Mold Removal/Remediation

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mandyg1rl

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This is my first post and I'm not much of a DIYer but thought I could get some good advice. We have discovered a plumbing leak from the kitchen sink on 2nd floor leaking down to the 2nd floor basement/bathroom area that has caused a mold problem. We had someone come out and give us an estimate. They estimated the area to be around 100 sq. ft. They say $5600 just to get the mold out and do the testing. That doesn't include the resoration, which would be another $3k (but we can probably do that work ourselves). I am still in sticker shock. I've read that it is not safe to remove mold yourself but WOW, $5600!
If anyone has any experience with this or any advice, I'd welcome it.
 
Hi mandyg1rl, and welcome to the forum!
You should definately be careful removing the mold, and hiring someone else to do it safely is an option to consider. Shop around a little more though, I'd be in sticker shock too. Have you solved the leak yet? Can you dry the area thoroughly? Is the mold between the walls, or surface? I'm no pro, just a DIY'er figuring it all out as I go. I may not be able to help you, but if I can, I'd be happy to :)
 
We had someone else come out yesterday, I'm hoping to get the quote soon. We shut off the water where it was leaking. Unfortunately the plumber told us he couldn't touch it until we got rid of the mold. (So it's been paper plates and plastic utensils lately-and a lot of TV dinners!) Unfortunately most of the mold is between the walls and behind the sink cabinets. We've dried any water that was there, so now it's just waiting to get it out of there. I'm crossing my fingers that this next quote will be a little less painful. Thanks for your reply. =)
 
I know there's a lot of controversy going on these days about mold and mold problems. It seems like the next big business opportunity for people to go into now that asbestos has quieted down. (OK... off my soapbox...) In any case, it's expensive to have anyone do anything these days especially if a perceived risk is involved. I've been a homeowner for 35+ years now and have cleaned lots of mold up with Clorox bleach and /or other cleaning supplies where it's in the open. Where it's behind walls, I've allowed it to dry thouroghly and sealed it in with a paint like KILZ. While some may say it's not perfect, it's certainly livable and not as hard on the wallet.
 
I'm with Craig. If you can't remove some mold yourself you can't do anything yourself. I've done a ton of it myself and I definitly have a negetive reaction to mold. Respirator and a spray bottle with some bleach to kill as much as possibe before I get in with scrapers etc. I'm certain some of these guys are selling a bunch of hewy. Most people arn't even affected but you want to keep it that way. Respirator and saftey first.

If it is inside wall I prefer to cut the drywall out in the affected areas and treat with bleach, wire brush, more bleach and then re drywall . I personally would not believe anyone that told me they could treat the inside of a wall, and how would you ever know if they were effective. They would be in line with the guys in my area who spray trees for insects that don't exist in this climate and other similar nonsense. Lots of bs out there. Hang on to your wallet.
 
Before you remove any mold, have it tested to see what it is.
There are some out there that will outlast any bleach you spray it down with, this has to do with the parts per million in bleach VS the mold you have. So don't just think you can clean it up yourself and it goes away.
Testing this will let you know if you can DIY .:D
The problem of spreading it around while you clean it up is also a factor, some mold only goes dormant and waits years for another moisture source.
I agree that some out there feed at the trough on the mold issues and are scaring people into things they could take care of with a little knowledge, however there are some things you don't mess with until you know for sure what you are dealing with.

Testing is not more than a few hundred dollars....anywhere.
And the testing company can give you information on how to deal with it...sort of like payin for some schoolin, and piece of mind.;)
How much is your families health worth?
 
I do this for a living so let me give you some advice. First make sure that you section off the rest of the house while your working in the kitchen area, you don't want cross contamination. Second there's a rule of thumb, if it's poros it's removed, bagged and replaced. So the sheetrock, gone, the insullation, gone. Now, once you cut our the mold areas (go about 2 feet beyond the last mold area) just clean off the hard wood with regular soap and water! After you cleaned the hard surfaces with soap and water you might want to go to a chemical supply store and get a product that kills mold and leaves a residue that will work for months later, most chemical stores have several. After you do all that THEN have it tested, but make sure you hepa vaccume all surfaces because mold particals will fly everywhere and hepa vaccuming will remove it. BTW, always wear a mask, and not a dust mask but at least a 95 grade mask. Mold remediators are know for taking a 2K job and making it 25K without effort. Just remember, if it's porus, contain, remove and replace.
 
I'm a bit curious about it too as I expect to be facing the same problem soon.
 
This may be a stupid question but I can't find the answer.

I found some mold as I began tearing apart the bathroom. It was between the paneling and the sheetrock next to the tub. The wood behind the sheetrock looked clean, hard and dry.

After taking out drywall, is there a set period of time to wait before you can start working again? I've got the window, newly recovered, open with a box fan blowing outside.
 
As long as you remove all the mold, and dry it out completely...start at it.
you need to keep the bathroom dry as much as you can from now on.
Make sure your fan/vent is working to exhaust moisture to the outside of the building from the bath room.
If you do not have a fan, put a good one in. It will save you from having this issue again...as long as you always turn it on.:D
 
Thanks for the answer.

I have a working fan but the previous owner did some strange things here.

Found the bathroom floor/subfloor had been replaced once before. with partical board. Lotsa work ahead and I actually remembered to take before pictures. :)
 
We are all around when you need some more helpful advice.:)
 
Since you may be doing it yourself, I just wanted to chime in and talk about my experience. I had someone do the job costed me a good amount of money.

Then came to find that the source of the problem was no fixed. Be sure to find the source of the problem. I learned the hard way. But I did find an awesome course that may help some people...

It did help me, because I removed my mold mold problem from my bath and it was pretty easy once you know the steps.

If anyone is up to it, the course is the mold manuscript and is not to bad. They give you a couple of free guides in doing all the inspecting and mold remediation. May be helpful, if you need to do a mold remediation project yourself, it is called the Mold Manuscript
 
Just make sure that you seek professional help on this if your budget permits it. Get several quotes to make sure you are not getting ripped off by anyone. Good luck.
 
We bought a house two years ago and found mold ON the bathroom walls, I say ON because it is not coming through the firewall, it seems to be building up on the walls. I used bleach, I sanded most of the paint down, (at this point is when I noticed the mold almost all gone, it was not coming from behind the walls). I filled in cracks with spackle, sanded smooth again and painted with primer and new latex paint. It was clean for about a month and then it started again, it was more widespread this time as I foolishly disconnected the extractor fan and allowed the shore vapor to linger, as soon as I reconnected it, it alleviated the problem somewhat but it still remains. HELP!!! I am losing my mind as this seems to be affecting allergies in my family....thanks in advance for any advice
 
Raposon said:
We bought a house two years ago and found mold ON the bathroom walls, I say ON because it is not coming through the firewall, it seems to be building up on the walls. I used bleach, I sanded most of the paint down, (at this point is when I noticed the mold almost all gone, it was not coming from behind the walls). I filled in cracks with spackle, sanded smooth again and painted with primer and new latex paint. It was clean for about a month and then it started again, it was more widespread this time as I foolishly disconnected the extractor fan and allowed the shore vapor to linger, as soon as I reconnected it, it alleviated the problem somewhat but it still remains. HELP!!! I am losing my mind as this seems to be affecting allergies in my family....thanks in advance for any advice
Click to expand...

First of all the mold has to be removed. If you have Drywall- cut it out and trash it. Bleach will not do much for you. It will kill some mold and make it look like it has disappeared by blonding it. Best thing to use is soap and water on affected areas- BUT DO NOT RE-USE YOUR RAG!!!! Dip one rag inthe bucket, wipe down studs or whatever your cleaning and then throw it away. This will help to not spread the mold further.

Check all areas that could have mold. Corners and crevices can hold a lot. Once all of your affected areas have been removed (Including any insulation in the affected area) and remaining areas wiped down with soap and water, you need to spray (Liberally) the area with some kind of anti- microbial. I normaly use Sporacidine but there are probably a few other products out there that will work.

Building a Negative air chamber for the bathroom would be recomended, but I will assume you don't have the equipment and this would be just a bit out of the DIY area.

Good luck!:beer:
 
I also wanted to add that dead mold is just as dangerous as live spores. The mold is still toxic and any of it that gets airborne will still cause you problems, which is why the mold has to be removed, not covered up or hidden.
 
Its been over a year and I just wanted to say that removing molds nowadays can be a DIY thing as long as you know the safety precautions.Kindly check my signature.
 
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