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painpaingoaway posted 8/21/2013 17:25 PM

Well, to add insult to the already fucked uppedness of this horrible week, (still not had time to update the thread about my son not getting in the rehab), yep, another disaster...bad...real bad.

Since I am staying for a few days with FWH at his hotel (yes, he's still working out of town...2 months now... ) in a city about 1 1/2 hrs away from our farm, I decided to run up there this morning to check on things. And guess what? Mold. Fucking mold. Everywhere. Covering every surface. On EVERYTHING.

So, here is what must have happened. We have a fairly new A/C unit. Evidently it has a battery in it (no one told me that), and if the battery goes out, the A/C goes out. Well, the battery died, the A/C died, and the 2 months of non-stop rain created the perfect environment for mold to grow unchecked for the last 6 weeks.

I don't even know where to begin. It is on everything.

I just can not cope with this.

FML. Again.

JanetS posted 8/21/2013 17:37 PM

Now, is it BLACK mold???

Confirm with a professional, but I don't think other molds are dangerous.

I lived in Bermuda for 5 years (in the 80's). One morning I woke up, and all of our shoes, and other leather things were all green with mold. It happened overnight, literally.

I tossed out the shoes. Fortunately before they were picked up I was told by the locals that this happens from time-to-time, and just lysol and clean the heck out of them.

Now, this sounds much more widespread....but call in the air conditioning guy. Get that fixed ASAP. It's possible that once things dry out, the mold won't grow and you'll be left with a cleaning job only.

Again, check with a professional to make sure I'm not wrong.

And I've watched your posts on your son. I'm sorry this is all happening at once.

Crescita posted 8/21/2013 17:38 PM

Oh no (((ppga))) I'd call your insurance company and see what they recommend.

MovingUpward posted 8/21/2013 17:39 PM

(((ppga)))

jo2love posted 8/21/2013 17:59 PM

(((ppga)))

JanetS posted 8/21/2013 18:04 PM

yes to the insurance company as well. Why didn't I think of that? I think they would come quickly so that the problem does not get worse.

My neighbours had a flood during a heatwave (they were out of the country). Their insurance company came in and rebuilt their basement. They had flood insurance, not everybody does, it's an add-on. But this is an air-conditioning issue, not a flood, so you may well be covered. Let them do the clean up if you can.

Let us know how it goes.

nowiknow23 posted 8/21/2013 18:47 PM

Oh, honey. ((((ppga))))

Dreamboat posted 8/21/2013 22:30 PM

(((hugs)))

First of all, don't panic. This is likely mildew and not mold. Not great, but not as bad or harmful as black mold. A few summers ago I had something similar happen in my basement. On one end of the basement I had a slow leak from a toilet upstairs that went unnoticed for years and years. Then on the other end I had a major leak/seepage due to rain splatter on a new patio, and we had record rainfall that year. I did not notice either until I had what I call a "mildew bloom" and every wall and ceiling was covered in mildew.

This is how I fixed it: First I had the source of both problems fixed and I had the drywall replaced in those 2 spots. They drywall was beyond repair in the areas of the leaks but was ok everywhere else. Then I pulled out the bleach. I got a $10 garden pump sprayer (about 3-5 gallons with a hose and you pump it to pressurize the liquid inside). I took a solution of 3/4 bleach and 1/4 water and I sprayed it on every surface in my basement. Be VERY careful when you do this!! Wear clothes that you do not care if they are ruined, wear long sleeves and long pants, cover you face as much as possible, wear glasses to protect your eyes, and wear gloves. I did this 3 separate times, until all of the mildew had disappeared. And then I painted all the walls and ceiling.

Most of what was in my basement was junk so I threw most of it away. Whatever you can wash with bleach you should be able to salvage. You may or may not be able to salvage cloth furniture, it depends upon how much mildew is on it and how deep it has penetrated.

I know it sucks. I was in complete despair when this happened to me. Thankfully my brother knows a trustworthy contractor who was able to do most of the work for me, especially fixing the leaks and replacing the drywall where it was needed. (and oh yeah, replacing the leaky toilet that my stupid X installed poorly years ago -- just another "prize" he left me with )

Good luck!!

click4it posted 8/21/2013 22:32 PM

sometimes when it rains, it pours and i'm so sorry everything is a rainfall right now....there is a rainbow in the horizon after all this rain, I just know there is.

((((((hugs))))))

Kajem posted 8/22/2013 07:32 AM

(((((ppga)))))

Sad in AZ posted 8/22/2013 09:03 AM

I'm so sorry ppga! Have you spoken to your insurance company yet? There are remediation companies out there who deal with this every day.

Tred posted 8/22/2013 09:06 AM

No additional advice, I agree with seeing what insurance covers. I'm so sorry you are going through all of this.

painpaingoaway posted 8/22/2013 11:34 AM

We are getting some estimates today. Haven't called the insurance company yet until we get some idea of what the damage is.

JanetS posted 8/22/2013 12:44 PM

The insurance company would probably send out their own estimators for the job...companies that they normally work with.

Did you get the air conditioning working yet?