Black Mold - Has Anyone Had It In Their House?

[summerrluvv]

My older sister just called me freaking out because they have black mold in their basement. They had water in the basement that has apparently been there for the past few months and the painter came and noticed it smelled down there and told my BIL to buy a black mold testing kit. The painter said that my BIL actually said not to tell my sister because she will freak out (well she has every right to freak!). Fortunately the painter told my sister so she bought a test kit herself. It came back positive for black mold. Her husband thinks it's no big deal at all! He knew the water was down there (it's a finished basement), but is a huge procrastinator so he didn't do anything about it.

My sister is pregnant and is going to have the baby anyday now. Her other three kids have have been coughing off and on for the past 3 months and ill with various things (colds, strep, etc.) and now she's worried that it's related to the black mold. Without going into their entire financial situation, lets just say it's not good. BIL doesn't pay the bills, isn't responsible and has a carefree attitude. I have no idea what to tell her to do. I'm not a homeowner myself so I'm not sure, but does homeowner's insurance pay for something like this? If so, she has a new homeowner's policy that she got not too long ago, so I don't think they are going to like this at all if they have to pay for it.

 

[Wish I lived in Fl]

Claiming or even enquiring about a claim could affect insurance rates.

I suffer from allergies and severe persistent asthma that i think are related to mold exposure.

Basement needs a high capacity dehumidifier with an auto pump that will pump water up and out of house.

Basement needs to be cleaned with bleach.

An air cleaner would be helpful,especially the Friedrich electrostatic precipitator.

These 3 measures helped. They do cost but less than Dr. appointments and copays for medication. One month my copays were $250!

Good luck!

 

[bettyann29]

I dont have personal experience with this but I had a friend a few years ago that noticed it in her home.. there were a few spots on her wall and she would clean them with bleach water as she didnt think much about it but the spots would come back a few days to a week later.. after a few times it got her to thinking of black mold and she found out it was.. They practically gutted her home to get it out.. she was living with her mom for months before they were done.. They have to get it all, otherwise it will come back.. It can make you very sick!! You should google it and you will get some interesting stuff.. I know my friends homeowners policy covered it but I thought I heard that policies nowadays dont cover it.. They would have to read their policy.. Its not a good place for someone who is pregnant, let alone children.. especially not a newborn.. I think she needs to know..

 

[msdznyduck]

We had a similar situation in our downstairs family room which backs to our laundry room. I thought the washer was leaking....DH pulled it away from the wall, and there was mold on the wall. Apparently we had a pipe in the wall that had a leak, but not a 'gusher'. All the affected sheetrock needed to be pulled down. When you wash everything down with diluted bleach, make sure you make a spray bottle and soak the wood, or it will just come back after you put up new sheet rock. Make sure it drys out well also, fans, etc.

Our homeowners insurance did not cover any of it, since it was not a sudden occurance. They said it was dripping for awhile, and we should have gotten it fixed sooner. Sorry, my x-ray vision wasn't working at the time to see into the walls.

We had it tested and although it did come back as mold, it was not the "bad" mold. (Thank God).....people have had their houses condemned for that, and are unable to live in it.

 

[summerrluvv]

Thanks for the replies I don't think she will be able to use the bleach herself and do this since she is pregnant. Hopefully other family members will be able to help her clean it up. I'm 600 miles away from her, otherwise I would help. I'll let her know that insurance will most likely not pay for it.

Also, I know she was going to eventually try to sell the house further down the road. This is something that will defininately need to be disclosed right? I also read a story on google about someone that actually could not sell their house because insurance companies would not insure the new owners due to the previous problem with mold. What a nightmare!

 

[summerrluvv]

Oops, posted it twice for some reason!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Not to sound like an alarmist, but I've seen a few shows on black mold. One was Forensic Files, & the others were on TLC or Discovery. I can't remember for sure. Anyway, on FF the CDC discovered the black mold in low income housing. Although, the type of home is irrelevant. The CDC was called in due to a spike in infant illness & death. I think this may have been in Philly. I'll try to find the specifics & get back to you. Another show was on a couple who had to abandon a multi million dollar mansion, because of the mold. It was an older home, & the mold started in the walls from water pipes leaking. They tried everything to salvage the home, but finally had to abandon it. In this case, they found the mold after both the man became deathly ill. It took awhile to find it. The child was also affected & neither of them fully recovered. The man went from a very lucrative career to carrying a Palm Pilot just to remember where he was supposed to be next. It was very sad.

Your sister is lucky to have caught it early. From everything I've seen it's not something to ignore. I'm not surprised the kids have been sick. Unfortunately, it may get worse if they don't do something ASAP. I wish them luck, & hope their insurance will cover it.

 

[Gwene65]

Don't touch it. Do not try and clean it up yourself. I think your sister and her husband need to get professionals to come in and fix the problem. Do not bring a baby into the house, especially if it is black mold. I am not sure on the spelling but it is called Stachyborus and it is the worst type of mold to get in a house. I used to work for an inspection company and we used to see this all the time. There was even a condemed home b/c of it.

This would explain why her kids are getting sick. Do not let her husband try to clean it himself. It will not go away and might even spread it once it is airborne.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I think it's stachybotrys, if the OP wants to do a search. This is the mold I was referring to as well. I agree with Gwene65 on removal. I wouldn't try to clean it up myself. I'd want to bring in someone who specializes in mold removal to make sure they get it all.

 

[lowie]

as a realtor and property manager in humid florida i've done a lot of reading up on the different types of mold and i highly suggest before you freak yourself and your sister out you should check out the center for disease control website. there is a lot of information there about cleeaning and removing mold and the TRUTH about how people get sick from it.

as for your BIL's behaviour.... well, i think your sister needs to open her eyes to his antics and take some responsibility for her and her childrens health.

 

[annegal]

WE had mold in the ductwork of our house and could small a musky odor when the AC first would blow. My kids had colds a lot. We had professionals clean the ductwork. ...this was maybe 6 years ago and only the upstairs ductwork and it cost around $800.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

there is a lot of information there about cleeaning and removing mold and the TRUTH about how people get sick from it.

I hope your capital letters aren't an insinuation that the rest of us are making up the info. we've provided. Everyone here has the OP's sister & her family's best interest in mind. Noone is trying to be an alarmist. We're simply providing the limited knowledge we possess on this subject.

 

[lowie]

I hope your capital letters aren't an insinuation that the rest of us are making up the info. we've provided. Everyone here has the OP's sister & her family's best interest in mind. Noone is trying to be an alarmist. We're simply providing the limited knowledge we possess on this subject.

relax, i'm not insinuating anyything... but the OP shouldn't get her pregnant sister freaked out by some things that people saw on TV or were told by a company that make all their money by cleaning the 'so called' toxic black mold.

to be sure, i've offered one alternative to learn a bit more about the types of mold, how to clean it and the effects it may or may not have on her family's health.

 

[sweet angel]

There was an article several years ago in a magazine -- Reader's Digest, perhap -- about black mold and the horrors and dangers of it. I'm not sure if ALL black mold is bad, but I don't think there are really any GOOD molds in the house!

I do know, from work with real estate attorneys, that mold remediation can be very costly, and I don't believe many insurance companies cover it automatically. I believe you can purchase additional riders to cover it though.

 

[Robinrs]

My son and I stayed at a friend's condo while he moved to California for a year. During the year we were there there were several problems with the upstairs bathroom. It was right above the kitchen.

During the week my son was fine but during the WEEKEND for some reason he would get digestive problems, either getting nauseus or actually throwing up. I developed an antibiotic resistant infection in my ear. Doctors could not pinpoint the problems at all thru I don't know how many doctor appointments!

The killer was even my CAT got sick. His hair fell out and he had breathing problems.

The mold became evident in the kitchen ceiling. It was about this time when my friend returned. I told him to get it checked because I suspected it was causing my families problems.

We moved and ALL of our ailments DISAPPEARED. I wonder how much worse it could've gotten if we stayed longer!

I also so the Forensic Files show and was convinced it was our problem, also.

Please have her check it out. It's nothing to play with.

 

[SadieDog]

We have black mold in our cellar on sheetrock which needs to be removed. We had the mold tested and it is not toxic. It does pose a problem with my allergies and sinuses. We really need to take care of it soon.

 

[SillyMe]

No one should try to clean it up until you get a professional opinion. If it becomes airborne, it can come back in other places. In the meantime, I agree with the poster who suggested putting in a dehumidifier and an air cleaner.

Most insurance companies around here will not cover mold remediation and it's very expensive.

 

[summerrluvv]

Just a little update. My sister had someone come to examine the problem and it's worse than they thought. There is toxic mold in basement and the living room so they have to rip out the drywall in the basement and living room, the tile in the bathroom, and the rubber floor in part of the basement. I guess he did an air test on their 2nd and 3rd levels as well but doesn't know the results of that yet. He said that she and the children should defininately be out of the house (which they have been) and it's a good thing that she didn't have the baby yet.

Her children had blood tests and the results will hopefully be in tomorrow and it will show if their sickness has been from the mold or not. I feel so sorry for her They are trying to find places to stay, but with 3 kids and one on the way anyday now, it has to be hard on her.

 

[Daxx]

My niece and her husband purchased a house and started to do major construction work on it (tearing down walls, etc.). While they were doing this, they found out that it was completely infested w/black mold. It was so bad that their DD had such a severe asthma attack that she had to be airlifted to the children's hospital!

When their home was inspected, it was done by a "town building inspector" who did not have the proper credentials (or whatever) for homes. He was a friend of the owner and offered to do it for them at a v. low cost. Well, he "never" spotted the mold (it's ALL over the house). They can't go back and sue him b/c he wasn't insured for home inspections. Sounds fishy to me ...

They were basically told they could either live in the house and "deal" w/it (they'd never get rid of it) or they could walk away and hand the deed over to the bank. They had to bite the bullet and turn the deed over to the bank. So sad b/c they'll never get the money they paid for the house, closing fees, etc.

Funny thing is that so many people told them to get their own home inspector, but they decided to go the cheap route. It really cost them a lot!!!

 

[mickeysgal]

Don't touch it. Do not try and clean it up yourself. I think your sister and her husband need to get professionals to come in and fix the problem. Do not bring a baby into the house, especially if it is black mold. I am not sure on the spelling but it is called Stachyborus and it is the worst type of mold to get in a house. I used to work for an inspection company and we used to see this all the time. There was even a condemed home b/c of it.

We once had a contract on a home that had mold. As part of the inspection we had an air quality specialist come in and do core and air samples. Yup - it was THE toxic black mold. It was on a very large section of the garage where there was a leaking laundry tub. It had consumed a good portion of the wall. Needless to say, we walked quickly away from that house as beautiful as the rest of it was. We were told to not go back into the room and linger since it was airborne also.