Considering purchase of a second home. House has mold- not sure of type or extent.
1) What do I need to look for? Are there different types?
2) Other than fixing the water source causing the mold and killing it, what lasting ramifications might I expect?
3) Is it a simple process to kill the stuff? (Bleach/water etc) Or is mold remediation a really HUGE deal?
Basically, I’m not afraid to take a look and want to be prepared with facts when I do.
Would mold be a deal-breaker for any of you or would you be willing to remediate it if the price was right for the property?
Replies
There are different types.
1) Look anywhere there could be water--attic rafters, bathroom walls, floors, ceiling, (above bathroom in attic, beloe bathroom in floor), basement or crawl space, arouns and especially under windows and doors.
2-3) Mold spores are everywhere, but once you take care of the source of water, mold should stop growing. Remove what you can. From what I've heard, bleach only whitens mold so it is less visible. I myself would hire mold remdiation experts who will wear Tyvek suits with gloves and masks and will scrub the mold off and use special vacuums to get rid of it without spreading it further (their vacuums have special filters to remove very small particles--name escapes me at the moment). They will guarantee their work in writing so you have something to fall back on later.
Hepa?TFB (Bill)
Thanks, yup, hepa. My poor little brain kept telling me "hyper....". I'm too young to lose my memory!
"They will guarantee their work in writing"Hadn't heard that one before. Who are they?
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I theought my stepdaughter said they got something in writing when they had a contractor do their attic. Maybe I'm wrong. At any rate, I was not eager to muck around with it, so I was glad they hired experts.
Waht danno said.
Also, spend some time on the EPA website's mold pages. That is the best out there that I have found (and I have been following the issue as an HI fo years.)
"Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive... then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
Howard Thurman
http://rjw-progressive.blogspot.com/
BTW, brick surfaces (e.g., chimneys) sometimes have a white powder called effloresence which is sometime confused with mold.
And yes, thee are thousands of types of mold.
If someone starts talking about "black mold" as if is one certain mold ("and really dangerous!") seek information elsewhere. There are hundreds of molds which are black.
"Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive... then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
Howard Thurman
http://rjw-progressive.blogspot.com/
Thanks-already checked out the EPA site. Doesn't seem as scary as all the horror stories would lead one to believe. I am concerned with the "hidden mold" issue since I cannot see inside walls. This particular place is on a crawlspace close to the coast- so a humid crawl space is a mold haven. I think I will get some more info and at least take a look.
You might want to take a look at the links Jeff Clarke posted in this thread:
121893.6
The main thing to understand is that mold is only a problem if:
1) you don't cut off the moisture source and prevent its further growth, OR
2) there is someone in your family who is uber-sensitive to the mold toxins (generally a genetic thing).
In most cases, if you eliminate the moisture source and eliminate the visible mold, there will be no problem -- the horror stories you hear about are maybe a 1% scenario.
Mold is always around, more moisture means more mold. The more lawyers you have, the more serious problems you have.
Every so often I get mold on the moist bathroom walls. I just rub it with a micofiber cloth and it will be gone for a couple of months.
The EPA website has already been mentioned, here are two other sources of information: http://www.cdc.gov/MOLD/ and http://www.doctorfungus.org/.
You might try this site:
http://www.responsiblemoldsolutions.org