Help! Black Mold in the Basement? Once mold starts, can it be eliminated?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Help! I desperately need to tap the communal hive-mind here: should I buy my dream home or run away?

So, I’ve been looking at houses lately - a lot of houses. I’ve finally found one that I really, really like; it’s a beautiful home, with way more space than I’d ever need. It has basically everything I’ve been looking for in a home, and I’ve been looking for almost 2 years. Out in the country but near the city, right between two of the best cities in the area, good schools (not that I have any children about), and a good neighborhood. (I even met one of the neighbors, and he seemed really nice.)

The house is priced as an exceptional deal. In fact, I couldn’t afford the house at what it “should” be priced at.

However, as they say, there is no such thing as a good deal in Real Estate…

The basement of the house was flooded with groundwater for approximately a year, to approximately 1 foot. (In this area, full basements are often dependant on Sump Pumps to keep them dry. This house was walked away from, and the power was cut; hence the flooding.) This doesn’t seem to have caused any structural damage to the house (of course, I’ll have a structural engineer do a complete inspection), but it did cause a rather large colony of mold to develop. It’s a thin layer on all the drywall in the basement - the cement walls look to be untouched, as does the joists above the drop ceiling (which is also covered).

I am considering putting in an offer contingent on the bank having the mold abated, unfinishing the basement, and passing structural and mold inspections.

However, I’m worried that even after the mold is removed and the house cleaned, that it would be more likely that I’ll have mold issues in the future. Once a house gets moldy, can it ever be un-moldy?

Greatly appreciate all opinions!

2

Run. Run screaming if you have to, but. run. away.

The mold is indicative of a far larger problem. One which has probably been covered up as much aspossible. There is water leaking into that basement, and even if that weren’t true the mold will make your family ill. If you’re lucky enough to avoid pneumonia, you’ll at leastd ela with constant allergy symptoms.

The house is cheap because it’s at best a serious re-work, and at worst a tear down.

Toxic Mold

3

The chances of a bank agreeing to that kind of contingency are zero.

Also, I agree with the “run away” scenario. Mold everywhere is essentially unfixable.

The water in the basement is a deal-killer all by itself. All the houses with full basements need sump pumps? I’d write off the whole area.

4

Once the leak is gone, bleach will cure the mold. If it’s mildew I suggest “Tilex Mildew Root” which is a foaming product better than their other varieties but harder to find. Should be online somewhere.

As for odors, most every tool rental shop in the phone book will carry an “ozone machine”.
Turn it on, leave the area for a day, and it will oxygen-bleach out odors from every crack and behind every pipe.

5

Also, there are flood recovery specialists. Often under Plumbing in the phone book.
I used one in an apartment when the kitchen sink got sludge coming out from the stormdrains backing up during a storm. They steam cleaned and then had massive fans to dry the carpeting and saved me a bundle.

6

Not everyone has the same reaction to mold. Some people have no reaction. And the reaction can get worse over time. Like any other allergy. Some people can live in a house with huge amount of mold with no problem, yet a relative will get sick within minutes of entering.

I’d skip this house despite all the other nice stuff because of the mold. I strongly recommend that.

7

Huh? Sump pumps are common, effective, cheap, and have proven backups. In the whole region – not just “area” – a sump pump means having a basement, and not having a sump pump means having no basement. There’s nothing at all alarming about sump pumps.

8

If you really, truly love the house, it might be worth it to get one of the flood recovery companies to come in and do an estimate (or, ideally, more than one). This house is going to be so hard to move that the bank might be willing to play ball.

One big question, though: how long do you think you’ll be in the house? If you think you might sell it in the foreseeable future, this is definitely not the house for you.

If it can be fixed, if you plan to be in it for the long term, if it truly is a steal, and if you really like it that much more than anything else, it might be worth it. But in a buyer’s market like this one, I’d keep looking.

(Who the hell finishes a basement that floods, anyway? I’d be suspicious of any repair/renovation choices the previous owners made.)

9

The house is either a great deal or a problem.

At issue is whether the mold problem is due to an ongoing water issue or a past single-episode event caused by loss of electricity and poor backup.

“Toxic mold” is a ridiculously exaggerated notion promulgated by anxious hypochodriacs and/or litigious nincompoops and their feeders. Of course such folk are also home-buyers, so it doesn’t matter if they are witless; they will still affect the market.

Wood-framed walls and drywall that was submerged for a year needs to be replaced, and only replacement will be a proper cure. I assume the basement is finished. It should be gutted back to concrete, and the cost of that (along with refinishing) reflected in the price of the home. The underside of the first floor should be carefully inspected to make sure it was not affected by being exposed to that level of dampness for a year–it was essentially sitting on top of a swimming pool. I would not consider any solution other than a total ripout of everything that was submerged.

Yes, you can get rid of the mold itself when you get rid of the moisture. You need to be confident that the water problem is due to the stated reason and can be solved, and that back-up sumps will be installed to ensure an electric failure does not result in a flooded basement again.

It’s not your question, but don’t worry about mold. Worry about moisture.

10

I don’t know where the OP lives, but in my area we had extensive flooding last year in areas that have never been known to flood even with records back to the early 19th Century. These things can happen.

11

[ol]
[li]Flood recovery specialists[/li][li]Peel back the asking price by double-digit percentages. Sneer & point at mold if they demurr.[/li][li]Hi Opal[/li][li]You know those insect foggers? Set a can or 2 off, & leave for a few hours? There are anit-mold/disinfectant foggers available on the web & upscale hardware joints.[/li][/ol]

12

The reason the drywall is moldy when the other walls aren’t is because it’s clad in paper.
They make a new kind now without the paper surface that does not get mold.

13

Mold is over blown.

Almost every house has mold in it in a moisture area. Some people are more sensitive to it than others. Most of the time the spores are only a few and stay in a very small area until something like what you are describing happen and the collony can grow un checked.

The sheet rock on the walls and any furring wood may have to be removed. With the power back on and the sump pump working how damp is the basement? If it is still damp then the mold will return and you will have to keep it under control.

Some houses don’t get sold for a good price because most of the people who see the posibilities take the advice of their friends and do not ask the bank.

Example my wife and I looked at a nice house, but realised hey they removed the space heaters. The 1st time we looked at it was a good house at a fair price if it had heat. We passed. The price dropped, and my wife wanted us to make an offer of $55,000 less than what the first asking price was. The house price dropped again and my wife and I called our realter to take a serious look at the house. The day we looked the second time it had dropped to $254,000. After looking again, I thought it was a good deal I figured that installing forced air heat would be about $5,000. We offered $250,000 and the offer was taken. And with the inspections I had a heating company come and give me a bid on installing the heater, $5,100. Our agent had us ask for a contingency of the bank installing the heat as per the bid. After many back and forths and missteps by the bank they installed the heat.

My point is do not be afraid to ask the seller anything. If not getting what you want is a deal breaker, if they say no then you go on as if you never asked. But if they say yes then you could get the deal everyone else let slip through their fingers. I bet after we put $5,600 in the house painting and other small repairs If I put that house on the market today I could get $300,000 for it in a short period of time.

14

Well, I’m just saying what I would do. Also, I see a lot of foreclosures that have wet basements, and those with really wet basements can get mold and moisture anywhere else in the house - including the attic. If you proceed, check EVERYWHERE.

15

This story also points out one thing. Banks do not know what they are doing. They do not know how to adjust. They are trying to do business as if the economy has not changes. If the bank has property in a area where a sump pump is necessary why do they let the power get turned off and devalue that property. When they forclose on rental property the are forcing the tenants to move. Now they have an empty house that needs to be cleaned up.

As an investor I would pay more for a house with a good tenant in it vs the same huse empty.

The bank in not handeling the sale of our house, we almost walked away from the deal. No one at the bank was willing to sign the papers.

16

Mold by itself is a symptom, not a problem.
Mold is everywhere, if it by itself was a serious issue people couldn’t live on most parts of the planet. The problem, as has been pointed out is the moisture. You must have a solid plan to deal with the moisture. Once you are completely satisfied that a sump pump and proper backup will solve the moisture problem, you are ready to get to work.

  1. have an experienced engineer/contractor address the moisture. Make sure. then check again.
  2. tear out at least the bottom four feet of sheetrock. You don’t need to remove the studs, but you do need to treat them and dry them. I rebuilt my interior after Katrina. Bleach doesn’t do anything except make the homeowner feel better. It kills the surface mold, but that is a minor improvement. Remember bleach is 97% water and water is the problem not the solution. There are real chemical treatments if you want to go that route. I had the surface of all the studs sanded-removed the ingrown mold. I know people that proudly had all their studs painted with Kilz. Whatever. The only thing that really matters is dry out the studs before you seal up the walls. A dehumidifier, an A/C, both. Get it dry and keep it dry. Inspect the rest of the finish. If you find more mold, tear out the material and dry the area. Or more practically, tear out everything and start over. And note-if the new material gets wet-mold will come back. Mold is in the air and always will be.

Your decision needs to be based on whether you can get the basement dry and keep it dry. Everything else is just details.

Convincing the bank of this will be a problem and probably a dealbreaker. Talk to your lender and find out if they have any wiggle room about mold. Around here lenders just stopped worrying about it since the alternative was to leave the area. Which a lot did. Of course mold damage isn’t covered by insurance. So get flood insurance and use it if you get water again.