How to mend a moldy house...

[twobrewers]

My wife and I are contemplating buying a home. (we still love our small rent payments)

 

Anyways, I've seen quite a few with a disclaimer that mold has been found on the premises. Some have significant mold infestations - other, it seems very remote.

 

In our apartment, we will see mold from time to time start to form on the ceiling in the bathroom. (We don't use our exhaust fan nearly enough) We just spray some cleaning stuff on it and clear it up.

 

So my question is - how big of a problem is mold in a house? Can you just tear down the drywall and put up new drywall? Do you have to get some fungicide sprayed to clean out the house?

 

I am obviously not about to buy a mold infested house - just looking for a little preliminary research to see what I am dealing with. I appreciate anyone who is willing to chime in on the subject.

[PeaveyFury]

In our apartment, we will see mold from time to time start to form on the ceiling in the bathroom. (We don't use our exhaust fan nearly enough) We just spray some cleaning stuff on it and clear it up.

 

I think this is more likely mildew, which is a very minor type of mold that (as you mentioned) is extremely easy to remove and clean up. Usually when there are mold concerns in a house, I believe it's more likely black mold or a much more serious type of mold that's living in the structure, and a much more serious concern.

[hawing]

One factor (which could be difficult to take into account in advance) is how you and/or your wife physically react to mold. What might be a "remote" mold infestation to some could prove to be a major health problem for you.

 

If/when you get to the point of liking a house enough to make an offer on it, you'll want to have an inspection done on it. The inspector's job is to find every little (or big) thing wrong with your desired property, write up a report on it for you, and then you can decide whether the problems found are dealbreakers for you or not. I imagine mold is one of the things an inspector would inspect.

[Fatter than Joey]

I was watching a show where some people died from mold in their trailer -- Their brains just stopped working.

 

Mold can be a huge deal.

[chuckiehacks]

FTJ is right - mold can be a huge deal, and not just in the brain-melting way. If you buy a house knowing it has or had mold, you'll have to disclose that when you sell the house. Sure, you can just tear out drywall, but to really get rid of the mold, you'll need to find a mold remediation contractor, and they're not cheap.

 

When you get an inspection (which is a MUST, mold or no mold), find someone who does mold testing. They'll be able to identify the mold, find the source and maybe even help estimate the cost to cure.

 

In this market, where buyers have all the power, I'd stay away from anything with mold. There are tons of houses for sale right now.

[Chio151]

What you can demand is that a toxicity report on the mold is done at the seller's expense. Some mold in the corner of a basement is normal and treatable. However, there are types of black mold that are highly dangerous. It's a simple and cheap test.

 

Also important though, is to check the house for water damage, grading, warping, etc. If there is mold, then there are likely grade issues. If there are grade issues then there may have been flooding, water damage, and possibly foundation issues. These would be even bigger deal breakers. In this market, you can put a lot of these expenses on the sellers. If you have *any* concerns, I would recommend a foundation expert.

[blatzlight]

Don't touch a moldy house ever. It is very hard to get rid of and very expensive. Houses sometimes have to be leveled because of mold. Just don't do it.

[jwill535]

Having done some mold removal and environomental work on homes, how you clean it goes this way.

 

-quarantine the area and have all the air filtered out of the house.

-remove anything that has mold on it by placing into sealed plastic bags for disposal.

-For the mold on wood you spray it with a bleach solution and scrub off the mold or just remove the wood and replace it if possible

-if you just cleaned the wood then you sand down the cleaned area to get rid of any left over mold

-use an anti mold solution on the cleaned area and you are done

 

Tips to help prevent mold into your home

- Limit the amount of plants, fish tanks or items with water in them in an area

- when cooking, always run the vent over your stove

- This one is a big one, after showering, close the door and leave the fan running for about 30 minutes to get the heat and moisture out of the house. If you are worried about using energy for the fan, dont worry. If you ran any fan from the last 15 years or so all the time for a year straight, it would probably cost you $1, so dont worry about it.

- Make sure you have a good seal around the base of your tube and toilet, alot of water seaps under the tube and toliet. More then likely everyone on here with a house, the flooring under your tube and toilet is in rough shape.

[twobrewers]

Thanks a lot jwill - lots of good input.

 

Everyone has kinda had the same point - don't do it. And that removal is expensive.

 

Well, if a $150,000 house is selling for $100,000 because of the mold - it might still be a good deal. Does anyone know how much it actually costs? (I mean, obviously the costs varies - I am just looking for a range)

 

The house I was looking at was on the market for less than a week. It was marked down significantly because of mold. But apparently someone thought it was worth the trouble given its short stay on the market.

[jwill535]

Like I said in my previous post, anything that has mold on it that can be removed should be, which could be costly. Depending on the size of the work obliviously and if you have a leak into the basement the requires fixing is going to eat up that $50,000 very quickly.