On 17 Jul 2005 12:40:28 -0700, wrote:

I just found a quite serious mold problem in my unfinished
basement---after peeling off the plastic covers and isolations (the
first owner or the builder covered the isolation with the plastic
sheets), I found an area of 10ft. X 5ft size on the wallboard are
dark-black with several small spots rotten...I guess it's so-called
black mold due to the long-time dampness. It's my first time buying a
house and I feel very panic and depressed...would you please tell me
how to do next? Contact my insurance company first? or find a mold
cleanup company to have a free estimate first?

Since the bad situation and it involves some vertical supporting wooden
poles for the first floor, I don't think the mold cleanup would do the
work...maybe those wallboard and poles should be replaced---it's the
huge work I think, which kind of company should I turn to? A
construction company? I really don't have any experience about this
issue. Please teach me. Thanks a lot in advance. - Mike


Speedy Jim's websites offer some good advice, though one has an
outdated link for the NYC Guidelines for Remediation of Fungi blah
blah. The current link is
http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/epi/moldrpt1.shtml (look under
"remediation"). It looks as though your situation is level III.
However if the problem is behind the wallboard, you may have a more
severe hidden issue that might take professionals to handle.

If not, then get rid of the wallboard ASAP, break it up and put it in
closed bags. The important thing is to know what you're doing (read
those websites), plan how you'll do it, have everything ready ahead of
time for contained disposal, and be sure to wear protective items
(gloves, eye protection, filter mask, old clothes that can be washed
right away in bleach or discarded). Get an extra filter for your shop
vac and throw it away when you're done with the mold cleanup.

After you get rid of the material, figure out what caused the mold.

There should be no reason to tell the insurance company unless the
contamination is greater than what you have described. If the
contamination is minor, you are better off not telling them and biting
the cost yourself. Just get the cause of the problem fixed.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!