Help!! Mold Question
I am looking at a house to move in. It is being offered at about 60K less that what it was bought at. The reason is it has mold in the bathroom. To fix that I have been told that I need to,
1) change the gradient which is causing water to flow towards the bathroom
2) gut and rebuild the bathroom
3) since this is stucco, about 6inches of the stucco from the ground along the perimeter of the house has to be treated.
My question is, will doing all these stop cure the mold and prevent from resurfacing?
Thanks
That and a little bleach.
You might wish to review a number of websites that discuss mold remediation.
Bleach is not one of the recommended solutions.
Be careful of those claiming to be experts.
Mold is a living organism and can be difficult to control unless all water sources are corrected, humidity is controlled and the food source is removed (drywall, wood, etc.).
ksmntci,
I am facing a mold problem in one of my units. The mold sites say that for mold to grow, it needs nutrients and water. Apparently the nutrients come from what it attaches to. Removing the source of water if it is not just due to humidity is key and sounds like what your advice is intended to do.
Once the mold gets under the paint and into sheet rock, painting over it will not make it go away. My contractor cut out the sheet rock and replaced and textured.
We contacted the local building inspector's office and are getting guidance from someone who fields about 10 calls a day concerning mold. The suggestions we received was to scrub the areas with bleach and then remove the sheet rock where the mold penetrated the paint. We were also told to put in ceiling fans to circulate the air. I am also considering getting de-humidifiers. You might also check with your local building inspectors if you haven't done so already. My contractor said that they are very helpful in such matters.
Good luck with this.
Regards,
Ed
Mold is caused by moisture.
Find the cause.
If it's a leak, fix it.
Could also be poor air-circulation, allowing a lasting buildup of condensation.
If that is the case you may have to add an exhaustfan in the bathroom, as the mold may return otherwise.
Eliminate the cause. That is your first step.
Your next step is to replace the affected areas of sheetrock.
Use Killz as a layer over those areas that you are able to brush with a mixture of desinfectants.
You may certainly be able to save large areas of tile and your tub by some serious scrubbing.
Clean up, add a fresh coat of paint, and voila!
Allow fresh air to circulate for a day or so when you're done, and you should be allright.
And don't forget to disclose to the buyer.
"Just so you know, we got rid of an old moldproblem in the bathroom by replacing.....etc. I'm sure you don't have a problem with that!"
Cheap and effective.
[addsig]
Mold is becoming of prime importance here in Southern California. I was never aware of it as so prevelant in housing.
Most of the building inspectors have been alerted to examine for it on all rehabs.
We are lucky here in the valley there does not seem to be much of it present. I think it is due to the fact that the soil is basic sand as this was once an inland lake.
However on ground level bathrooms on some of the multiple dwellings years of leaks and neglect have supplied the requisit moisture and I do not think that just an application of bleach is the answer. What we are doing at this time is removing walls and examining all the way to foundation line. If a grade correction is necessary it is done.
I am seriously thinking of a full treatment of the entire area of a crawl space under a house at the bottom of the hillside area just South of Ventura Blvd. It's a natural low drainage spot.
When you put your hands on the cripples above the foundation line, while it does not appear to be a mold, there is a slight sticky moisture feel to the wood. No this is not a new house 20 years old.
I have directed the (Contractor) to light the area and blow it for 24 hours, then call me. Lets look and feel again. I am wondering if I can find a compound that I might utilize as a spray for the entire sub area. I would rather go into overkill of this problem then have a decline of a loan on refinance, or some hot shot Dept of Building and Safety type hand me a red tag.
Has anybody on this posting done this corrective work on a repeat basis?
Please Post. Lucius
Grade correction?
How is it done?
How much does it cost ?
Thanks
Quote:
On 2004-01-28 23:54, ksmntci wrote:
Grade correction?
How is it done?
How much does it cost ?
Thanks
Its a matter of having the grade slope away from the house....typically a 6 inch fall in 10 feet as well as getting water away from the foundation with use of gutters (down spouts draining away from the house) and worse case scenarios.....french drains.
As the others have noted...mold need 3 elements to grow....Orgainic material..(wood, drywall etc...) moderate temperatures....this is were proper ventilation come in...or controlled temp air space...and moisture......including areas that are high in humidity.........the relative humidity should be between 30 - 50%....anything higher can present a problem.
One small note...dont put mulch in your flower beds....use pine needles....mulch hold moisture as well as being a tastey meal for termites......
NC