Black Mold....Maybe?

[Lair]

We are looking at purchasing a house (HUD) and a pipe froze and broke last winter (Jan 2006), the mortgage company had the pipe ffixed, but my concern is possible mold behind the walls. It's been almost a year and the house has been vacant this entire time and there is still no visible mold. Would Mold show up by now? The walls are plaster and they have the normal yellow stains from water damage. The walls are all solid too, and it doest smell musty or earthy. I have pictures for those who are interested.

Thanks.

[Todd H.]

Doesn't mold require a continuous supply of mositure to remain active?

Active or not, there may well be some ugly staining behind the wall. If future sellers get any hint of mold and get back there and freak, you may have a mess on your hands.

I might ask the realtor about adding a contingency to the offer to get a licensed mold specialist in there to check things out in addition to the usual home inspection stuff. What I don't know though is how such a person would inspect, and if they need authorization to tear into anything to have a look around.

Such authorization may be very hard to get from the seller since if you don't go through with the sale based on the results of such an inspeciton, then they not only have a hole in their wall, they also have a mold problem they're required to disclose because they now officially know about it.

-- Todd H.

[Lar]

In article , [e-mail] says... :) We are looking at purchasing a house (HUD) and a pipe froze and broke :) last winter (Jan 2006), the mortgage company had the pipe ffixed, but :) my concern is possible mold behind the walls. It's been almost a year :) and the house has been vacant this entire time and there is still no :) visible mold. Would Mold show up by now? The walls are plaster and :) they have the normal yellow stains from water damage. The walls are all :) solid too, and it doest smell musty or earthy. I have pictures for :) those who are interested. :) :) :) Thanks. :) :) The homes I have come across where black mold was an issue, there was a continuous water leak, such as a washing machine or shower problem leaking in the wall.

On another note, I always said if little Timmy can be Tim or little Billy can be Bill, then little Larry can be Lar (Lair)

[Joseph Meehan]

You can bring in the guys who do testing. Be forewarned that they tend to find things that are not always a problem. Let them test and get the actual results (numbers, not something like You got lots of mold.) Have them test the air outside, which they should be doing as a control. If you are not higher, you are fine.

[Al Bundy]

[e-mail] (Todd H.) wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I just saw some show on TV where in CA the guy brings in all kinds of techno stuff, glass slides to collect samples, machines to read, devices placed against walls to measure stuff inside. I think what they said was the amount of mold in the air inside has to be within xx of the mold in the air outside. He didn't tear into anything and gives you a clear bill of health.

HUD jobs are sold as-is. You can have a contingency that you will have this testing done. It is considered by them as part of the overall offer. Someone comes in with an equal offer with no contingencies, that's considered a bettter offer most likely.

And just an FYI, HUD will (or used to) put the home up for bid. The first period is a 10 day period. This is open only to owner occupied bidders. You must live in the home for a minimum period of 1 year from purchase. You sign a doc to this effect. After 10 days, HUD reviewes the bids. They can accept one or reject them all. If they reject them all then the next bidding period is opened and is open to everyone including investors, flippers, etc. Always keep in mind that things change and locations can have significant differencs. Local realtor may be your best source of info.

[buffalobill]

[m Ransley]

If you dont smell anything I dought there is an issue, just because mold is black does not mean its stachybotrus or the dangerous black mold.

[Jacque]

When I faced this problem in my apartment, I believe my research showed that once established, mold could extract enough moisture from the air to remain viable. Also, if the mold goes into dormancy it can re-activate when moisture returns.

I apologize that I don't have the links handy to provide them to you directly. However, OSHA has a pamphlet that I just found by Googling "OSHA mold"

, and you will find a lot of information with your local and state health departments.

It can be a pretty serious business, so do your homework. And good luck.

Jacque

[Tom The Great]

IMHO:

I would like to see the photos please. I like pictures.

You can hire a home inspector, that is certiifed in mold inspections. Have a spore check done. Plus they will help guide you with a certification of a clean house, or how to get clean.

Some things I was told, relative humity is a driving force for mold.

0-50% usually mold isn't possible. 51-60% mold can be a problem. 60%+ you have mold issues, if there is food for mold. Now for water leaks that is a whole other nightmare, make sure all leaks are fixed.

So a sealed home would scare me, if no ac, or dehumifying equipment was running.

Remember I'm not a mold expert, so seek professional help. :D

later,

tom @