Mold Mart to remove all mold growth.
Q.
I am about to buy a house that has a lot of damage.. The house
is only 700 sq ft. The roof was leaking in for quite some time
and the house was abandoned. My uncle and I are going to rip
down all of the drywall (both walls and ceiling) and replace the
drywall and insulation along with completely redoing the roof
but still using same trust boards. We are only going to replace
the plywood and shingles. I would like to know what should I do
to make sure that the house can become a healthy one. Where does
one go to get professional help and what is a fair wage for
these services so that I may not be taken advantage of. [May 13,
2003]
A. It is very likely that the structural timbers will have
deeply grown mold infestation and/or dry rot [caused by mold].
You can use low-cost
Mold Home Remedy Recipes available at
Mold Mart.
to replace these timbers with new mold-free lumber. For more info on mold remediation chemicals,
please visit: Mold
Remediation and Mold Mart . The only alternative to
replacing the timbers is if the mold growth is on the timbers' surface
only, in which case you could use a power planer and power grinder with a
wire brush attachment to remove such surface mold. With the building
being in such very bad condition, you might be better off burning down
the building and starting all over again. In other words, let's hope you
are buying this property for its land value only [less debris hauling].
Q. We
recently ran a home mold test and found out that we have cladosporium
species (large quantities) and penicillium species. The infestation is in
our attic. We live in Massachusetts. How do you recommend we remove this
mold? Do we need an outside contractor or is this something we can do
ourselves? Do you suggest having a professional come and test the house
beyond the attic where we tested? We had additional insulation installed
in the attic and believe that it trapped moisture up there, leading to the
mold. [April
22, 2003]
A. Because mold can
easily spread from the attic into ceilings and walls below and into hvac
ducts, you should have the entire home carefully inspected and mold tested
by a Certified Mold
Inspector. If you want to do the inspection and testing yourself, buy
a copy of our book
Mold Health Book, follow the advice on the how to
advice pages of Mold
and Mold Inspector, and use our professional
do-it-yourself mold inspection and
mold remediation products found at
Mold Mart . In
removing mold from the attic, you
can do it yourself if you carry out all of the helpful and easy-to-follow
suggestions provided at:
Mold
Remediation. Doing your own
mold removal is most practical if the amount of
mold infestation is
relatively small in area [e.g., under 10 to 20 square feet of
infestation]. The most important factor in do it yourself mold remediation
is that you do it both safely and effectively. Hiring most mold
remediation contractors is not an assurance that they will do an effective
and safe mold repair job. At the conclusion of mold remediation jobs, if
the property owner hired an independent
Certified
Mold Inspector to do what are called "clearance mold tests", most mold
remediation jobs would be rated as failures because of remaining,
unremediated high levels of both airborne mold spores and physical mold
growth.
Q.
One of the corners inside our home has had a
water leak. Because there were large peaces of furniture blocking the
corner we've only recently noticed it. Today due to further inspection my
husband noticed the flooring under our (wall to wall) carpeting is also
wet. The roof is being fixed now and we are expecting a new baby any day.
How can we get rid of the mold and stop it from returning? (As quickly as
possible) Is there a product we can use that is effective and nontoxic? [April
20, 2003]
A.
You should first read all of the steps required for effective
and safe
mold removal and
mold remediation. You can buy our do it yourself mold
test kits from a large hardware or home improvement store. After sealing off
the moldy area to be fixed from the rest of the house
by erecting plastic sheeting containment walls, and while using
personal protective gear and at least a fan exhausting the air
from the mold remediation area to the outside via a window or
flexible duct pipe [or better yet, rent an industrial hepa
filter], the suspect mold areas need to be opened up. All moldy
materials will need to be put into double plastic bags for
disposal. Use a low-cost
Mold Home Remedy Recipes available at
Mold Mart.
Q. I am considering buying a
house that has multiple roof leaks. The inside of the house
is very damp and there is mold and mildew growing on all the
interior walls up to 6 feet above the floor. What do I need
to do to remove the mold and mildew after I repair the roof.
[April 2, 2003]
A . Don't buy the house. The mold remediation of
this house will probably cost more than the house is worth.
To know more about how complex effective and safe mold remediation
is, please visit:
Mold
Remediation.
Q.
We had a flood in our office during the last rain in 3 of our
offices. there was a definite mildew smell. we have pulled up the
carpet and will have new carpet put in over the weekend. the offices
have been wet before during previous rains and the landlords would
have the water extracted from the carpets. This time it was
beyond doing the water extracting and the carpet was pulled. do we
need mold testing? [April 1, 2003]
A. Yes, you need
mold
inspection and mold testing of the insides of the walls touched by the
floods, and of the air in the office, and of the hvac ducts to
discover whether or not elevated levels of dangerous molds are
present. Floods are very dangerous mold-wise because of the heavy
wetting of the insides of floors, and any other affected areas reached
by the flooding water. Hire a
Certified Mold Inspector
. Learn all about mold inspection, testing, and remediation by
visiting Mold and
Mold
Inspector
. You also need to make sure that the source of the flooding is
permanently corrected by the landlord.
Q.
A recent roof leak
resulted in mold 3 days later in a closed linen closet. There
was a line several inches long in the ceiling crease. We had the mold
tested and it showed high levels of aspergillus/penicillum and
basidiospores. The air outside the closet showed minimal levels of
alternaria and unidentified condida. We have tried unsuccessfully many
times to get a bid for remediation from the people who did the
testing. What do you suggest? Can we wallboard over the plaster wall
with wallboard after using a fungicide? or does the plaster have to be
torn out. Could this be done by a handyman or does the situation call
for searching for another remediation co. We would appreciate your
advice. [March
31, 2003]
A.
You need to inspect and test for possible
mold infestation IN the ceiling, ABOVE the ceiling, IN the walls, and
IN the attic. Leaking water can cause mold growth where ever the water
travels. Mold grows where water flows. You also need to test the air
of the attic, other rooms, and hvac ducts for elevated levels of mold
spores. Hire a
Certified
Mold Inspector, or by
using do it yourself mold
test kits from a large hardware, home improvement, or safety store. Once you know WHERE the mold growth and
elevated levels of mold spores are present, you can do the
mold
removal work yourself by using the suggestions
provided at
Mold Remediation or use a
Certified
Mold Remediator.
Q. We have a mould [note: non-USA spelling of mold] problem in
our attic, due to lack of ventilation. It has been tested and discovered
to be "Asperigillus Penicillum". I have reports off the internet that
states that this mould can cause cancer, asthma, pulmonary mycosis etc.
My wife and kids vacated the house because I didn't want to take chances
with their health. I would like to correct this mold problem myself, can
you tell me how serious this is? Am I OK to stay in my house as long as
the attic is blocked off with visqueen plastic sheeting? Most of the mould
is (1) on the bottom side of the roof deck; (2) on the end of the
insulation directly above the outside walls; and (3) some staining appears
on the (attic side)-of the ceiling-drywall and but the mould has not bleed
thru to be visible from the inside. The protocol, I am guessing, would be
to wear protective gear and remove all shingles roof ply, attic
insulation. Now, is it necessary to remove all drywall or can this be
treated with bleach over the stains and only remove any severe stains???
[Feb. 15, 2003]
A. Aspergillus and Penicillium are two of the top 3 dangerous
molds. Your idea is excellent to seal off the attic area from the rest of
the home with plastic sheeting while you do the mould remediation--- that
safety procedure to contain the mould spores into the remediation area is
called mould containment. To know whether it is safe for you to live
downstairs during your mould removal efforts would require you to test the
air in the rooms downstairs and in the hvac ducts and equipment to determine
whether those areas contain elevated levels of mold spores, a condition that
would be unhealthy for you.
Use do it yourself mold test
kits from a large hardware, home improvement, or safety store.
Do not use bleach to kill mould because it doesn't---find out why bleach is
a loser for mold killing by visiting
Bleach and Mold. You goal is
to replace ALL mold damaged or mold infested building materials. If the mold
is growing into the attic top side of the drywall but does not appear
visually from looking upwards at the ceiling in the rooms below, you still
need to remove such mold laden drywall. Besides,
you can use a low-cost
Mold Home Remedy Recipes available at
Mold Mart in removing all mold
contaminated construction materials.
For more info on proper protective gear, industrial hepa filters, and other
important matters, please read the mold remediation and removal pages of
both Mould
and Mold Removal.
Q.
I have had a lot of moisture under the house,
on and off for years and some flooding. It apparently never totally dried
out. We had to have some floor joists replaced due to floor movement. I
live at the shore. They are placing foundation fans under the house to dry
it out. There is a lot of mold. How can we treat it, when the contractor is
still working? [Feb. 11, 2003]
A. You should
inspect and mold test both the rooms inside your home and the area beneath
your home to detect whether those areas harbor elevated levels of mold
spores, and what types of mold species. If mold spores from beneath your
home have contaminated the rest of your home, your health risks and mold
remediation efforts and costs are going to be greater than if your mold
problems exist only in the area beneath your home. To stop the mold
problems, you will need to use a crawl space vent fan that turns on to
exhaust outward high humidity air when the humidity level under your house
exceeds 40%. You will need to stop your home flooding problem, whatever that
entails your having to do. You need to remove and throw away all mold
damaged materials and replace them with new, mold-free materials.
you can use low-cost
Mold Home Remedy Recipes. After you do the above steps, you should re-test both
the rooms inside your home and the area beneath your home to detect whether
those areas harbor elevated levels of mold spores. Please visit the mold
testing and removal pages of Mold and
Mold Inspector.
Q. We live
outside of Baltimore, Maryland in a 7 year old house.
Late last week we had a copper pipe break in our hot water
baseboard heating system. About
6 gallons of H20 flooded our first floor from the bathroom above. We
were able to catch most of the H20 in buckets, and wiped up the minimal
amount left on the hardwood floors. There
is an area about 16 feet by 20 feet that appears to be affected in the
drywall ceiling above. Some
of the insulation in the ceiling is wet. The insurance company was not
able to send out a cleaning crew for 5 days.
The hardwood floor is completely dry, and there is no more dripping
from the ceiling. The broken pipe is repaired. The cleaning company now
wants to come out, set up a dehumidifier, and put some anti fungal agent
on the floor. I'm concerned
that the agent will damage our hardwood floors and cause significant odors throughout the house. [Feb.
1, 2003]
A.
You should test the discolor or destructive effect of the fungicide you
wish to use on hardwood flooring, carpeting, etc. in an out of the way
corner or spot under furniture before you use it. Any smell from a
fungicidal use will not stay in your home if the home is thoroughly aired
out after the fungicide dries. Any building materials inside the
ceiling or walls that were wet for more than 24 hours have a great chance
of causing serious mold growth. You need to take the mold threat to your
home seriously if you don't want to destroy both your health and the value
and the future sales prospects of your home. You need to hire a
Certified
Mold Inspector to do a careful inspection and testing of
the entire house for elevated levels of
mold spores and to use a fiber
optics inspection device and mold testing inside ceiling and wall cavities
that got wet in the flood. Spraying a fungicide is only good for killing
mold that it hits. You need to remove all water and mold damaged building
materials. Please read the
mold removal and
mold
remediation pages on Mold
and Mold Inspector.
Q.
We are having our house mold remediated and I inquired of our
homeowner's insurance claims adjuster concerning our household contents.
He said that I would not be allowed any contents mold removal monies
because none of the porous items such as furniture, bedding, clothing,
drapes, towels, sheets and items of such nature were directly
damaged by the water leak that caused my mold problem. Is he right or
just minimizing the amount that is due to our family that we
deserve? [Jan. 27, 2003]
A. By having
mold contamination in one place in your
home, your home will almost certainly have
airborne mold spores
carried by air currents enter into all areas of your home and onto all
of your personal property. It is porous building materials and
personal possessions which are the most difficult to remove mold
infestation from because mold spores and mold colony growth into and
inside the porous materials. Mold cannot enter and hide in non-porous
materials such as Formica kitchen counters, non-upholstered wood
furniture, and metal appliances such as your refrigerator, dryer,
clothes washer, and dishwasher. Collecting for mold damage from insurance
companies is very difficult. Your first step is to document the presence
of mold spores and/or mold growth in elevated levels in your porous
materials such as upholstered furniture, clothing, and
carpeting/padding. If there is a serious mold problem in your porous
possessions, you can prove it with the expert inspection, and testing
services of a
Certified Mold Inspector.
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