J:
A little advice. The response to the moisture event is well
outside the usual 72 hours that trigger mold contamination
concerns VS a simple response to moisture. In other words,
after three days of sustained moisture, we shift our focus
from dehumidification to biologic decontamination.
Your response to this event should now be - find an IAQA
certified inspector or industrial hygienist who specializes
in mold. DO NOT seek the advice of carpet companies, storm
restoration franchises, home inspectors or mold remediators.
This person should become your third party inspector - NOT
the homeowner’s inspector. Your inspector should write the
protocol that a remediation company performs. Your inspector
should NOT be performing the remediation work, but should
supervise the process to ensure things are done properly.
You are dealing with a mold issue at this point in time.
Forget carpet cleaning or drying. Water damaged materials
must be removed by a certified mold remediator. Surfaces and
wall cavities should be disinfected following IICRC S520
standards.
This is a fixable problem but DO NOT allow a band-aid fix.
Find a environmental inspector to represent your interests.
Search www.iaqa.org for potential names.
Good luck with things.
RD
On 5/09/08, J wrote:
> We're in the process of buying a house, offer accepted,
> owner has a flood in the basement (sump pump either failed
> or wasn't plugged in!). We're getting differing stories
> and haven't even gotten an updated disclosure yet.
>
> Flood supposedly happened Thurs night, owners were away,
> discovered flood approx sun night. Tuesday our inspector
> was in to set up the radon test - owner had fans going but
> had not removed the remenant carpets or rubber exercise
> tiles in the two unfinished rooms of the basement. Owner
> reported to the inspector that he had 1/2" of water and
> the sump pump float got stuck. Thursday we have home
> inspection - this is now 6 days out from flood event. The
> dry wall is SCREAMING with each moisture test - it's still
> soaked at least 12" up the wall.
>
> We pull back the carpet and the concrete is still really
> wet. The drywall in the furnace room (where the floor
> drain is located) is so wet the paper is bubbling up and
> there are black smudges on the wall (which could be just
> dirt we have no way of knowing).
>
> We report back that we want the place FIXED. Sick to our
> stomachs over this. The sellers get a carpet steamer guy
> in but not until SATURDAY who proceeds to say 1) that
> everything is dry and then when my hubby questioned it 2)
> I'll go check again. He reports back - oops it is still
> slightly damp I'll put in dehumidfier and industrial
> fans. Steemer guy says that mold can't grow in carpets
> (uhh last time I checked it can). He's insisting there
> isn't a problem. We request that our own flood remediation
> expert go in on Wednesday - earliest we coul dget him in.
> Home owner says - okay but I want to be there can we delay
> it until Thursday (now almost 2 weeks out from flood
> event).
>
> thursday comes - home owner has removed the drywall in the
> furnace room and replaced it. He did a horrible job and
> didn't even use tape before mudding (seperate issue). To
> boot - he's not even there, and his steemer guy - insists
> things are dry even asks to borrow our guys monitor -
> guess what. Its STILL not dry. This is 2 weeks later.
>
> I really like this house, we've spent 6 months looking for
> the right one, construction quality in this area seems to
> be the pits the thought of looking for another house just
> kills me... but we are REALLy concerned that it's been wet
> for too long and mold has already started. Even if we pull
> off the drywall after closing (which isn't until June 2)
> we're worried about mold.
>
> What would you do? Run? Force the seller to fix it? (we're
> worried that they won't fix it right - not exactly a good
> track record). Put 20K in an allowance or outright price
> reduction and hope to god the mold hasn't spread through
> the whole house?
>
> This is supposed to be the first flood event in this
> house, but at this point we don't trust the sellers to
> provide an accurate disclosure!!
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