We are looking at buying a house that is in very good shape except for the finished basement. A pipe broke in the ceiling of one of the rooms and about half of it fell in. Now mildew is growing on the walls and carpet. Replacing the carpet was on the list of things we were going to do anyway, but the mildew on the walls has me concerned. The walls are drywall on 2X4 stud walls with insulation and a vapor barrier. The basement walls are cinder block. This is in a 16 X 21 room and the problem covers two walls. I can also see mildew on the bottom 3 to 4 inches of the other two walls. Probably from the carpet being wet. There is no sign of water damage anywhere else in the basement and the seller is willing to guarantee there is not another water problem down there. If I buy this home, should I plan on ripping out all the drywall and insulation in that room? I plan on doing the whole ceiling and the two walls that are really bad, but I am unsure of what to do with the other two. What other problems should I look for? The house was empty when the water pipe broke and the water could have been running for three days.

Gordon Parks wrote:
We are looking at buying a house that is in very good shape except for the finished basement. A pipe broke in the ceiling of one of the rooms and about half of it fell in. Now mildew is growing on the walls and carpet. Replacing the carpet was on the list of things we were going to do anyway, but the mildew on the walls has me concerned. The walls are drywall on 2X4 stud walls with insulation and a vapor barrier. The basement walls are cinder block. This is in a 16 X 21 room and the problem covers two walls. I can also see mildew on the bottom 3 to 4 inches of the other two walls. Probably from the carpet being wet. There is no sign of water damage anywhere else in the basement and the seller is willing to guarantee there is not another water problem down there. If I buy this home, should I plan on ripping out all the drywall and insulation in that room? I plan on doing the whole ceiling and the two walls that are really bad, but I am unsure of what to do with the other tw
o. What other problems should I look for? The house was empty when the water pipe broke and the water could have been running for three days.


What, no carriage returns??


A few links which may help:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/ross.fraser/Richard9.htm
http://www.skcinc.com/product.asp
http://www.sdmold.com/self_test.html
http://www.moldcheck.com/MoldCleanUp.asp
http://www.ttuhsc.edu/SOM/Microbiolo...houtframes.htm
http://www.aehf.com/articles/molds.html
http://www.mold-symptom.com/toxic-mo...ata-sheet.html

Do some GOOGLE searches for: mold + health, mold + remediation,
and so forth.

I would not rush into this home purchase.
While some people may say that mold danger is overblown, you
don't *know* what effect it may have on your family members.
That's an expensive crap-shoot.

Take your time and do the research before signing this home contract.

Jim