Mold In Home

I happened across a foreclosed property that has what was a nice home on it & is priced really cheap . The people moved out & let the pipes freeze & burst & now there is mold in the house . Has anyone ever had a professional mold removal company take care of a problem like this ? Any idea how expensive it might be ? If I bought it at the listed price or possibly less , I could afford to spend several thousand dollars repairing it . Would you even consider taking this on or just forget it ? Thanks In Advance .

[Pelenaka]

I would contact your local county health department and ask them if they handle that issue and if not then who would. Discuss your plans and ask if they can recommend any reading materials or websites. The more educated you become on this subject the better for you. After you feel that you have a handle on the subject then call around to the professionals.
If you can smell mold just by peeping in the windows run. Speak with the neighbor's to find out when the property was vacated then you can estimate how long since the mold started. Speaking with them might also give up other valuable tidbits.

You also might want to check with your county & state gov to see if there's any grants.

[Darren]

Any damaged wall board would have to be replaced. Clean up with water and bleach and research "Ozone generator." I've been using one to get rid of mold smells. Don't run an ozone generator in a room with anything living you don't want to kill. That includes plants and potentially electronics wheter live or not.

[idigbeets]

Ozone for sure, I've also used borax to clean up bleach off walls

[Alice In TX/MO]

I wouldn't touch it, wouldn't go in it, wouldn't spend money to have it remediated.

Nope.

[bajiay]

It depends on the extent of the mold. If it is in the walls, you are in big trouble. It is expensive, very expensive. More than likely, if it is this bad, all of the carpeting and drapes would have to be replaced as well. Just how bad is it? IF really bad, they should not even be allowing anyone in to look at the house without donning masks.

I used to be in real estate. I also had a friend who bought a home, thinking they could save money. She was wrong. This was in Utah, but it cost her thousands because they had to basically remove all of the drywall in the home and start over.

I wish you luck!

[Maverick_mg]

Bleach doesn't really "kill" mold. Lots of people use it and it gets rid of the stain but some spores live through it and will come back. The disaster clean up crews use a product that I think you can find on the market as Controbem or something lilt that. But to DIY would be lots of money. That's why with a lot of the flood houses, they just rebuild.

[Harry Chickpea]

Downside risks for health issues are just too great. Pass.

[plowjockey]

I'd consider it if the price was right.

Tear out the inner carpet, drywall and insulation, clean and redo. It'w would have to be a DIY job to pay off.

The price would have to be really right, though.

[City Bound]

depends on how bad the mold damage is, and how extensive it is in the over all house.

if it is just one or two rooms you may be able to handle it alone. if it is the whole house that would be hard.

I got flooded in a hurricane in the summer. I had black mold in the walls and in other places. Had to take down the drywall around the kitchen and living room, up to three feet high, wash everything down with bleach and replace the dry wall.

It is very important to wear a mask. A good mask, not those silly comfort masks they sell.

[geo in mi]

Would this be of any help? Mold Cleanup | A Brief Guide to Mold | US Environmental Protection Agency

geo

[luvrulz]

You can call a co like Serve Pro to have them quote you a price for them to do it....then go from there -

[honeyrobber]

Being a remodeler of older homes I come across molded areas due to leaky pipes and broke pipes. This is a have to see to know what to do case. An ozone generator run in the home for a few weeks when you are not there or run on very low(depending on the unit) will help the spores. I have a small unit that works well for a 1200 square foot house. Never had a problem with electronics as long as they are unplugged and house well vented before plugging them back in.

I currently have a black mold issue I will be working on soon. Someone put regular drywall in a stand up shower and did not put the rubber wall board behind the tile. I plan on removing the stud walls and replacing them due to alteast one area being heavily damaged(behind the build in shelf). Bleach kills mold but not the spores. This job of just redoing the bath room and one wall in the adjoining bedroom is going to cast around $3k but that includes the tile that will be going half way up the wall around the whole bath. I have been lucky(healthy imune system I guess) as I just use the cheap mask when working with this stuff. But I have been around it alot and never had a problem. My cousin though is so allergic to mold he can not walk in a house with mold without letting you know.

So like I said each job has to be looked at closely before you have an idea how bad a problem this is. Maybe give offer if they let you have a pro look at this and give estimate of repair. Always add 20% to estimate on mold issues. They tend to go further than you can see atleast somewhere.

I have no intention of cleaning it myself . I guess what I should do is contact a professional service for an estimate or just forget it . It was built in 2003 & has a well & septic & an almost 2 acre lot . Wonder if the fire dept. would burn it for a training drill ? I would pay almost the asking price for the lot .

[Joshie]

Originally Posted by WV Hillbilly

If I bought it at the listed price or possibly less , I could afford to spend several thousand dollars repairing it . Would you even consider taking this on or just forget it ? Thanks In Advance .

You could get an estimate but people have abandoned homes because of mold. Extensive damage can ruin a house. I'd pass. How would you know the extent of the damage without opening the walls?

[Darren]

Originally Posted by WV Hillbilly

I have no intention of cleaning it myself . I guess what I should do is contact a professional service for an estimate or just forget it . It was built in 2003 & has a well & septic & an almost 2 acre lot . Wonder if the fire dept. would burn it for a training drill ? I would pay almost the asking price for the lot .

A fire department always needs small buildings for their fire investigation classes in this state. The potential problem with using a house is the existence of any asbestos. That could be in the siding, caulk, tile, etc. The house would have to be inspected first. In WV any material containing asbestos will have to be removed before a fire department can use the house for training.

If you're interested in going that route there's a company in Clarksburg that can do the asbestos inspection.

[rainy5]

run as fast as you can I am not kidding. I had 30,000 10 years ago in a different house. The day they ripped walls down my dad died he had went into one of the rooms he had no heart issues. I had breathing and my kids were sick all the time. I still have health issue we believe are from the mold we had seven different really bad ones. I still had issues after they remedy it. It was done the right way. I threw away every piece of furniture clothes etc. I had small allergies and it made everything so much worse for me. My family doctor told me that my lymph nodes swelling now may be from the exposure. I lived their for two years before I knew the attic crawl space was filled with mold the roofer had patched the roof and certified it. tll it fell in. My blood counts drop and nodes swell for no reason now. never had it before. I am 45. for 35 years of my life I was healthy. My husband and I are so careful in this house with leaving even a wet wash rag around. We recaulk our tub and shower at the slighest bit of looking like it may be turning we have hard water. If you want someone who has has a really bad case of it I am telling you to run! It is not worth your health. My hubby is sensitive to nothing and when he came int the house he felt ill. The tested levels were crazy. They deemed it not safe to live to cleaned up. the beams in the roof couldn't be replaced only cleaned and sealed. I disclosed it to the lady who purchased it she had an I don't care attitude.just my opinion having lived thru it. good luck what ever you decide. google what the long term health issues are Stachybotrys chartarum or Stachybotrys atra. This is more commonly known as black mold and it’s very toxic and very deadly. etc. aspergilus etc. If you think about it have it tested by a good reliable company. The company I used traveled all over the country and came highly recommended. they did a good job. epa suit special trash dumps etc. but you still cant remove all the mold after it is their no matter how well you clean it up. We filed a lawsuit against the roofer and homeowners we purchased it from but it did not bring my dad back.We wont a landmark case in our state but it paid for cleanup fees testing etc. please do yourself a favor and run. it can even cause brain aneurisms to sensitive people. If you are not sensitive it can destroy you immune system then you become sensitive. read alot before you chose.

Thanks for the replies . If the fire dept. will burn it I may buy it for the lot . Otherwise I have decided to forget it .

[Darren]

If you're serious about buying the property, contact the RESA for your area. They handle most of the training for the fire departments. The link will show you which RESA is responsible for your area. They assign the instructors. Fire departments often collaborate on training. That means even if the closest fire department isn't interested in a Fire Investigation II class, another might be.

Generally fire departments are probably not going to burn a building just to burn it. The liability issues are getting ridiculous. The workman's comp issue in WV for fire departments is turning into a crisis. None of that helps.

Ask the realtor, bank, whatever if they'll pay for the asbestos survey to start the process if you're serious about working with a fire department.

West Virginia RESA Links