dried mold question

[59 wagon man]

so my niece lives in a townhouse about 1 yr ago the unit next door had a fire which started under there deck and smoldered for a few hrs till it lite up. when the firemen sprayed there hoses it busted the single pane windows on my niece's second floor so they water ran down the wall inside and outside. the h.o.a. brought in a water extraction company and they set up numerous fans to dry the place and life was good.
So before the fire the h.o.a. had contracted to have the roofs in all the buildings redone. Finally the begin to replace the roofs and when they remove the flat roof several problems occurred
1- numerous wall to ceiling sheetrock joints cracked. the roofer claims this was caused by removing the 2 old roofs and wet insulation causing the roof trusses to sag over time and slightly lift when the old roofs were removed. is that something that is reasonable?
2- while they were doing the roof it poured and they didn't protect her unit so water came in numerous places and some paint is stained on the second floor. One of her friends work for a restoration company and they used a cell phone moisture meter and detected moisture on an outside wall, so they cut open the wall. No leak was found but it looks like there is old black mold possibly caused by the firemen"s water. there are no plumbing pipes within 15 ft of this wall so im sure it isn't plumbing and the wall appears to be dry inside.

Is this something to freak about or not? there is no odor inside the wall or home

 

[homelessdespot]

Maybe get a mold removal place to do an estimate. Probably would fall under the HOA or the home owner's insurance.

 

[97dynaglide]

Don't mess around with mold in a structure. Get it professionally remediated.

My wife developed asthma due to the excessive mold and mildew that was present in our walls under our leaking Hurd windows.

We have no idea how long the water was slowly leaking in, we never smelled mold/mildew or had any idea we had leaks or water damage until the weather warmed up and created the perfect environment for the mold spores to take hold and spread.

My wife had come down with a bad head and chest cold in January, she got over the other symptoms but could never shake the chest congestion and cough.
In early March the weather warmed up and the moisture in the wall coupled with the mold spores allowed the 'smell' to be noticed.

Thats when we opened the wall. We didn't find the typical black mold or signs of mold, however the mold/mildew smell and the damp wood told us we had a serious issue.
Concerned that was the cause of her cough, she went back to the doctor, and was tested and diagnosed with mold related asthma.
We had a company come in, they tore out both bedrooms south facing walls and found lots of signs of former water intrusion and the start of visible mold growth.

Thankfully the leaks are fixed, the mold is gone, and the rooms are livable again.

However she is on two inhalers for the asthma for the rest of her life.

DON'T mess around and half-*** clean it yourself. Have it done professionally.

 

[johnnyradiant]

The outside wall may be done. If it is accurately measuring moisture at x% that is a tell tale it is not doing it's job or is too old. The black on the inside could be another tell tale with exterior issues, it could be just from the known fire, and or it could be inside details as well like no, or incorrectly detailed vapor barrier. The HOA or strata should be first seeking out an expert opinion on what exactly the cause is and then at that point remediation could/should occur. If you jump straight to mold removal you might only be just creating a fresh field for the next mold spores to feast in. Mold is a symptom not the problem.

 

[CraigStu]

I don't know exact details so I'd need more research. But an additional problem to the actual mold is liability when she decides to sell and move. She knows about the mold, so do a few other people, so she could be legally liable for selling w/o notification that there had been a problem. A bit more research will hopefully bring some answers. If she goes w/ a professional remediation, then the liability goes away. We had a problem selling a house w/ mold in the crawl space. Had to get it fixed professionally. What disappointed me a bit was that the fix was cover it w/ a special paint sprayed on, lay down new and heavier plastic on top of the raw dirt, knock out a cinder block and install a powered fan to improve ventilation. All of that I could have done easily myself but I wouldn't have had the paper work from a professional saying all is now well.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Another vote for pro remediation. I have had LOTS of experience with "mold" in the last few years. Fortunately, many times it looks worse than it actually is.

Tommy

 

[egdede]

The reason mold has become the issue that it has is because scientists and lawyers have started working together, and that always spells trouble for everyone else forced to live with the legal framework that has evolved out of one person's legal problem.

Specifically, in civil litigation, scientists hired by lawyers have persuaded judges and juries that today's harmless mold could lead to tomorrows bad mold because 'molds feed on molds' and we don't what molds tomorrow will bring us.

These are true scientific facts proven in someones mold/nightmare/trial. Bad molds have appeared after inappropriate remediation and cost insurance/landlords big money. So now insurance cos. go ballistic on mold.

Maybe commercial mold remediation is overkill, maybe not.

 

[rburke65]

My buddy...64yo at the time...was removing mold n algae from a side walk and he ended up in the hospital with respiratory issues.