Black mold in house

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gk1153 Paris, IL(Zone 6a) Jul 03, 2008

We are noticing black mold in a couple places of our home. I'd like some info on ridding ourselves of it short of calling in professionals for an expensive clean up job. We fear turning it into the insurance company because they might refuse to renew our insurance. We've had two claims in the past three years. It seems a third claim is the magical number in the area. We'd like to save the third for something big like hail or tornado damage.

Gary

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roybird Santa Fe, NM Jul 04, 2008

I heard that it can be washed down with bleach and sometimes that will kill it. But, I think that fairly often it has to be removed by professionals. Sad. I hate that stuff. My friend had it in her house and had to replace pretty much her whole bathroom. It was inside a wall. Good luck.

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heathrjoy Silsbee, TX(Zone 9a) Jul 07, 2008

It depends a lot on where the mold is showing up at. There are lots of things you can do to help get rid of it. Of course, dampness leads to mold. Cleaning with bleach is the quickest and easiest way to get rid of it. To keep it from returning try a dehumidifier. If it's in closest you can get little moisture absorbers (got mine at Wal-Mart). They suck the moisture out of the air and do a great job. When they fill up with water you throw them out and replace them. Sometimes things as simple as opening your attic windows a few inches does the trick. Do a Google search for household moisture and/or mold problems and/or solutions. That's a lot of and/or's. Any place you have a problem with air circulation and moisture you have potential for mold growth...ask me how I know!

If you call in the pros it's going to turn into big bucks. It will every time, simply because that's how they make their living...it has to turn into big bucks. No offense to anyone. My DB is a contractor.

Depending on how much you're comfortable doing yourself you can rip the drywall out and redo it. Or you can repaint. Kilz makes a paint that is guaranteed not to mold for like 5 years. Check it out. Kilz is about the best stuff there is. BTW, drywall isn't hard to do, it just takes a lot of practice.

Good luck. I say get a fan and some bleach...start out simple and cheap first. Then go from there.
Heather

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Tir_Na_Nog Houston, United States(Zone 9b) Jul 07, 2008

Yes I've heard horror stories of folks who've turned in claims on this. They typically won't drop you but the cost of your new policy is SO high sometimes it costs MORE than your mortgage and homes are lost.

I hope you find a solution that works. Consider it cheaper though to take out a small personal loan to get a pro vs calling it into the insurance if you can.

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