Q.Please read carefully as I am including lots of details that I can't find in other questions pertaining to mold.
Our basement is completely finished. Our dishwasher leaked about 6 weeks ago under our hardwood laminate flooring in the kitchen. We cleaned it up, let the flooring dry in our garage for 4 weeks, and laid the flooring back down. Cleaned up water in unfinished part of basement below dishwasher. No more problems as dishwasher is disconnected. 3 weeks ago, we noticed visible green mold on certain parts of the ceiling in finished part of basement. The mold is not everywhere but seems to have be a pick and choose pattern where we see it. For example, not on painted walls, but on painted ceiling, but not all of it. Not at all on any part of the room the leak occur in, with exception of exposed studs. Our insurance will cover $10,000, which is great but it will cost $11,198 in cost to JUST clean up and remediation. This does NOT include any coverage to replace the carpet, drywall, etc. or items such as family pictures. I had another estimate out today and will hear the quote tomorrow but, we are at the point where we want to know, if we can clean it ourselves? My husband is a contractor and we have the respirators. How doable is this? Has anyone had a personnaly experience with cleaning mold in a finished basement? How do we clean the carpet, which we are being quoted $2500.00 just to remove and dispose of.
Do we have to rent a special dumpster for the drywall etc, or will the county dump take it? Fosters 40/80 is mentioned several times as a solvent used on studs, etc. Can we get this or do you need a license for it?
I would appreciate answers from others who have dealt with this type of situation personally.
A.As long as you are careful and thorough you can clean up the Mold yourself. Answering how takes longer than your very long question -- so I've given you a few links to review below on how to clean up.
As to removal of materials; you do not need a special dumpster, however, you might be better off with two different dumpsters depending on your local landfill charges. Call us at 1-888-423-8867 and we can talk over you project with you. You might be better off with a C&D dumpster for the construction type debris like the Sheetrock and a 2nd dumpster for MSW (trash/garbage). These items could be charged different tipping fees (landfill disposal charges).
I have had to clean up mold several times myself and I will caution that if you do not get it all then you wind up starting all over again. Also, keep the area very dry by running a dehumidifier. If you can hook up the dehumidifier so that directly drains (say into a utility tub or through a drainage line) then you never have to worry about emptying it.
good luck and be super safe with the bleaching and other chemicals...
1.00Mold in basement>10 sq ft: can we just remove paneling, or need to have it tested first? How much $$$?
Q.Areas of mold (black and some gray) in a basement that flooded three times this spring. We're working to fix the water problem. We're planning to remodel anyway, so the old paneling isn't a big loss, but I don't want to release tons of mold spores into the air if they're toxic. My inclination is to hire an independent testing lab, find out what type of mold we have, then use their remediation plan to hire a contractor to deal with it. Are we likely to have to clean it up first and THEN remove the damaged areas? Or is removal itself a viable means of solving the problem? Can a regular contractor do this? How much should I expect the testing to cost? If we're not suffering from any clearly related physical problems now (it's been there for months, I'd guess), will we need to vacate the house while remediation takes place? My husband wants to just hire a regular demolition crew to pull the paneling out, but I'm not comfortable going that route. Informed opinions appreciated.
A.We bought a home in which mold was detected - actually, the sellers kept something in front of a gaping, oozing black hole! the mold tested to be the most deadly black mold.
i would not do a lowe's test - given the dangers, I agree with you that you need a mold remediation company to test and make a proposal. Our cost was 1100 for testing and remediation, including cleaning of all the house ducts and not including replacing drywall. i have to say the mold remediation folks who tore out the drywall didn't even use masks. I don't know if this is a lack of respect for their workers or because even the deadly black mold is not a huge problem.
I will say our regular contractor - who fixed the drywall - would have nothing to do with removing the moldy wall. We did not clean the wall before it was removed.
1.00Mold removal - can I do it, or I need to call a Professional?
Q.We bought a foreclosed house. There is a mold on a carpet in the basement. We called mold expert just to make sure it is not poisonous. The results came negative, and when we asked how we are suppose to remove it, he suggested to remove the carpet, put the chemicals and sanitize the area, and we would be fine. We also asked a professional how much he would ask for, he said $2000. We do not know what to do because it is a lot of money, but at the other hand we are afraid we'd not be able to remove it as good as him? Does anyone have any suggestion, and how hard is it to do it, and is there a recommended chemical brand or type that could be purchased at the home improvement store, or the professional brands are far better?
A.Cut the rug in 2ft strips and take up and throw away mix 20% bleach to 80% water buy a 2gal sprayer spray the mixture on the affected area wait 24hrs should be gone if not reapply
1.00Can anyone recommend a mold removal company on Long Island?
Q.Want to remove mold from our basement, would you recommend or not recommend a company?
A.You can purchase an ozone generator on Ebay for about $400. Do it yourself. Then sell it on Ebay and get back most of your money. Just be sure to get a commercial grade model to apply "shock level" values over 16000.
It's a lot cheaper than using a company who will charge $300-500 for the service alone.
1.00Is there any government help with mold removal?
Q.Our basement is riddled with mold. White fluffy stuff on the floor, and I'm sure other various kinds all over. When it rains, water pours in through cracks in the wall. And we don't really have any great form of drainage. It smells very bad. As far as I know, we haven't been getting sick from it, but you can never tell. Any suggestions? We don't have enough money to have a company come in and remove it, but we have two little girls and i don't want them getting sick.
I would love to have the money to do all that but have no idea how we could afford it or even how to do it.
A.Try contacting the Health Dept.
1.00Typical cost for water removal service after basement flooding?
Q.We recently had basement flooding about an inch or two that covered only the utility room and adjacent rooms that are carpeted ONLY wet but no were near an inch of water, just a bit damp from absorbing water. We have a total of 1320 sq foot and half including the utility room got wet. How much does it usually cost for this service. Minor mold was found and a foot section was taken out of the drywall and base board. We want to save the carpet and they said it can be saved since it is new. Stains are visible and can they be cleaned as well? Water that back flowed didn't come out of sanitary line but just excessive rain water.
A.With mold treatment and drying out the carpet also any small repairs could cost about $6500.00.
I sometimes do this kind of jobs. Regards, Dale
1.00Question about mold/water in basement?
Q.I was wondering if there are any contractors/etc out there who would be willing to take a look at a couple pictures for me. I am looking at a house in a great area, very nice house great price ( 3 bed 3 bath 3 car garage .55 acres for $56k) Anyway, there is mold in one part of the basement, the front right corner if that makes any difference, and water around the edges on some parts in the same area. I wondered if anyone could tell me whether or not it looks like a huge undertaking, or if it could be fixed with a simple removal of the mold and sealing the inner walls. Here are the links, thanks for your input! I know nobody can tell me exactly without seeing it etc, but just some thoughts would be great!
http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/1107/floor1.jpg
http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/1508/floor2.jpg
http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/1816/wall1g.jpg
http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/2610/wall4x.jpg
Sorry about the quality, the house is a repo so it had been " winterized" so there was no power :) Plus it was a camera phone!
A.Worked on a lot of these problems. Landscaping has a great deal to do with it. Check to make sure that the ground slopes away from all the walls outside, make sure all eave spouts and troughs are not overflowing and the spouts are directed away from the house. Construction block basements tend to fill the blocks with water for days after a rain. It sits in the holes and seeps out at the floor. If the soil is graded properly away from the house and the spouts and eaves are all okay, this will lessen the problem. You also need to run a dehumidifier in most basements regardless of where you are. Once you get it dry, use bleach to kill the mold and paint over the block walls with a good sealer. Any ceiling tiles will need replacement. I've seen worse than yours and these techniques work. The ceiling tiles simply act like a sponge in a wet basement
1.00Black mold removal - what do you recommend for DIY?
Q.An friend from G. Rapids, Michigan is into foreclosures this days. He got me a house there, a real bargain price. Must fly over tomorrow to see it and sign the papers, then back to work on Monday. He said it's all fine, good condition compared to other places like this he sold - except that heating was off during winter and it developed some nasty black mold and I have to start thinking what can I do about it in less than 2 days. I heard black mold is toxic - he sent me pics of it - can see basement mold, kitchen and even attic mold. I cannot possible hope of doing anything drastic in such a short time, like pumping the crawlspace mold out, but could I at least spend a few dollar and starve it DIY with some off-the-shelf before I return there next month and spend a few days bringing the place to life? Anyone facing something similar recently?
A.You got some very sound answers there, but not sure you know what to do next. My advice, based on the experience I got with black mold removal when my grandma died and I had to sell the house - forget about DIY as the first option before you get an expert on-site to have a look and eventually give you a quote. I used http://www.michiganmoldspecialist.com last year, as they were close and I got a mold removal assessment and quote for free on the same day, once one of their specialists drove over and checked the house. Make sure the agent gets to see everything, including crawlspaces mold - if you want to renegotiate the insurance, you need that.
My 2c - you stand no chance of dealing with this on your own if you are not qualified, and you risk making things worse or even harm yourself. Get it at least properly assessed and do that BEFORE you buy the property - right now you risk losing little, and foreclosure mold is still expensive mold, whatever bargain your friend is driving. Just keep a cool head and think this through, right?
More Mold Removal Questions
Basement Mold Removal
The basement provides fertile conditions for the growth of mold. All surfaces in the basement are susceptible to mold especially wood, ceiling tiles and walls. Leaky pipes can cause water to accumulate causing the growth of spores. The lack of ventilation systems in the basement also contribute to the growth mold and mildew. If yours is an unfinished basement, then its likely to be dark and dingy, making it hard to spot mold and mildew until it has spread.
Of all the places where mold can fester and grow, the basement is the most dangerous. This is because the spores can easily find their way out of the basement and into the main house above through the vents and ducts of the HVAC system in the basement. Once inside the main house, these spores will feely disperse into the air, and begin to settle down in different parts of the house, causing severe Asthma and other respiratory illnesses. To combat mold and mildew in your basement, make sure there are sufficient artificial ventilation systems in place like air conditioners and ceiling fans. Make sure there is no dampness in the basement -- get leaky pipes fixed immediately.
Containing mold in the basement is often a tricky affair. Dislodged spores that have been scrubbed loose can easily make their way to the rest of the house through the vents and ducts in the basement. The only way to deal with a basement mold infestation is to get in touch with a reputed basement mold removals service. All you have to do is fill out the form and we'll connect you with the most highly reputed basement mold removal companies in Jacksonville. You'll receive up to 4 free estimates and all at no obligations at all.
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The basement provides fertile conditions for the growth of mold. All surfaces in the basement are susceptible to mold especially wood, ceiling tiles and walls. Leaky pipes can cause water to accumulate causing the growth of spores. The lack of ventilation systems in the basement also contribute to the growth mold and mildew. If yours is an unfinished basement, then its likely to be dark and dingy, making it hard to spot mold and mildew until it has spread.
Of all the places where mold can fester and grow, the basement is the most dangerous. This is because the spores can easily find their way out of the basement and into the main house above through the vents and ducts of the HVAC system in the basement. Once inside the main house, these spores will feely disperse into the air, and begin to settle down in different parts of the house, causing severe Asthma and other respiratory illnesses. To combat mold and mildew in your basement, make sure there are sufficient artificial ventilation systems in place like air conditioners and ceiling fans. Make sure there is no dampness in the basement -- get leaky pipes fixed immediately.