Mold
Hi everyone,
We are looking to purchase our first home. My husband found this one house he likes but it has mold on the walls. The guy that showed him the house says all we would need to do is to paint the walls with a special kind of paint that gets rid of mold. Is that true?
The person said that something overflowed in the house that caused the walls to get wet and have mold.
Thanks for any advice.
Sappho
Hi Windersnest,
I don't buy the story about something over flowing causing the walls to grow mold, nor would I buy a "special" paint to get rid of it.......there are several products that will kill mold and not just covers it up.
I would have the house inspected, which also can help give you a negociating tool for pricing. At either rate I would do further investigation on the house prior to buying same.
Mold is a real health issue and should be eliminated.
Good Luck
Mold is a tricky issue. Having seen this I would inspect every inch of that house so you get a clear understanding of what is causing this problem. Where is this wall located? My first reaction is that it has something to do with the roof or siding. If something overflowed and there is evidence of mold on the wall you should be able to see water damage on the floor. If indeed this is an isolated incident, I wouldn't paint the wall. I would tear out the sheetrock or plaster and rebuild it. That way you can look at the studs and know exactly what the problem is and eliminate it from happening again. If you plan on living in that house you don't want the toxins of mold hanging around your abode.
Mold is there for a reason. It's good to find that reason and fix it. Could be a leaky dripping faucet, could be bad ventilation, could be a busted pipe in the wall. Busting out the sheetrock is a little extreme. Most of the time, it's something pretty simple!
Once the "source of the mold" is fixed ...
1. Spray with bleach and water. This should get rid of most of the mold.
2. Paint with KILLZ. It is a primer that is also a mold inhibitor. Let dry. Paint as usual.
Hope This Helps!
Mrs. Meltzer
Mold is a modern day asbestos problem. We've used mold to get out of an otherwise airtight HUD proeprty purchase.
There are many diffrent kinds of mold, but its the black mold you need to worry about. Black mold can be very harmful to humans. You cannot simply clean this stuff with bleach, it will come back. To be remediated property, everything that the black mold is touching really needs to be removed and replaced. IT can be pricey. We get a ton of houses with black mold here in NC; and it always pops up in the last place you inspect - usually a closet.
If you do go forward, be sure mold removal is reflected in your offer price.
Thanks so much for your help!!!
Hubby just told me we can't get that house even if we wanted to now. It's a HUD property and our bid needed to be in by today with $1000 down which we didn't have anyway.
I'm kinda glad. I really didn't want to have to deal with having to get rid of mold even if we did get it at a bargain price. Maybe if it was an investment property I wouldn't mind.
Thanks again!
Sappho
Mold is hardly a modern day asbestos and more a like the greenhouse gas question.
Half the people believe that it is a silent killer, choking their children in their sleep. The other half call it a ruse to sell expensive "Mold Removal" services.
The fact remains that there is nothing new about mold. It's been with us since the beginning of time and are we only now discovering this deadly poison?
I, personally, would use the "Mold Scare" to get the best possible price out of the house. Make sure you know exactly what caused it in the first place. Then I'd agree with the person who suggested bleach and water.
Hope this helps.