Moldy Closets

After a recent rainy spell here in Seattle, we discovered a leak from the roof letting water into two hall closets. Repairs to the roof are scheduled, and hopefully the hot weather is drying out the closet AND the ants the wet brought. NOW we see there is some kind of funk growing in the ceiling/wall area - kinda creamy and fluffy looking, and a tiny bit of green in the other cloest. We sprayed it with bleach yesterday, but we're wondering if we also need to rip it all out and put new drywall up? I shudder to think what might be behind the wall, but we're willing to bite the bullet if we have to. Thanks!

Professional opinion is to report all to ins company and let them send in a mold abatement company come in. In all that humidity of the nw I am sure what you see on the outside is 1% of what is on the inside.

If you care to do it yourself I recommend you rent an air scrubber to aid in the process. Last thing you want to do is spread the spores around while trying to take care of the problem. Next contain the area you plan on working in with plastic/duct tape. Get yourself plenty of trash bags and start removing the affected driwall. Bag it and bring it outside. Once you get the studs/sill plate expose you will see the problem. Wash with a bleach/water solution. Install a dehumidifier in that area as I am almost positive the wood is still saturated. Run the scrubber/dehu with fan untill wood is dry.

Next go up into attac and see for any mold/moisture problem. Check under the insulation. It will hide.

I realize that most probly will say just spray bleach and kiltz it. Need to get to the source and kill. Spraying a topical spray on the surface will not penetrate to the interior.


ps HD used to sell a mold sample test kit if your worried about the type of mold and how deadly. It will also tell you where mold spores are moving and what rooms are affected.

One caveot on calling your insurance carrier. You may want to check on your policy wording first. In the last few years, many home policies restrict mold remediation coverage to a certain amount. Once it's reported as a claim your company will enter the case into the CLUE database. Water damage/mold claims once in CLUE will put a big black flag next to your property for quite some time. It s*cks....but it's what it is.

If it were me, I'd first have the roof repaired and then consider the alternative of taking care of the mold matter by getting some estimates from professional remediation contractors. The insurance company isn't llikely going to pay for repairing the roof and if the mold can be taken care of at a reasonable cost you may come out ahead in the long run paying for the repairs yourself.

Mort

it is serious and you need to do a lot of checking and doublechecking as your wood and plaster dry out.

Once the paper face of drywall has been wet or damp for a long time, it has mold in it. Not just "spores" which are the equivalent of seeds in the mold world. If it all dries out, it is still there and offgassing still, and will immediately go into high gear when humidity comes back which could happen on any given day. In other words, once contaminated forever bad.

On wood (real, solid wood) mold grows on the surface but can't get down into the whole cellulose underneath until years of rot happen. On wood products made of wood fibers or chips, mold can migrate fast into the core of the product's body. So paper facing of drywall, OSB, even plywood, can all be seriously infected.

Mold offgasses toxins; these are their excretions, just as all living organisms release (or excrete, or defecate) byproducts of their metabolism. Mold toxins are "mycotoxins". Search on that and you will see that most mammals suffer badly from inhaling mycotoxins, and humans just happen to have complex enough immmune systems to handle it fairly well compared to pets, farm animals, zoo animals and caged animals. In other words, animals get sick and listless, and often die, whie we just get listless, lifeless, irritable, tired and stressed. Mold is not always toxic "per se" and a billion kinds have not been studied yet, but it is not a good gas to have in the house or in any closed environment.

David

I'd just as soon avoid the whole insurance thing. It will cost $1500 to repair the roof (adding metal flashing to 2 valleys) and our inspector said he would split the cost (covering his a** I think). Of course, it is raining today.

Does anyone happen to know a reputable company to take care of the mold in Seattle? None listed on Angie's list. I did see on the EPA site that if it's less than 10 square feet, we could remove it ourselves. It's only about 1 square foot on the front side of the wall (before we sprayed with bleach) but I have no idea what the back side looks like.

First comes to mind is Servpro 1-800-Servpro. Servicemagic also do that sort of work. 1800Respond. Those are the two local franchises that deal with mold.

i'd be wary of experts remediating whatever. They don't impress me much.

david