Mold Remediation

[Master Taran]

As some here know Garnet and I are looking at buying a house to get the hell out of this "HOOD!":haunted:

We looked at one house last week that for all intense purposes would be perfect. The only really big problem is mold. :puke:

Has anyone dealt with mold remediation and what were the results? :dunno2:

[Ymir's blood]

We've had some problems with mold here. As I understand it, the two conditions necessary for mold to grow are moisture and a lack of air movement. If you can't prevent those (especially the first) then the mold will be hard to deal with.

Removal of mold isn't difficult to do but does require some scrubbing. I've used Soft Scrub With Bleach and an assortment of brushes to get rid of the mold in my bedroom. It came off pretty quickly and then a sponge was used to remove the residue and cleaner. I also rearranged the room a bit to get the bed away from the wall and allow air movement. The two pieces of furniture along that wall can be moved fairly easily should the mold come back.

Oh, we also have a humidity meter and a dehumidifier to take care of the moisture problem. It's not so much an issue except in the spring and fall when the windows are closed and the heater isn't running. Our problem seems to be moisture under the house and possibly residual problems from leaky fixtures in the bathroom.

[Master Taran]

Ours is in the basement and caused by moisture and a lack of air movement. The house has been empty since Nov. last year. The mold is in an area below the front porch slab and has on roof over it and has never been sealed properly.

[Ymir's blood]

So it's between the porch slab and a ceiling? My guess would be to open up the space and clean up the mold. Then get it all sealed properly and run a dehumidifier or at least a large fan blowing on it to dry the area out. If it's a large area, you might think about hiring a contractor.

[Master Taran]

The porch slab in this room is the ceiling. It's a room possibly 10X6 feet.

[Ymir's blood]

That should be easier then. Clean the mold up and get the room sealed and dried out.

[Master Taran]

I think it would be in this order. Remove mold, dry room out, then seal it up.

[livius drusus]

I had mold in the closet adjacent to the water heater. Cleaning didn't remove it and the guy ended up having to tear out the carpeting and cut out the drywall. I was surprised by how horrible it was breathing mold-tainted air. It was like a punch in the face, even with a mask.

I think you should get a professional in at least to be sure you know the full extent of the problem.

[Master Taran]

I'm considering that as an option also.

[Ymir's blood]

I had mold in the closet adjacent to the water heater. Cleaning didn't remove it and the guy ended up having to tear out the carpeting and cut out the drywall. I was surprised by how horrible it was breathing mold-tainted air. It was like a punch in the face, even with a mask.
I would imagine that moldy carpet isn't cleanable since it will probably get underneath fairly easily.

If mold is just on one side of a wall, cleaning it up is easy. It sounds like yours was inside the wall as well.

[livius drusus]

The problem is being sure that what you see is all there is.

[JoeP]

Remove mold, dry room out, then seal it up.

So you are going to seal up a room on the advice of Ymir's blood? Might as well name the place "House of Usher" or "Cask of Amontillado". :wink:

[Garnet]

Well, actually...

It is a little concrete room in the basement that we wouldn't need at all. It's certainly large enough for more than a few bodies, though. :muahaha:

[Ymir's blood]

The problem is being sure that what you see is all there is.
Shouldn't that be in the Philosophy section? :chin:

[Roadtoad]

Your first goal is to get some air moving in the area. Once you have that, your job will be a hell of a lot easier.

The next thing, (as has already been pointed out), is to clean the hell out of it. You may only use the room for storage, but you don't want that crap spreading, and that's a real possibility if you stow gear in there, then move it around the house later on. Not only should you use bleach, (and somewhere, I've got an article in an old issue of the Old House Journal that covers this), but also TsP, which will not only kill the mold, but remove any staining that remains. Trust me, that shit works! (Wear gloves, through. It's caustic as hell.)

The best bet, though, is to get an estimate from a REPUTABLE contractor. Check references, and if they make ANY claim that they can't give you references due to "privacy issues," RUN for the door. Do not EVER hire anyone who won't give you a reference under any circumstance. I know this; been there, done that, had to hire someone new.

[Garnet]

If we get this house, a contractor is pretty much out. We'd have to do this ourselves.


Strike that, MT would have to do it because I cannot be around the stuff at all and I'm I physically incapable at the moment of doing a hell of a whole lot.

My thought is to make mold remediation a contingency on any offer I would make.

[ChuckF]

Is the house a foreclosure or is it seller/realtor-listed? Is there any chance you could get the other party to share the costs of a thorough mold inspection by a certified professional? That way you could at least get an idea of how much work and/or dough remediation will cost.

[livius drusus]

:yeahthat: It should definitely be a condition in any offer you make. Seller at seller's expense ftw.

[ChuckF]

Jesus Christ, never google image mold +house. I keep expecting Candyman to jump out of half of those pictures.

[freemonkey]

Mold is one of those things that could be a potential disaster for you. A friend had a home with a mold problem they thought they had dealt with. Several years later they were doing a room remodel, put a hole in the wall to run some wiring and found that one entire side of their home had mold growing inside the walls.

I would most definitely have a mold inspection and make your offer contingent on what they say.



P.S. I have used a vinegar/water solution to kill mold and mildew.

[biochemgirl]

I agree with what Chuck and liv said. If it's not a foreclosure I would think the seller should be willing to help deal with the problem as part of the agreement to buy the house.

[Master Taran]

I have the feeling that the bank owns this one. So it will be an as is.

[Garnet]

It's owned by the bank. I think that means that it has already been foreclosed.

Still, if I make an offer, I think I'll make it with the contingecies that the mold has to be remediated and the house has to pass inspection.

[Garnet]

LOL! I think we just contradicted each other!

[biochemgirl]

Good idea, I would too.

[Ymir's blood]

Good idea, I would too.
Contradict each other?

[livius drusus]

Okay, if it's a foreclosure or short sale, they aren't going to make any repairs. Banks aren't in the bidness of sweetening the deal. You just have to add the cost of the abatement to the sale price, so whatever offer you were thinking of making, decrease it by whatever you think professional mold abatement will cost. Even if you were able to do it yourself, you can't plan on the best case scenario or odds are you'll find yourself out of pocket.

That's on top of the inspection condition, of course, so you can always bow out if it gets astronomical.

[Garnet]

Well, then, it would pretty much be up to MT to do. I simply do not have the money to pay someone else to do it. That's not a proposition I'm thrilled about. I know he can do it, but at what cost physically? We'll have to talk this one through some more.