Mold Question (Osprey: apartment, foreclosures, home owners insurance)

[davery5872]

So we moved into the condo and now (I think) we have a small mold issue. I say "I think" becuase I have not had any issues with mold prior to this. In the laundry room, which is very small, there looks to be mold on the lower portion of one wall. It looks like the washer hose has recently been replaced, in fact the old one is still beside the washer. I'm wondering if the hose leaked and sprayed water on this wall. This wall also had plumbing inside for a guest bathroom, so there could be a plumbing issue. The drywall feels dry to the touch and there is no evidence of mold in the guest bath. I'm trying to figure out how best to proceed. Do I try and scrap the mold to see if it's just on the surface or do I take out the drywall? If the mold is just on the surface, is the drywall still usable? Could I deduce that if the mold is just on the surface, the mold is not coming from a plumbing leak inside the wall? Thanks.

[Big House]

Originally Posted by davery5872

So we moved into the condo and now (I think) we have a small mold issue. I say "I think" becuase I have not had any issues with mold prior to this. In the laundry room, which is very small, there looks to be mold on the lower portion of one wall. It looks like the washer hose has recently been replaced, in fact the old one is still beside the washer. I'm wondering if the hose leaked and sprayed water on this wall. This wall also had plumbing inside for a guest bathroom, so there could be a plumbing issue. The drywall feels dry to the touch and there is no evidence of mold in the guest bath. I'm trying to figure out how best to proceed. Do I try and scrap the mold to see if it's just on the surface or do I take out the drywall? If the mold is just on the surface, is the drywall still usable? Could I deduce that if the mold is just on the surface, the mold is not coming from a plumbing leak inside the wall? Thanks.

There is a number of things you can do and recommendations to follow depending on the amount of mold you have. If the area is dry and will remain dry, you can use some bleach and wash it off and repaint it. If you think there is still moisture in the wall cavity, and it will not dry out and remain dry, you may have a mold problem that can get worse. If that is the case and/or you have small leak of some kind you need to cut an area out anyway in order to stop the leak. Then just replace the drywall, and maybe get some paint mix in an antibacterial agent, and paint the studs and the back side of the drywall that remains and was effected.

Bleach will kill the mold - one time. It will not however remove any mold spores which can be a problem, particularly if they are the bad type (which is pretty rare). Remember mold is on all surfaces all the time, it will grow when the moisture is maintained along with a food source. It is rare that you are confined in an area with a large amount of the more dangerous type(s). Also if you kill the mold with bleach, but haven't taken away the moisture, food source, and oxygen then it will come back (that is why I said "one time". If you mix an antibacterial agent in with the paint, you have done two things, you have killed the mold, and taken away its access to oxygen, having encapulated it.

As a builder you are really exposed because you build houses out of wood (at least the roof trusses), and more often than not it is rained on before you can get it closed in. Often the lumber was in an outside yard before it was delivered and it was rained on there. So often there is little you can do, but it does dry out after the rain, and often does not realize a huge mold growth issue, but sometimes it does. Once I built several apartment buildings, and got it under roof quickly, but it still developed a mold problem. We ended up painting all the wood framing with a mold inhibitant ladened paint. That process alone cost me over $ 75 K to do, just to ensure that there would never be a mold problem on that project caused by us. So, I know a bit about dealing with mold. But, I can tell you that most times you have nothing to worry about as long as the mold is less than 10 square feet, you usually wont' find qualified people telling you you need to remove it.

If you see what you think may be mold though, you should have some one qualified to look at it and tell you what is really going on.

[ZaraZoteBuccaneer]

OK so this topic actually interests me as a prospective buyer to the area. I was speaking with my Dad recently about when we used to live in Georgia and he told me about how professional cleaners would go around the neighborhood once a year to literally wash down the houses. It makes sense but how often does this washing need to take place for all of you south of the bay area? And how does construction view stucco down there? It's a nighmare for us northerners with all the Tyvec and airtight homes we build up here.

I do not anticipate mold really being a big scary issue but it is something I will be maintaining from becoming one. Thanks for any further commentary!

[geekygisela]

Concentrated vineager will actually kill mold spores... but it needs to be left to sit for at least a few minutes. Will make your house stink more than the mold will as well too...

[d4g4m]

Mold and mildew has become such a problem that home owners insurance policies now include a 'mold and mildew' not covered clause. [interior and exterior]

[222muchcoffee]

Good info BigHouse -- I now know who is the mold connoisseur around here. Are inspectors (for home purchases) in FL doing a mold test typically? Or is it just done at the buyer's request? Do you recommend testing on a more inland home that is 7-10 years old in Osprey area?

[kbuild]

Actually you can request one. We have been brought in to take samples on certain projects that have had problematic mold issues. We take a sample then send it to an independent lab. Remember most molds are not harmful, only a selected few are bad for you. Since the "Foreclosures and abandoned" homes these are good candidates for mols inspections. Look for the tell tale signs (smell, water stains,sight of mold, loose shower tiles (grout missing or cracked)

[Big House]

Originally Posted by 222muchcoffee

Good info BigHouse -- I now know who is the mold connoisseur around here. Are inspectors (for home purchases) in FL doing a mold test typically? Or is it just done at the buyer's request? Do you recommend testing on a more inland home that is 7-10 years old in Osprey area?

The will generally make observations about mold if they see it, and will bring it to your attention if you are at the house when it is inspected (which I highly recommend). Obviously the extent of mold can vary, and so can the tests, which can be extensive and expensive if you want to take it to an extreme. But if it is spotted, they can take samples and have it tested in a lab and give you a report. Most times, mold is not a hazardous problem just because it is present. It is a naturally occurring organism, and it is vertiually everywhere. There are harzardous types where the mold spores produce toxic materials, that you really want to avoid. When that type of mold is found, everyone goes into a super high panic mode because there are cases, like with Ladywithafan, who has suffered terribly because of their first hand experiences.

All wood framing that is used on a house when it is being built gets rained on. As soon as that happens you have the perfect environment for the start of mold growth. The reason it doesn't reach the problematic phase is because it dries! Without the moisture, mold won't grow. It needs food, water, and oxygen just like us. Getting buildings water / weather tight as quickly as possible is usually enough to prevent mold from becoming problematic. Sweeping the excess water out of the building after a rain also helps to get the moisture out. There are a lot of other steps and checks, but usually that is enough.

I wrote an entire procedures manual for my company to deal with the prevention of mold. Unfortunately I paid a huge price to deal with it due to the negligence of my company and my supervisors on a project. They got the framing up and put the roof and siding on really quickly, but left the roof ridge vent off, and driving rain allowed our building to become soaked. Once that happend the moisture was kinda trapped in the buildings we built. We brought in fans, and did everything we could to get the moisture out, but it didn't work very well. So before we closed-in, we treated (hand wiped) every stud, plate, header, truss member, (everything) duct work, with a bacterial agent, then we added that agent to some paint, and spray-painted all of the framing! ((That was expensive! Over $125 K)) We also had a certified industrial hygenist inspect everything to make sure we erradicated any future possibility of it becoming a problem, including having numerous lab tests done. I would like to add, that the summer when we did this was exceptionally warm and humid.

That project has been completed for 3 years now, and we have not had one call back for any warrantee work, or even one roof leak. Our site team, with the exception of this one small error in judgement, did a fantastic job.

Let me add, that although I am pretty familiar first hand with mold, because I have researched it, and been involved in construction litigation involving it, I don't claim to be a mold expert. There is so much to know to make that claim! One of my favorite sayings, and it keeps me out of a lot of trouble is "I don't know what I don't know, or You don't know what you don't know." I'm sure that applies to your career path too, 222muchcoffee.