Real Estate and Mould Problems  

[May 26, 2003]

Q. I am trying to find someone who can help us renters here in Huntington Beach deal with our landlord. My bathroom is full of mould by the shower, I tore off the wall the other night to discover it was covered in black mould and rust. I do not know what to do. I have been very sick with a really bad cough that will not ease up-I have seen my Dr three times for this problem, he thought it was allergies or a cold.....but it isn't getting better. Do you have any advice?

A. Your first step is to move out of the apartment so that you don't harm your and your family's health. When you are already experiencing health problems and you have already uncovered serious mould infestation, you need to get out. Don't move any of your personal property and clothing until you have first done mould decontamination in accordance with the standards and techniques explained in our book Do it yourself Mould Prevention, Inspection, Remediation, & Testing Guide which is available at Mold Mart Second, before you relinquish possession of the apartment have it thoroughly inspected and tested by one of our Certified Mould Inspectors---visit: Certified Mold Inspectors If you cannot afford to have pro mould inspection, use our do it yourself mould test kits with our expert mould lab analysis. Next you need to find out what legal rights you have against your landlord. Read Mold Legal Guide.

[May 17, 2003]    

Q. Just yesterday, we  had sewage water spilling into our condo.  We used a water hvac that the condo association supplied and got up most of the standing water.  This was a major undertaking.  We started at 7:40 a.m. and didn't stop until 3:00 p.m.  We had water all through our bedroom, in our bathroom, down our hall.  We had to tear up our carpet and padding.  We have cement floors underneath.  We live in a basement unit.  We also had to tear up our new Pergo floor. Today, Sunday, we walked outside our front door and there was more standing water in the hall seeping into our unit. We were standing in the water all day yesterday to clean up the place.  The condo association tells us they will send in a sanitation crew. We have a cat and after reading the news article on Mr. McMahon, I am REALLY WORRIED about the cat's health and ours.  Can you please give us some advice on how to handle this situation.         

A. Sewage contamination can cause both massive mould infestation and deadly biological contamination of your condo. Insist upon the following remediation steps, and get an environmental attorney if necessary to pursue your legal rights. Read Mold Legal Guide. Any building materials such as walls, ceilings, and materials and timbers INSIDE your condo's walls that were wet for more than 24 hours can now be experiencing massive mould growth. You need to insist that that at least any wall areas that were flooded be stripped of drywall [strip at least 2 feet higher than the flood level]. All insulation in such exposed areas needs to be discarded. The wood timbers will have to be cleaned with either a power planer or with a wire brush attachment to an electric grinder. Then the cleaned out area, plus your concrete floors need to be sprayed at least twice with two coatings of antimicrobial coating. Both before and after such work your condo rooms' air and hvac duct air flow need to be tested for the presence of elevated airborne mould spores. Read mould removal instructions at: Mould Removal You can buy do it yourself mould test kits with expert mould lab analysis [and mould remediation chemicals] at Mold Mart. 

[April 24, 2003]        

Q. We recently had a home built and moved in about 2 months ago.  The top of the split level is completely finished but the daylight basement is just ruffed in.  It had been insulated after framing was completed, however.  My husband and I are now working on beginning to finish the basement.  While running some additional electrical wires we happened to pull back some of the insulation and discovered that the plywood was covered with mould.  It seems to be most prominent in the 2 north facing bedrooms.  We have not found any mould in the other areas of the basement.  There is no evidence of any leaks and the bedrooms are not even located under any of the plumbing.  Is there a possibility that some of the materials could have been wet when the insulation was put in?—this would have been about 4-5 months ago in November.  How fast would the mould have spread?  The mould is seems to be very dark green to black in color and I am concerned about various health issues.  Should we be concerned that there may be mould behind the drywall upstairs? I can’t believe that we are dealing with this problem already. We contacted our contractor immediately and he agreed to come take a look at it.  What would you recommend?         

A. It is very possible that mould-contaminated building materials were used in the building of the home. It is also likely that the building materials got rained on while waiting to be used or during rough framing, especially since your house is not even closed in yet. Also high humidity [60%] at any time during the past construction period can drive mould growth. All of the mould contaminated building materials need to be removed, thrown away, and replaced with new, mould-free materials after the cleaned out area has been sprayed with 2 wet sprayings of antimicrobial protective coating. The other areas you are concerned about can be viewed internally with the use of a fiber optics inspection device. It would be very wise for you to have your home carefully inspected and mould tested by a Certified Mould Inspector. Visit: Certified Mold Inspectors. You should also visit the webpage: New Home Mould. You can also do thorough mold testing by using mold test kits.             
 

[April 14, 2003]          

Q. I recently purchased a town house in Florida and the building inspector never mentioned mould in his report or verbally.  I found black mould (large amounts) in three places (washer/dryer area), closet, and the bathroom.  I did contact him and his reply was the previous owner had stuff that he did not move to check.  I purchased the place in December and still haven't moved in.  I never could figure out what was making me sick until I read up about mould.  What should I do?

A. Your first step is to collect samples of the visible mould in each location using the Scotch lift tape sampling technique, and then send the samples into a mould laboratory for expert mould lab analysis and mould identification. You should also use mould test kits to test the various rooms of the house for elevated levels of unhealthy mould spores. You should also test for the same problem inside your hvac ducts, attic, and crawl space, or basement. For do it yourself mould test kits, visit: Mold Mart. For a professional, experienced Certified Mould Inspector, please visit: Certified Mold Inspectors. After you study the mould test results from our lab, you should then get competitive mould remediation bids from at least 3 reliable, experienced and mould-certified mould contractors. In any future home or real estate purchases, hire a Certified Mould Inspector for a thorough mould inspection and testing IN ADDITION to hiring a traditional home inspector [who usually lacks the special training, expertise, and equipment required for effective mould inspections and testing]. If you believe the real estate seller intentionally failed to disclose mould contamination to you, you should find a mould lawyer. Read Mold Legal Guide.

          [April 8, 2003]

Q. I'm about to purchase a house in Poughkeepsie, NY, and my inspector has found mould (analyzed as penicillin) in the attic on rafters and where the central air conditioner unit is located.  I know why this has occurred (lack of ventilation) but would like to know what it would cost to have someone come in get rid of this mould.  The seller has two estimates for this service with which I don't have any information on.  He now wants to give me 2000 dollars to the cost of this service.  I'm trying to figure out if he is doing this due to the cost being so high that he doesn't want to pay for the service and wants me to chip in for it.  The home is a L-shaped ranch, 2000 sq ft above ground, 1000 below. Would it be safer to get rid of the fiber glass insulation and the A/C duct work and replace with new after the service is complete?  Once I fix the ventilation problem( open up fascia and put in soffit vents, will the mould grow back and will the mould that's been left, die?        

A. Your first step is to get at least a 30 day extension time period for your closing this purchase to enable you to arrange for your own mould inspection, testing, and obtaining mould remediation bids so that you will know the truth about the mould problem of the house in question. Second, hire a Certified Mould Inspector [Certified Mold Inspectors do a very thorough mould inspection and mould testing of the entire home including all hvac [heating, ventilating, air conditioning] ducts and the hvac equipment itself. The $2,000 reduction in the purchase price for you to take care of the mould problem is totally inadequate to pay for the job which could run from many thousands of dollars to more than the house is worth, depending on whether the mould contamination has spread into ceilings and walls from the attic, and into hvac equipment and ducts. Yes, it would be advisable to replace the hvac equipment and ducts, but only after mould growth and mould spores have been removed from the entire home first. Mould remediators will seal off all of the return air ducts and supply air ducts during mould remediation so that the moldy hvac will not cross-contaminate the rest of the home as it is mould remediated. To know all of the steps required for effective and safe mould remediation, please visit: Mould Removal Mould will not grow back after effective mould remediation as long as there is no future water problem to drive mould growth. Preventing roof leaks, siding water intrusion, plumbing leaks, and high indoor humidity [above 50 to 60% humidity] are all essential to preventing future mould infestation. All mould present in your home needs to be removed. Good remediation leaves no resident mould [which can live millions of years in a dormant state waiting for future moisture to start growing again].          

[April 6, 2003]         

Q. During our pre-purchase inspection last week, our inspector (who is also certified as a mould remediator) found mould growing on the joists under the house (especially under the sunken living room). In your experience what is the frequency of such growth also entering the space between the walls? There is evidence of repairs made to previous mould damage - so it has been cleaned once before. There are also water marks up to a foot high on the water heater. The homeowner disclosed a "previous moisture problem" that was repaired by installation of a sump pump (which she had placed outside of the home). Other than water marks under the house, and a need to re-grade part of the yard, there is no other indication of water damage to the home (nothing on the walls or in the attic). The interior of the house is spotless - it has not been lived in for the past 6 months, we've had unprecedented rains the past 2 months, and there is no indication of growth in the bathrooms or kitchen. We are testing the mould colony to determine if there are toxic moulds there. My husband has asthma, and we have a 2 year old son - so I am now uncertain of the wisdom in purchasing the house.         

A. Mould growth in crawl spaces and on joists under homes can easily spread into the floors and walls above. With your husband's asthma condition, the present house mould problem, the evidence of mould remediation having been done in the past, and evidence of serious water problems in the past, it would probably be wise for you to find a mould-safe house to purchase. Please remember that a house with a mould problem history is difficult to re-sell, and that mould problems in the past must be disclosed to all prospective buyers should ever wish to re-sell this home in the future.         

[April 7, 2003]         

Q. I have lived in a rental unit for a year and a half.  About 5 months ago discovered a pretty bad case of black mould in a room which was leaking severely. My landlady did not do anything about the issue until 2 months later, when she scrubbed the mould with a sponge and then painted over it and replaced the carpet. We are about to move and while removing books from the bookshelf that was against the wall in the adjacent room (my bedroom) I discovered that the mould was in the wall and had infested my book case and I happened to breathe it in (a musty and spore like smell). I now have asthma like symptoms and have had to get a prescription for an inhaler so that I can breathe at night.  I have a runny nose, I am constantly tired, and my lungs hurt, not to mention that I have pain in my shoulders and neck. I would like to get an inspector to come out here to check it out.  In live in Napa Valley, California. I have documented the case of mould since the very beginning when it was found.  The landlady did not seem to think that it was a big deal but i don't want to be afflicted by this for the rest of my life.         

A. You should collect samples of the visible mould utilizing the Scotch tape lift tape method of mould sampling. You can also document possible elevated levels of airborne mould spores in the air using our do it yourself mould test kits. For info on mould testing, mould test kits, and expert mould laboratory analysis and mould identification, visit: Mold Mart. If you would like your rental unit to be inspected and mould tested by a Certified Mould Inspector, please visit: Certified Mold Inspectors . Besides finding a mould-safe place to move to, it is important that you not move your clothing and personal possessions until they have been effectively and safely decontaminated of mould spores and mould growth. How to remove mould from all types of personal property is explained in detail in Phillip Fry's book Do it yourself Mould Prevention, Inspection, Remediation, & Testing Guide, about which you can read on the above-mentioned website. Once you have the lab proof of the mould contamination, you can consider hiring an attorney to represent you in regard to your health damage and damage to your personal property. Read Mold Legal Guide.

Real Estate & Mould                                          Real People & Mould
Mould Advice                                                      Q&A Removal
Carpet & Mould                                                  Legal Q & A
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