How to kill mold in vacant house?

jill.costello · #1 04/04/10, 11:19 AM

Hi y'all,
The short-sale home I've made an offer on has a seller who's very willing to let me get in their PRIOR to inspection by the FHA inspector to "fix" those things he might fail the house on; namely, the tiny bit of mold. Everything else should pass, structurally and otherwise, but I MUST eradicate the mold before he does his walk-through!!

It is obvious what happened: The house was vacated in 2006, and though it has been "looked at" by the owner every few months since, the mold began in the hot, humid Florida summers from a very minor bathroom leak that WAS FIXED, but the house was closed up before it had completely dried.

So, I need to kill and "erase" the mold on about 6' x 3' of drywall, a bit along the bottom edge of a wall that sits on concrete slab (the whole house was built on concrete slab), and the floor of a dark linen closet just outside the bathroom. I have pulled up the carpet in adjoining bedrooms and really sleuthed around to make SURE this is an isolated issue, and will not give me problems later on, so what I'm really after is doing enough of a stop-gap just to pass inspection on the day! All the carpet will be replaced, anyway, and that bathroom is destined to be gutted and redone within 6 months (down to the studs!).

I was thinking of a spray bottle with white vinegar, some green scrubbies, and lots and lots of papertowels...

. Replace, mud & tape that drywall and paint everything with Zinsser 1-2-3.

Am I on the right track? Or is there a better way?

Thanks! Jill

sewserious · #2 04/04/10, 11:34 AM

Bleach will kill all the mold. Vinegar will not kill all of it (reportedly about 80% or so) but will help remove any stains left behind.

Joshie · #3 04/04/10, 11:44 AM

What is behind the drywall? Can you have a mold inspector come out first? Will the owner pay for this? From what I understand it's more important to fix the cause of the mold and cover it than it is to kill it. It's the same theory behind care of asbestos. Bleach will kill mold. I'd want to make sure that there isn't mold anywhere else in the room.

Wolf mom · #4 04/04/10, 11:58 AM

Not very expensive to have somene come in and cut out a 6' X 3" piece of drywall and replace it.

If you do that, you will also be able to see what is beind the wall to possibly correct whatever created the mold. If not, there is the possibility of having the mold return....

Been there, done that. Found it was a roof leak.

deb · #5 04/04/10, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jill.costello

Hi y'all,
The short-sale home I've made an offer on has a seller who's very willing to let me get in their PRIOR to inspection by the FHA inspector to "fix" those things he might fail the house on; namely, the tiny bit of mold. Everything else should pass, structurally and otherwise, but I MUST eradicate the mold before he does his walk-through!!

It is obvious what happened: The house was vacated in 2006, and though it has been "looked at" by the owner every few months since, the mold began in the hot, humid Florida summers from a very minor bathroom leak that WAS FIXED, but the house was closed up before it had completely dried.

So, I need to kill and "erase" the mold on about 6' x 3' of drywall, a bit along the bottom edge of a wall that sits on concrete slab (the whole house was built on concrete slab), and the floor of a dark linen closet just outside the bathroom. I have pulled up the carpet in adjoining bedrooms and really sleuthed around to make SURE this is an isolated issue, and will not give me problems later on, so what I'm really after is doing enough of a stop-gap just to pass inspection on the day! All the carpet will be replaced, anyway, and that bathroom is destined to be gutted and redone within 6 months (down to the studs!).

6' X 3' isn't a "tiny" amount of mold by anyone's measure.

If there is mold on the bottom edge of the wall in a house with a concrete slab, then you are probably looking at ground water getting into the house which means your quick fix may not stay fixed. Does the house have rain gutters on that side? Does the ground slope away from the house in that area? The spot on the inside wall may be small, but the inside of that wall may be all moldy.

Did you get the house professionally inspected?
Why are you fixing this and not the owner?

Deb
in WI

jill.costello · #6 04/04/10, 12:59 PM

"the mold began in the hot, humid Florida summers from a very minor bathroom leak that WAS FIXED, but the house was closed up before it had completely dried"

It is not from groundwater seeping in, we have identified the source of the water, and it is no longer an active issue.

The wall whose bottom edge is moldy is an INTERIOR, non-load bearing wall; very simple to knock out the bad drywall, spray the studs with bleach or vingar, let dry, then re-drywall. If we do see more of the interior space inside that wall is moldy, we will continue with the tear-out and replace over a greater area.

As I mentioned, this house is a short-sale, meaning the owner is in such financial trouble that her bank will foreclose on her if she doesn't find a buyer in X amount of time; asking price was 10's of thousands less than what she owes, and my offer (that she accepted) is less than that. Just waiting for her bank to decide if they are willing to go through with the deal or not, to save them the hassle and cost of an actual foreclosure.

So, she has no financial ability to fix the issues ( and if she DID fix them, she or her bank could conceivably hold out for a higher offer than mine ), whereas my BF is a home remodeler, and has the tools and know-how to fix the non-structural issues.

salmonslayer · #7 04/04/10, 02:20 PM

Jill, almost every house in Alaska where we just sold our place has mold issues of some type and you are on the right track. Scrub anything visible with a 10% bleach to water solution with an added wetting agent like liquid Dawn dish washing soap. We then overspray that once its completely dry with one of the commercial products that is a mold inhibitor. As already stated, replace the drywall and make sure you get at every little bit of mold. If the studs are totally molded then I would replace them as well if you can.

PrettyPaisley · #8 04/04/10, 08:02 PM

Theives oil. I love the story behind it and it works! It's great to have on hand as a chemical cleaner and you could even make it yourself. Easy peasy! It smells great and wards off fleas (don't ask me how I know that).

http://www.secretofthieves.com/

Good luck!

samm · #9 04/04/10, 09:08 PM

spray bottle of bleach,,,scrub it good, it may leave a stain...let it dry... paint it...but the most important is to get rid of the moisture/water source.....be sure it is surface, if it wipes off it probably on the surface and not coming in from the back of the sheetrock, id think if ya had peeling paint ya may wanna take a piece ( a small square) out of the sheetrock and see whats going on in there..
samm

Big Dave · #10 04/04/10, 10:26 PM

Lime dust worked for me. Glad you decided to get back on here.

MELOC · #11 04/04/10, 11:10 PM

if it is interior and not load bearing, i would just rip it all out and rebuild the interior wall. 6' x 3' isn't really that much to tackle. a few studs, a sheet or two of drywall and some paint will make it disappear. maybe you can add a tiny feature to justify the remodel in case anyone is suspicious.

Joshie · #12 04/04/10, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jill.costello

"the mold began in the hot, humid Florida summers from a very minor bathroom leak that WAS FIXED, but the house was closed up before it had completely dried"

It is not from groundwater seeping in, we have identified the source of the water, and it is no longer an active issue.

The wall whose bottom edge is moldy is an INTERIOR, non-load bearing wall; very simple to knock out the bad drywall, spray the studs with bleach or vingar, let dry, then re-drywall. If we do see more of the interior space inside that wall is moldy, we will continue with the tear-out and replace over a greater area.

Just waiting for her bank to decide if they are willing to go through with the deal or not, to save them the hassle and cost of an actual foreclosure.

So, she has no financial ability to fix the issues ( and if she DID fix them, she or her bank could conceivably hold out for a higher offer than mine ), whereas my BF is a home remodeler, and has the tools and know-how to fix the non-structural issues.

Did you have a house inspector come through to make sure that the bathroom leak was the only source of water? Did the inspector certify that the slab is OK and is not causing the leak? You know that there was a bathroom leak. It sounds as if you don't know if there were any other problems.

Why are you willing to spend money fixing something when your offer hasn't even been accepted? I certainly would not want to try to hide a problem from FHA. I also wouldn't want to spend money on something that might never be mine. What if it's cheaper for the bank to foreclose than to accept your offer? What if you open the wall up and there's mold everywhere? Fixing a bigger problem may not fix the cause.

Did you have an inspection?

jill.costello · #13 04/04/10, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joshie

Did you have a house inspector come through to make sure that the bathroom leak was the only source of water? Did the inspector certify that the slab is OK and is not causing the leak? You know that there was a bathroom leak. It sounds as if you don't know if there were any other problems.

Why are you willing to spend money fixing something when your offer hasn't even been accepted? Because it won't cost me anything but a sheet of drywall, some mud & tape, and my time. I certainly would not want to try to hide a problem from FHA. You obviously don't have the experience with FHA inspectors that I have. I also wouldn't want to spend money on something that might never be mine. I didn't get to where I am in life by sitting back and watching; I believe in going after exactly what I want, and that mentality has served me well in the past. What if it's cheaper for the bank to foreclose than to accept your offer? It isn't. They have to pay lawyers and court fees and all the while the home gets older and older and in more disrepair and in danger of looters and those that would strip it of appliances and the HVAC for copper, etc. Foreclosure process can take a year or more. And so what if it is cheaper for the bank to foreclose? So, then, I did my best and I move on. Plenty of other fish in the sea. What if you open the wall up and there's mold everywhere? Fixing a bigger problem may not fix the cause. What if I get hit by a bus tommorrow? What if the roof catches fire the day I move in? There are alot of what-ifs in the world, and would I allow myself to become a slave to them, I would have no fun at all!

Did you have an inspection? No, I have bought and sold 3 houses in the last 6 years and had one built last year. There isn't much that gets by me in the way of sleuthing out possible issues with something I intend to commit 70 or 80 or 245 THOUSAND dollars to. And as I said, my BF is a home remodeler, who also has a good eye for the "tricks" of the trade when a seller is trying to hide or gloss over a true issue. What I have found, in reality, with older houses is that as long as the bones are good, everything else is just lipstick.

.....

solidwoods · #14 04/05/10, 08:31 AM

Sounds like you are going the right direction with the sheet rock removal, to me thats easier and more assured of getting rid of the mold because the mold could also be on the inside of the wall.
If the water is off for the house it would be good to turn it on when the wall is open. If the plumbing is in the slab and the water is off a leak wouldn't be visible.
jim

longrider · #15 04/05/10, 05:34 PM

Ms. Jill, I once remodeled a home in Warner Robins Jawja that was mold top to bottom. I cant tell you how disgusting the place was. The family that moved out of there I did not see but what they left behind is too disgusting to write on here. I did however wind up calling the police and EPA to get their evalutions.

Simply put: I gutted the house of all its contents in to two high wall roll-off long dumpsters. shoveled the sand out and turned off the electricity. When It was swept our and vacuumed I hooked a water hose up and put a garden fertilizer spray nozzle on the end. In the spray nozzle reservoir I filled with clorox.

I covered every inch of the ceiling and walls and eventually the floor. Closets, baths, storage spaces, nooks, cranny's and such got covered good. then I opened the windows and locked the place up(sort of) and left for a week.

When I came back it was clean of mold. clean of every thing. I painted and got busy putting the place back to normal.

Bleach smell will go away after a week or so. The important thing is that there is no chance of mold.