We got lots of mold in the house. Due to the minor flooding we had. The wife found something that says of the mold is caused by flood waters that they wont cover the mold, if you dont have flood insurance, and since we were told that area doesnt flood..... She was also told that regardless insurance has to cover for mold becasue it could be a health problem. Anyone have any ideas? I wanted to start redoing the house, but if the insurance has to cover part of it, I'll wait and try to combie finances. All the mold is no more than maybe 18-24" from the floor. I have no idea what the framing looks like behind the walls.

 

I'm not an expert, but you must open the walls to see and then replace any insulation as needed. There are some 60 different molds and only a few are health issues. Sooner is a lot better than later. Tell the insurance people that!!
Up here in Illinois, a builder had a mold issue on a new house. Brick layers placed brick too close to wall and water transfered, the mold got started. As soon as he was notified, he investigated and wanted to remove the brick, homeowner didn't allow it. He then tried to buy house and lot, offered money to move. They refused. After some court issues, he walked away clean. That was the way I saw it too. Story says house will now need to come down.
Mrs home owner is a handful, and lost this one big time.

 

i can only make a comment on a friends experience. he had to take his family out of his house for nearly two whole months while he had an independent contractor "safely" kill and remove the mold.

i talked to my friend in regards to their methods(the techs). they came into the house with like white jumpsuits and respirators the whole 9 yards. they basically walked into the house room by room and just sprayed a liquid onto the contaminated surfaces and then scraped it off after a period of time. not sure if some surfaces were just totally removed and others just treated. the kind of mold in his house was supposedly serious. COULD cause respiratory ailments. he didn't take any chances, his wife was pregnant etc.

don't know if this was a simple scare tactic on the contractor or what. he did live in the house for years. of those years he didn't know or was aware of any mold situation till recently. so...you have to wonder.

don't mean to confuse you...just so you know

 

If it's minor flooding just remove everything thats wet. Remove the sheetrock about 6" above the water mark. Also remove any insulation in that area. Spray the areas that has water damage with a mixture of bleach and water. Let it dry out for a week or two. Then start the repairs.

MikeyB

 

Not to be a killjoy, but, I was at a house where the owner died. It seems there was some mold in the basement due to a water leak. The owner was somewhat elderly and was not in the basement much. When the mold was found the leak was repaired. The owner got his bleach sprayer and went to work. Two weeks later he was diagnosed with emphysema. Three weeks later he was hospitalized with pnumonia. Six days later he died. After some testing the mold turned out to be the second most deadliest in this area. I am not trying to scare you, but, mold is not something to screw around with. Get it tested to see what it really is.
Tom

 

I can tell you the way we would fix it in the commercial construction industry. First of all, if the drywall has mold on it then the easiest way to get rid of it is to replace it. Cut the bottom 24" of the drywall out and replace it.

While you've got the drywall out, pull out any wet or moldy insulation and replace it as well.

Also, your framing will most likely be wet and moldy. Leave the framing exposed for a few days with some fans going to let the wood dry out. AFTER it dries out, get a squirt bottle filled with bleach and spray all of the moldy areas with the bleach. The bleach will kill the mold. After you've done that and it is dry again, go to Home Depot and get a can of Kilz and paint that over same areas. Get the Kilz that is designed for mold. If for some reason the bleach doesn't kill it then the Kilz will seal it in and not allow it to spread.

Give it a few more days with the fans running to dry out real well.

Put your new insulation in, put the new drywall in and refinish the wall where you replaced it.

You'll probably need to look at replacing your carpet as well as it will likely grow mold (if it hasn't already).

Now, paying for that is a whole other story that you just need to work out with your insurance company (or not...in Texas if you get mold then you'll have a hard time selling the house).

 

The worst molds are the black "slime" molds.

You MUST get rid of that mold, it can be dangerous. Some are safe, some are dangerous. ALL are worth getting rid of.

Most sharks won't attack you, but is it a good idea to swim with them and wait until one does?

Get rid of that mold ASAP.

Bleach works best. You don't have to make a very strong solution of it-- a TBSP in a gallon is strong enough to kill just about anything, "they" say. I'd go a hair stronger. You can use an insecticide sprayer or similar to spray it.

Preventive bleach spraying is a good idea each year.


Mold attacks concrete and wood and breaks down the strength-- get rid of it and save the house.

H

 

Kilz is a great product at a pretty cheap price. I'd take Hoss's advice and do both bleach and Kilz.

Now about the carpet....me being a supervisor for a carpet cleaning company....get it dry ASAP. Mold will form on and under wet carpet in a matter of day. If the carpet is in decent shape, then more than likely you will be able to save it. You have to pull the carpet up and remove/cut the wet pad out. The pad is what retains 90% of all odors (pet stains, and so on) and it is what keeps carpet from drying out on its own. You have to remove the pad and use some carpet drying fans to dry the carpet. These fans look like the ones that are used for big blow-up figures at car dealerships. I would also look into getting a de-humidifier. They help pull moisture out of the walls and will help in drying out the place. I've seen them at Home Depo and are not that expensive.

Overall, dry the whole place out as soon as possible.

 

around here if you have black mold, as far as i know, your house is a hazmat situation and you get to move out and tear it down. They don't mess around with black mold, it can mean your home and your life. i've helped move people out of their home because of black mold. the authorities force you out. Sometimes you can get away with clean up, i think, but usually not.

 

Okay...here goes. I am a Certified Microbial Remediation Supervisor which is a fancy name for someone who knows how to clean up mold. I have dealt with it extensively in schools and public buildings.

The first and most important thing you need to do is to find the source of the water and fix it. Once a space has been contaminated it can easily support mold growth again if the humidity in the space exceeds 70%.

Mold or fungi are naturally occurring and constantly in the air around us.
While there are literally thousands of different types of fungi, the three you are most likely dealing with are aspergillius, penecillium and Stachybotrus chartarum. Stachy is the most noteworthy, it's the black mold that Erin Brokovich and Ed McMahon are so hot on. Stachy produces mycotoxins which can cause respiratory irritation and allergic type reactions in immunocompromised folks and those who are very sensitive to allergens. Keep in mind though, that not all "black mold" is Stachy. Aspergillius can cause aspergilliosis, which is basically mold growing in the lung, but this is pretty rare. Aspergillius and penecillium are by far the most common molds, and thay can both cause allergic typree reactions in sensitive people. Stachy is less common and typically found in much lower levels than the other two. I might point out though that the Texas state department of health has said that there is no definitive link between mold exposure and adverse health effects. The Ballard case, in which a family was awarded $99 million for mold exposure, was actually reduced to around 4 million on appeal. What it boiled down to was a bad faith claim on the insurer. The point here is that although the claimant was initially awarded $99 mil, most of it was punitive damages and the grand total for bodily injury resulting from mold exposure-$0.

Anyhow, the point here is you need to look at you homeowners policy and if necessary, consult with your agent. Most homeowners policies now exclude or severely limit mold coverage, and often there's a time limit for discovery.

Moving on....here is a link that has lots of info on mold and how to abate it....http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldresources.html

Hoss was pretty close. You need to cut out any affected drywall (after you fix the source of the moisture). If in doubt, cut it out. Mold grows almost specifically on cellulose based materials like paper and wood. It will also grow on the detritus layer on other materials, that's why you see it on glass occasionally. It doesn't grow on fiberglass per se, but it will grow on the detritus trapped on it, and on the kraft paper backing. Look at the vapor barrier as well, often it's treated paper.

The important thing is to remove ALL visible mold growth. Follow up with the bleach solution or use a commercial fungicide. Killz will help prevent mold growth from recurring on treated areas. You might want to wear a HEPA filter respirator when hitting the areas with the bleach/fungicide, as the mold colonies will eject spores when "attacked".

When you go back in, look at using greenboard or somethig similar for wet locations. Greenboard has a fungistatic (doesn't support mold growth) facing.

Any time you have a water intruson problem, it is imperative that the source be stopped and the area dried out within 48 hours. Mold can start to grow, under the right conditions, in as little as 24 hours. While you can spend literally thousands to have mold professionally abated, all they will do is remove the visible growth and clean to levels roughly equal to background (levels naturally occuring outside). Unless you have a huge problem, it's typically not worth the money.

Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions.

Conrad

 

Ya beat me to it cowhand... same link I was gonna put up. As a mold remediation expert you should know that it's spelled stachybotrys though. ;0) Good advice so far. One thing that I would add is that Kilz is a decent product but a shellac based primer will do a better job at keeping the mold from coming back. I prefer Zerolac. It's a pain in the butt to work with because it has to be thinned and cleaned up with denatured alcohol but nothing beats it for sealing qualities.It's also a very potent product as far as smell. You definately need plenty of ventilation and a good VOC respirator. Can't say that I agree with greenboard being fungistatic because I've seen spore growth on greenboard as often as on standard sheetrock but it's definately better to use the moisture resistant variety. Keep in mind that it is not a structural board like regular sheetrock is so it cannot be used on ceilings unless you have supports 12 inches on center. Good advice. I'm always impressed by this crowd.

 

I agree with Hoss. Bleach (1 cup per gallon) in a handsprayer, spray with Kilz twice. Loose the carpet and pad, not worth saving if its been exposed to mold.

DO NOT CALL YOUR INSURANCE AGENT! until you are sure you are covered. You may loose your homeowners coverage or your rates will go sky high even if you don't have a claim. It's called the CLUE report. Insurance agent records EVERY question you ask him about insurance and claims. Its part of their anti insurance fraud / claim campain. Most companies use it to screw consumers out of claims, and justify HIGHER premiums.

 

Get it fixed and fast. And DO NOT report it to insurance.

Insurance rates will skyrocket, and many places will "hands off" a house with water damage/mold problems in the past.

 

Sorry, my Latin is a little rusty. Maybe I shoulda just stuck with S. chartarum.....

 

WOW! thanks for the info guys. The water was from the 4 hurricanse that went over the top of FL. The carpet has been out in all but maybe 3 rooms. After the storms cleared, the mold started and at first my dad tried to clean it with bleach. It worked at first, but he said it would reappear within days. So with thats its inside the walls. It looks like black mold.
I'm driving down there Wednesday night. (Another roadtrip! ) Does Home Depot or Lowes have a mold testing kit? Or is that only done professonally? Anthing I should specifically ask or have done if I need to call someone?
I was going to make a claim, but I forgot about that clue report. So with the killz or Zerolac, or shellac, does it get put on right over the wood? Its a brick house, but mold is on all the sheetrock inside.
Worse case, if it is hazardous, what would I be expecting? Do I call the state, insurance then or? I'm not sure about the laws concerning mold in FL. After work I will read up on that link. Thanks again guys. I'm really worres being how my dad has been in the house for a while, but my wife and 7yr old are now living in there again.