Mold remediation---safe to stay in home during process/construction work?

[BrerGnat]

We live in an apartment. Our dishwasher was leaking and when the maintenance team came to investigate, they discovered the motor was leaking (and had been for some time, prior to water actually coming out from the front of the dishwasher). Well, they also discovered mold growth on the drywall BEHIND the dishwasher. So, they had an inspector from the Corporate office of the apartment owner (it's owned by a BIG COMPANY) who recommended that the entire counter assembly be removed (includes the dishwasher and kitchen sink as well as some cabinets), and the mold removed/remediated and the drywall cut out and replaced. Also, a portion of the vinyl flooring in the kitchen needs to be replaced, due to water damage underneath from the leak. This encompasses approximately 1/3 of our (very small) kitchen.

They gave us the option to stay in a hotel during the work, which will take approx. 5 days (ONLY because we have two small kids, 3 and 5 years old, but if we didn't have kids, we would have been expected to stay in during the work). This option is NOT really a good one for us, though, as our older son does not tolerate hotels well (he has autism, and hotels do not agree with him, unfortunately...he just does NOT sleep), plus he is attending summer school and he has to be there every day during the week at 7:45am, so no sleep at night would be REALLY bad for that. PLUS, my husband has been working 12+ hour days, and not being able to come home after such long days is NOT his idea of a good time. So, we asked if we could stay in the apartment during the work, and they said we could, but we'd have to sign a release of liability...

So...here's my question. In looking over the release, it basically makes this process sound like it could kill us. ;) How dangerous is this? The inspector assured me that they will be sealing off the work area air tight according to State of CA regulations for mold remediation/removal and that he will be there to oversee the whole process. We will still have access to our refrigerator and stove/microwave, and pantry, so none of our food will be anywhere exposed to the work area. HOWEVER, you know how legal waivers can be. What makes me wonder, though, is if we did NOT have kids, we would just be expected to stay in here anyway. But, they wouldn't make us sign a release. That seems weird...they don't provide a hotel option for adults without kids.

Has anyone had this type of work done in their house/apartment and is it safe? Should we just request to be moved to another unit? How likely is this process to stir up mold and completely make us ill? The work is supposed to start Monday, but I have not yet turned in the release.

What should I do? I REALLY can't forsee packing up and staying in a hotel for 5 days, PLUS I read that when you are having mold remediation done, you are NOT supposed to take any personal items or clothing out of the house, as they can take mold spores with them that you will then re-introduce into the home after the process?

Any input/reassurance would be helpful. For what it's worth, we are all healthy and don't suffer from asthma/allergies or any autoimmune issues that would be aggravated by mold. We have been living here for 5 years and we have ALWAYS have mold/mildew issues in places like the bathroom/window sills, etc. But nothing major that was not easily removed with Tilex or something similar.

[NotaGeek]

Mold isn't something you want to mess around with. It can be deadly, and it doesn't require prolonged exposure to do damage ... sounds like it's been there for a while. Why not do the hotel if it's the safer option ... there is NO way in the world I would stay there while they do the mold removal thing ... and I have no kids to consider. It sounds like you have your mind made up though, just do some research or call your doctor and ask their advice.

[MNNHFLTX]

Probably not a good idea to stay with the kids....although there are different types of mold and not all of them are inherently dangerous. If you had a an inspector come out to look at the mold/damage, I'm assuming he should be able to tell you what kind of mold it is, or at least tell you if it's black mold (the really bad kind).

We just had some remodeling done of our bathroom, including totally re-doing our shower because there had been a leak behind the wall (unknown to us). There was mold growing behind the drywall too, but not black mold and not a huge amount. So we stayed and had no problems during the process.

[DisneyAggies]

I'd take the hotel route. Yes, it maybe be an inconvenience and some sleepless nights, BUT it's the safest thing to do. I'd rather go through a few tough days than deal with (potentially) a LIFETIME worth of issues. That, and the fact that if something DID happen, I wouldn't be able to get over the guilt.

That's just my opinion, though. I tend to be on the more cautious side because my ODS almost died because he was in the room while the carpet at his daycare was professionally cleaned (and he had absolutely NO issues before this occured).

[BrerGnat]

I should probably clarify a couple things:

1. It's NOT black mold. It's the brown and white kind, whatever that is.

2. We will NOT be in the house during the actual process. They will be doing that on Monday, and I have already made plans to be GONE the entire day. We are taking the kids to Legoland. We will leave before they begin work and by the time we get home (evening), the bulk of the mold cleanup process will be done, and the area sealed off, and airtight. The reason the process will take so long is that they then have to let the area dry/dehumidify for 24 hours before re-doing the drywall, and then they have to let the drywall cure for 24 more hours before reinstalling the cabinet/dishwasher.

I plan to NOT be in the house whenever they are actually doing any work in there. My 3 year old is TERRIFIED of power tools, so we are just going to make plans to be out of there during the day (Disneyland is just a hop, skip and jump away!). We will only be home in the late afternoons/evenings, and they will not be doing any work while we are physically IN the house. The area will be sealed off with plastic sheeting the rest of the time, and inaccessible to us.

[DisneyAggies]

I should probably clarify a couple things:

1. It's NOT black mold. It's the brown and white kind, whatever that is.

2. We will NOT be in the house during the actual process. They will be doing that on Monday, and I have already made plans to be GONE the entire day. We are taking the kids to Legoland. We will leave before they begin work and by the time we get home (evening), the bulk of the mold cleanup process will be done, and the area sealed off, and airtight. The reason the process will take so long is that they then have to let the area dry/dehumidify for 24 hours before re-doing the drywall, and then they have to let the drywall cure for 24 more hours before reinstalling the cabinet/dishwasher.

I plan to NOT be in the house whenever they are actually doing any work in there. My 3 year old is TERRIFIED of power tools, so we are just going to make plans to be out of there during the day (Disneyland is just a hop, skip and jump away!). We will only be home in the late afternoons/evenings, and they will not be doing any work while we are physically IN the house. The area will be sealed off with plastic sheeting the rest of the time, and inaccessible to us.

I'd still vote hotel.

If (heaven forbid) a complication were to happen, you'd have no recourse.

[swampfox28]

That's a really hard and complicated situation - with no easy answer, so I'm not sure if I can help, but I'll try!

We bought an old fixer-upper house here in Louisiana (mold capitol of the universe:sick:) and, when re-doing our bathroom, found BLACK mold in it.

As homeowners we didn't have a way "out", but even without an autistic child and all the other circumstances you have going on, it would have been daunting to leave. We do have 2 kids and I have terrible allergies (go figure!) My husband's work schedule is a NIGHTMARE and changes all the time. Plus, mold does scare me and I worried TREMENDOUSLY - how much it could hurt us (and had already?!), what would happen, etc...

We wound up for many reasons deciding to stay (but it wasn't an EASY decision). We made sure to cut off ALL air supply between that room and the rest of the house; the people even had an outside way to get in, so there wasn't much exposure (I think/hope/pray!)

THE BEST THING was a product called CONCROBIUM. WE got it at Home Depot in the tool rental dept. where we also got a room fogger. This stuff was AWESOME. It's rated by "green" ratings systems as an enviornmentally friendly product and "safe" for being around (though we weren't in the house when we used it). You basically use it to fog the room with the exposed mold FIRST and let it permiate the mold. Instead of bleach (which actually does NOT kill all mold spores AND can damage your house AND you!), it encapsulates each mold particle and "chokes" it. It's NOT a hazordous chemical and was very easy to work with. It made me feel a LOT better about the guys working on the mold AFTER we treated it so it would be less dangerous (as it's the remediation that's more dangerous than the mold sitting there in a lot of ways!)

I hope that whatever happens, this situation is fixed for you soon. Perhaps if you can use the concrobium you'd feel better about being there when you guys have to - and it'd be easier.

I'm not saying that's the BEST decision, but it is another option to consider, even when you are trying to be safe, you still have to weigh all the options. To me, it sounds like with all the thought you've put into the situation that you'd be okay staying home...

Good luck!


-Sarah

[DizneyRox]

Mold is pretty bad stuff and signs of other problems often.

I would get out of there asap, especially with children. I would actually start looking for other permanent residences.

I'd run that release by your lawyers as well. I'm not sure what that is about, but IF there are any problems, you do't want to sign them away without the full story.