OK I'm sick from moldy house

10 years ago

I've spent two years sick in bed. Went to world famous medical center which should go unnamed where I found out I was not born with an immune issue. It's acquired. Went into house on return and sickness returned (it had mysteriously got better when across country at major medical center!). Had extensive genetic testing. On other posts people scoff and say mold is everywhere, no such thing as black mold sickness etc. If you have the genetic weakness, mold makes you sick. Look it up.
So now we have found there is raw sewage in the ac returns, stachybotrus in basement everywhere. House is on downslope of hill in neighborhood and backs to a hill where water runs down. yes mold guys, environmental expert who works for NIH through house, site needs drainage issues addressed. Estimates coming in between 7K-29K PER FLOOR!! Leaving aside yard drainage etc. WHere do we walk away?? We moved ME into a sublet to get well which may take some time...
Yes, we have about 200K equity in house, valued at about 400K last year when we refied to 10year note. UGH. DH is two years from retirement, we had planned to pay off mortgage out of 401K.
Sorry for long post. We are at sea here...

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Comments (6)

mepop
10 years ago
RMH123, Sorry for your problems and it sounds like youÃ¢ÂÂre stressed. First of all, relax and donÃ¢ÂÂt assume the worst. Mold can be a health issue for some (I can eat the stuff and it doesnÃ¢ÂÂt bother me) and there are MANY naysayers out there.

However, donÃ¢ÂÂt get mad at the naysayers but get mad at the lawyers. When mold became known as a potential problem, the lawyers rushed in and started suing property owners and companies for ridiculous amounts for absurd reasons. Many unethical individuals started lining up with these lawyers looking for an easy payday. ThatÃ¢ÂÂs why the insurance companies exclude mold in most policies. Unfortunately, people like yourself tend to get lumped in with all the lawsuit hustlers.

Your prices have some big variances. Be careful, many companies charge ridiculous prices for this work. I donÃ¢ÂÂt recommend franchise companies for your situation for a multitude of reasons.

Did you have an IH write a protocol? Be careful, some IHÃ¢ÂÂs can go way overboard to cover their butts. Health issues raise major concerns with anyone in this industry so they will likely write a scope to extremes to protect themselves.

How in the world did raw sewage get into your HVAC ducts? ????

If you need help, send me an email and we can talk offline as there is too much to cover here.

Good luck!!!
toxcrusadr
10 years ago
Sorry to hear of your problems, but now that you've diagnosed it, you're on your way to recovery. mepop has good advice, be careful and get multiple bids before having work done.

I too am curious about the 'sewage'. Did they find bacteria in the ducts that are commonly associated with sewage? If so, that doesn't necessarily mean there is actually wastewater in your ducts, just that there is an environment where they can live.

I wonder if there are some actions you can take immediately to improve things (the 'low hanging fruit') and move on to others later. This may spread out the cost and make the project more manageable.

Keep us posted.
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nigelsgarden
10 years ago
Is your husband, or other family members, showing any signs of illness?
If not, then I would have a contractor address the drainage/moisture issues , do a thorough cleaning of the vents, etc. and sell the house.
You may need to find a place that offers a 'lease before purchase' in order to find a household you can safely live in.
sunnyca_gw
10 years ago
I've know of people sick from new carpet or after they installed particle board island that was painted(fumes come right through paint for yrs) Sewer gas can make you very sick,smells like rotting animal sometimes & other times almost no smell. So any uncapped sewer lines or hole in basement floor for drainage but not covered or shower, bathtub or toilet never used & no water in pipes can make you sick. If raw sewage is coming from higher up house seems like that is their problem to get fixed immediately.
sunnyca_gw
10 years ago
Oh, that sheet rock from China caused problems, was anything redone in last few yrs. I know it had to be replaced as it made people sick! Sometimes it's hard to track down That was about 6-10 yrs ago(my son was finishing his basement at the time is why I remember)
jcalhoun
10 years ago
A friend of mine turned out to be very allergic to black mold. He looked like a leper for about a week and almost had to go on a ventilator.

OK I'm sick from moldy house

Comments (6)

mepop

toxcrusadr

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