Last week I started the story of our flood. Here’s where we stand today on the Good News/Bad News Scoreboard:
* no asbestos found in lathe and plaster walls (good news)
* asbestos found under linoleum flooring in guest room closet (bad news)
* mold found in wall shared by bathroom and guest room closet (more bad news)
* we are covered for the flood (very good news)
* we are partially covered for the mold (so-so news)
* I’m learning lots about dealing with contractors (wish I didn’t have to)
Share your own stories by posting a comment below. Misery loves company!
The remains of my son’s bedroom. Kinda lost that “home sweet home” feeling, hasn’t it?
I have added a link to a site that has lots of useful information on molds and has a second page that is a directory of research on it.
When you have the bathroom wall replaced, instead of using “green board” which is water resistant sheetrock, use cement board. It is a pain to work with, but it does not grow mold.
Hang in there! Sounds like real life at this house! : )
Do be careful and watch your family for allergies and asthma that may flare or show up later.
Terese
Thank you for your concern and the URL. Yes, we did have a licensed contractor do the work, one who specializes in mold remediation. Today he is returning to take air samples both inside and outside the house, which will be sent to a lab for testing.
Please be very careful with the mold! If it’s the bad kind, tearing it out can REALLY hurt you and your family! Make sure you have a licensed contractor, who understands the danger of mold, remove it. They should do things like seal off that part of the house, so that the mold spores don’t go flying all over the rest of the house.
A website about mold that is helpful is: htttp://www.themoldsource.com .
Again, I can’t stress enough to be really careful with it! Two years ago, we had toxic mold in our house, which made my whole family deathly sick. If we had just left, and left our things behind, we would probably be ok by now. But we tried to remediate the house, and clean our things, without understanding how dangerous this stuff is. Although we’re better, we became chemically sensitive, which means we can’t go hardly anywhere without some chemical, including but definitely not limited to mold toxins, making us sick.
Someday soon I hope to be able to spread the word about this to the general population, but for now, I just mention it as I see people dealing with it.
Good luck!