I'm full of house/environmental issue questions today. Some of you may or may not know I'm experiencing some health problems that seemingly popped up out of nowhere. I've always wondered if mold in our house was a contributing factor, but always put off having a full blown professional test done. Well I finally broke down and did it. I had three samples (air/spore count) with an outdoor control as the 4th sample. It came back CRAZY high for our family room (the one I remodeled right after moving here 4 years ago), and my unfinished basement. They give you guidelines for what dictates "acceptable" vs. "unacceptable" levels, and I'm WAY above for Aspergillus mold in both places (6000/m3 in the family room and 2800/m3 in the basement), along with Cladosporium spores in both places (400-500/m3). The company that did the testing is not affiliated with any local remediation companies, nor do they do remediation, so I'm left to tackle this on my own (of course with professional guidance). Before I start raising the red flag, is anyone here knowledgeable enough in this field to tell me if these numbers are truly high and what I should be looking for? What types of remediation do you suggest beyond air purification systems (if any)?
We've had to deal with this a couple of times . Had a professional remove it the first time and done it ourselves this summer . I know nothing about the numbers or what they mean but I do know that if the mold is bad enough to cause health problems you need to remove it . I do not believe that an air purification system will do anything to remove the mold but it might make it more tolerable to be around . Our problem was in our unfinished basement so we had a lot of options when it came to killing and removing it . We just sealed the rest of the house from the basement , sprayed bleach , and cleaned . Good luck !!
Matt ... you aren't gonna like how much that costs and yes, that is way hi .... You need to have a professional do it and go the lifetime guarantee way ... the cost is way more but they do way more ... good luck, Cuz... BTW, we bought a house on contingent of home inspection and they found mold .. we let it go....
Thanks for the input so far. Doesn't really seem the affect the wife fortunately. Once this is done, we may be expedite the selling process. This house has drained me. Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4
Bleach and dehumidifiers. Mold needs one major thing to grow and that is damp surfaces. We run two dehumidifiers in the basement and recently cleaned all of the walls with bleach and repainted with mold/mildew resistant concrete paint. For the family room you might need to get that professionally cleaned and make an attempt at controlling the humidity. Window replacement might help $$$$.
MGH, you know buckeye might have some answers ; ) he is starting up a business and he might have the answer. But working in construction for a limited time, I haven't dealt much with mold. Ive heard that you can take care of it yourself, but, if it were me, because of health reasons and just home values, I would pay $$$$ to have the professionals do it. That way if it comes back, you have them on the hook. Everything I try DIY, never really ends up well. I dont know where your mold is located, but im pretty sure it's behind your drywall which means you might have to tear everything out and then redo. If I were to have someone inspect a house for mold and it came back positive, even if the seller offered to fix it, I wouldn't ever buy it. Might be worth it to get it all removed and make sure it's gone.
Here's a quick look at the demo/remodel process for the room in question in case anyone is interested. We didn't encounter any mold damage on the walls or floor when we ripped everything out. Family Room Remodel Slideshow by mgh-pa | Photobucket
That actually isn't true (not sure why I said that). We had mold in one corner about two feet up the two corner studs and down on the sill plate (we cleaned with bleach) as well as around the drain lines for the washer and dryer (again cleaned, and added an access panel). Here's a link to the album itself as that may work for you: Family Room Remodel Photos by mgh-pa | Photobucket
Hehe nope, Photobucket is blocked. Ive got to think that there is more mold than those two locations. Im not familiar with readings vs what is actually present, I just had this idea in my head that it would be covering the walls. If it's that small I dont see why you can't DIY. Heck, maybe even buy your own machine to detect mold, might save you in the long run with service calls.
Well, I had a remediation company come in yesterday (well...the owner). He took his thermal imagery to all surfaces, and used his bore scope in the walls/ceiling. Not a trace of mold. He believes the company I used to take the samples messed something up or mislabeled the vials (I agree). Thought it was odd when they took the outdoor control sample they found ZERO alternaria spores when in fact that is an outdoor mold found around trees, shrubs, etc., yet they found spores of it indoors. I will be contacting the company that did the sampling today to see what they think. So it looks like, for now, we're in the clear.
uhm wtf. Though im sure you can't go after the company since you can't exactly prove it never existed, I think a refund is in order. Not that you'll get one.
I am not a lawyer nor do I play one on TV. However, I would be very careful about what you post here, photobucket and disclose if you go to sell your house. I would hate for some dirtbag buyer to give you a hard time or sue you if they develop health issues if they move in. Carefully, document the remediation experts opinion in writing, then the testing company must expunge their results. If you can conclusively document their is no problem then you don't have a mold problem to disclose. If you differing proefessional opinions get them to agree. That way it can be addressed. Home buyers suck now a days.
