Mold Testing Results back

[JuliaFaith]

Received ERMI mold testing results back after a full year of cleaning/remodeling and very discouraged!

 

The result is '8.28' versus before it was 13.71. This is in the top 25% for mold.

 

We are either going to have to move - finding a low-ERMI score in our area will be next to impossible OR have a remediation guy coming out tomorrow. He was referred by doctor and does a full inspection ($425) for mold/EMF/Radio frequency/sleeping area etc. but at this time, we are just going to have him do some mold testing ($100 per sample plus his $50 fee). He mentioned doing the attic which we have wondered about. Apparently, if mold is high up there, they totally enclose the area so it cannot penetrate into the house (~$800).

 

After going over the house with my dh to make sure I was ready for this guy, I realized almost every room in this house has had water damage at one time or another. Some of it is speculation from prior owners since they did not mention any of it. My dh has replaced almost every wall downstairs just in case there was mold!

 

Here we go again!

[SSS]

Oh no. Crud, I'm so sorry :-(.

I know how hard you have worked.

You did really get your score down, tho....

PV'S ---

[Familyof5]

julia, i cant remember if you had a forced hot air heating/ventilation? if you do, try turning them off. use spacebheaters and/or window ac units. if you see improvements in health, it can really help narrow down your source. just a suggestion.

[mar]

Familyof 5 I have followed your posts with the mold and always though not a problem here. Well this was a shocker. We bought our home 10 years ago. It was just built when we moved in. So several years ago when ds was going crazy with allergies and all I would say to my DH maybe there is something in the house. I always had this feeling about mold. It might be from reading your posts. Ds felt better over time with what we were doing so I kind of got off the mold thing and assumed I was crazy. Ilways looking for something to blame. So last fall DH went into neighbors attic to look at some vents for him and ds wanted to look on our attic. DH was like no forget it and I was like key him look for crying out loud so he would stop talking about it. When I got up and looked I almost passed out on the ladder. I seen black on several pieces of wood. I told DH its mold and he didn't believe me once again. Thought I was crazy!!! Once everything stopped screaming inmy head like crap!!! I felt like I always knew but in a newly built home with no water damage??? As I started researching and several mold companies came out it seems that the wood was wet when built. The mold is not growing. We are having it fixed on Monday. Just goes to show you that you never know and thanks to ds urgency to see the attic. So my world crashed once again but I keep chugging along. I remember reading your posts and thinking j would die if it happened to me b/c ds is allergic to mold and all the other things that go along. You have to keep moving and not let all the setbacks crash u down. I was devastated but have to keep my head above water.

Mar

[JuliaFaith]

Well, $850 later (inspection was $250) we had 6 air samples done. I thought air sampling was not useful, but apparently it can help pinpoint a problem room/area. There was concern about our laundry room which has the water heater, washing/dryer, and heating unit all in one room. It seems we need to seal the duct work a lot better and anything else that is not sealed well, mostly the dryer and heater. He also recommended having a timer on the fan and running it on a regular basis along with opening the window as much as possible. The humidity gets above 60% sometimes when multiple machines are running in that room. Above 60% is not good. Also, outside heater intake and exhaust tubes are right next to each other. He said these should be at least 8 feet apart.

 

Sampled the attic which he said should be sealed completely from the rest of house since air up there is not very clean (whether or not there is a mold problem). That means sealing lighting and plug-ins etc. that are on the floor underneath the attic.

 

Also said that his fees/sampling costs are tax deductible if prescribed by doctor! Remediation costs as well. Will double check this with IRS rules but sounds good to me!

 

Oh, Familyof5, just realized that heater air intake is on the floor almost right underneath the entry to our attic. Ummm...inspector said there could be some remnants of mold in the heating system (after having it cleaned) but did not take samples on it at all.

 

Mar, glad you are finding your way through this mess! Keep us up-to-date on your progress if you can.

 

Just taking it one day at a time... Thanks for your replies.

[fightingmom]

Wow. I'm so sorry this is turning out to be such a tedious and expensive process. I hope in the end it provides much relief!!

[JuliaFaith]

Wow. I'm so sorry this is turning out to be such a tedious and expensive process. I hope in the end it provides much relief!!

Thank you!

[MichaelTampa]

Goodness, what a lot of work and how difficult!

[mar]

Well they were out today to to apply their solution to sanitize the attic which will terminate any mold growth. From I have been told the mold on the wood joints was because wood was wet before home was built. Good think is it's only on some joints. It's not on the plywood which is a good sigh (I think thats what you call it) we came to this conclusion because on a couple pieces of wood there is actually a strip that goes through it which is not black if that makes sense. That is where the joints had the plastic straps on them to hold the piles of would together. So the house smelled of chlorine as of your in a indoor waterpark. Luckily it was a nice day so windows were open and smell went away. Tomorrow they will be applying the Microbe guard Duraban anti-microbial treatment to prevent further growth. After today's treatment they will show us tommorow that all the black is gone. The final treatment is clear so it will look like there was never a problem. Which is better than another company that was going to spray the whole attic white. I can't wait till this is done.

Mar

[JuliaFaith]

Well they were out today to to apply their solution to sanitize the attic which will terminate any mold growth. From I have been told the mold on the wood joints was because wood was wet before home was built. Good think is it's only on some joints. It's not on the plywood which is a good sigh (I think thats what you call it) we came to this conclusion because on a couple pieces of wood there is actually a strip that goes through it which is not black if that makes sense. That is where the joints had the plastic straps on them to hold the piles of would together. So the house smelled of chlorine as of your in a indoor waterpark. Luckily it was a nice day so windows were open and smell went away. Tomorrow they will be applying the Microbe guard Duraban anti-microbial treatment to prevent further growth. After today's treatment they will show us tommorow that all the black is gone. The final treatment is clear so it will look like there was never a problem. Which is better than another company that was going to spray the whole attic white. I can't wait till this is done.

Mar

Thank you so much for sharing! Interesting that every professional you talk to has a different approach to things. It seems that I have heard of a 'Duraban' sinus spray. Is that possible? Hope you have a nice day so you can get out of the house during treatment as much as possible.

 

The place we had testing done thru, and are still waiting for results from, has recommended that we totally 'plastic' in the entire attic area whether or not we have mold because the air from the attic comes into the house from the canned lighting etc. and the air is not very clean. We also have my son who has been sick for over 2 yrs. and now my dh is who is getting treatment for sinus/lung issues which is part of this reasoning. This guy does EMF/Radio Frequency testing etc. too but we did not have those inspections done now since we are almost at the end of our funds. Can only deal with and afford doing so many things at once!

 

I always wondered how homes could be built in the rain!