r/BeAmazed • u/CleanwithBarbie • 23d ago

Miscellaneous / Others The owner had depression and I cleaned her home for free

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u/robsteezy 23d ago

I’ve done water restoration work. No need to concede your point. I will confirm your comment with authority that your analysis is spot on and that wall and the wooden beams inside are rotted with black mold.

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u/Some_Air5892 23d ago edited 22d ago

Yes, absolutely.

I've had black mold in a few places I've lived.

In my very 1st apartment,right after moving in I called my landlord about a sink leak stemming from the disposal that looked like it had been a problem for a while. When I opened the cabinets they were completely rotten soft and covered in black mold.

The landlord sent their "handman" brother over who scoffed at me saying, "that's not black mold thats BROWN MOLD. if it was black it would be BLACK" (it was very much black AND blown in places all over). HE pour bleach on it, set my heater fan to "run" continuously and told me to leave it like that. The next month my electrical bill for a 1 bedroom ADU was $500 (which is $750 today).

I also had two urgent care visits for bronchitis and trouble breathing in the 5 months I stayed there.

edit: spelling

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u/Taberaremasen 23d ago edited 23d ago

As someone who also has extensive experience in mold remediation/water restoration, there is no such thing as a single unifying "black mold". Nearly every different strain of mold can appear black in color, as well as tons of other colors. White colored mold is probably the second most common, but I've seen green, pink, yellow, purple, brown, and shades inbetween. Black-colored mold is probably the most common, but black aspergillius is not the same as black-colored stachybotrys (the mold from the article written long ago that has everyone still afraid of "black mold"). Stachybotrys is also a lot more rare as it requires a more strict/unique set of circumstances to grow - I think I only ever encountered it like 3 times in my 10+ years in the industry.

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u/Objective_Ecstatic 23d ago

This guy molds! Ermm, I mean, in a good way!…

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u/Im_A_Fuckin_Liar 23d ago

I bought a box of Jello and I’m going to consult him!!

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u/Materva 22d ago

He does seem like a fun guy.

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u/DampCoat 23d ago

And do you this gu…

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u/crooked_toes9 23d ago

You’ve def seen it more than 3 times. Stachy and chaetomium very common after a water loss, particularly on wet drywall. One or the other if not both, always comes back on my labs from water loss projects.

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u/MeanTelevision 23d ago

What is the best way or worst way to remediate it or specifically -- did the way the person described, of bleach and electric fan, sound correct to you?

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u/crooked_toes9 23d ago

Remove and discard contaminated and wet porous materials such as drywall. Effectively dry remaining wooden supports. Clean and treat with a product like Benefect. Do not use bleach. And ideally, you would probably want a certified contractor to do a lot of jobs due to the fact that as you are removing stuff, you are disturbing spores and making them more airborne. Remediation contractors will have hepa filtered air scrubbers to reduce the levels of airborne mold spores during and following the remediation.

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u/MeanTelevision 23d ago

On a property I know of, they consulted with someone and they were going to scrub with bleach and set up a fan. The fan would just scatter spores, I'd think, although those can already float around on their own.

HEPA makes a lot more sense and sounds more professional and insightful for sure.

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u/mr_potatoface 23d ago

Sometimes people will bleach, dry, then paint/seal wood surfaces. That way even if you didn't kill all of the mold or brush all the mold off the surface, the paint will protect. It's not a perfect solution, but it's a cheap and generally effective solution. Most important thing above all else is removing the source of the water and making sure it doesn't come back.

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u/Taberaremasen 23d ago edited 22d ago

What this guy is correct. It is worth note that bleach does kill mold and can be used on non-porous surfaces, but dead mold still contains mycotoxins if not removed. Moldy sheetrock should come out, and the IICRC says you should either abrade mold out of wood, or apply high-strength peroxide and HEPA vacuum up the suds afterwards. Nowhere I worked used the peroxide, though, just stuff like Benefect.

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u/MeanTelevision 23d ago

Thank you.

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u/robsteezy 23d ago

I can answer for you. The old “bleach and fan” works more on surface level early stages. Mold this set requires removal of the drywall, sanding down the affected wooden structures. And then applying antimicrobial chemicals to the wood.

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u/MeanTelevision 23d ago

This is helpful. Thank you.

Taberaremasen can still reply if they wish also.

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u/robsteezy 23d ago

You’re welcome. Pro tip as somebody with tons of experience in this field, people think they can shirk paying a restoration company (which typically is covered by home insurance) and save themselves money bc their friend told them bleach will do the trick. That’s the wrong approach and will lead to the internal structure of your house being severely damaged beyond repair. Wood is porous, so water and microbial travel. Your best bet is reaching out to your insurance, seeing your coverage, and then getting an assessment from a mold remediation service.

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u/MeanTelevision 23d ago

Thank you for the added tips.

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u/esoper1976 23d ago

My grandfather asked me what I knew about mold either when I was in high school or college because I'm smart. I said not much except that it's bad news and you should hire a professional. Apparently one of the church owned buildings had a mold problem and he was hoping to help solve it. He bought some cleaning product like Tilex mold and mildew cleaner to take over to the building to see if it would work. He knew the church didn't have much money and thought this would be an inexpensive way to solve their problem. I'm sure they thanked him and then called the pros.

He got a pension from the church for being a pastor. If he died before my grandmother, she would keep getting it until her death because she had been a sahm and fully supported him in his duties. He had to have someone explain to him why it was not appropriate for him to put in his will that the church should stop sending the pension upon his death even if my grandmother were still alive. He didn't understand why that upset her so much, he thought she would be as happy as he was to save the church money!

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u/Steele_Soul 23d ago

I remember it from the one episode of Forensic Files with the couple that had a fucking mansion they had to evacuate once the husband and kid kept having strange health issues and they finally figured out the cause and the source. They had a leak underneath their refrigerator that they tried to get fixed but the insurance company or some other company kept putting it off and yeah, they lost their home and everything in it because of that shit. They go through the house some time after they had abandoned it and everything in that house was covered in mold. They sued the company that didn't fix their problem when they first called about it and I think they won. It's just devastating that that entire huge house and all the nice stuff in it was destroyed. I always wonder why they got that specific type of mold from something like that.

Then there was that portion of houses in Cleveland that flooded and their basements all had that strain of mold and it affected a lot of families.

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u/FawnZebra4122 23d ago

People often don’t realize that mold comes in a huge variety of colors and types, and what really matters is the moisture issue and proper remediation.

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u/Equal_Canary5695 23d ago

Pink and purple mold sound kind of pretty ngl

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u/Taberaremasen 23d ago edited 22d ago

Here's one of the moldiest things I've ever seen, featuring pink-colored mold. This was in the basement of a home that they used to run a daycare business out of.

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u/draz18 23d ago

Ive managed several mold remediation projects. Stachy was predominant mold species in several. But you are right, not all black molds are the same. Ive seen same aspergillum appear as pink, purple, white and black.

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u/joeyraffcom 23d ago

As someone with no mold experience, that’s mold.

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u/IntroductionFar8113 23d ago

Thanks for this! I'm an IH and have a lot of experience in this topic as well- perfectly stated!

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u/ProofMap8034 22d ago

Thank God you set the record straight on this because I didn't want to have to spend a long time typing

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u/naive-nostalgia 22d ago

Someone should tell that dude about black bears, which can be brown or blonde but are still black bears.

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u/Some_Air5892 22d ago

I was so annoyed. unfortunately when you are 20 and renting a cheap place in a bad part of town, they know you won't know nor do anything about that clear violation.

They also had their sex offender son registered to my address, which was a fun surprise when I googled my zip code.

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u/Unfilteredz 23d ago

Did you sue?

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u/Some_Air5892 22d ago edited 22d ago

no I was like 19/20ish, it was a very dangerous part of a dangerous city. I had a person get beaten to death outside that same kitchen window that week. I did not have the knowledge or money to do something about it.

Most of the time that is how situations like this happen, They know you do not have a better option or resources to get them to enforce stuff.

That electric bill fucked me HARD. It was nearly as much as my rent.

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u/Unfilteredz 22d ago

Gotcha, ouch

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u/JoMamaSoFatYo 22d ago

I had this same issue in my 3rd apartment. It only had two windows, but they were big, wall-sized ones. I was sick a lot with Bronchitis specifically, as well as occasional pneumonia.

The entirety of the sides of the windows, deep into the sheetrock, was thick with black mold. And I mean it covered the entire sides.

It took me posting to their Facebook page and refusing to remove it until they fixed the problem. They had to cut out the windows as well as portions of sheetrock out and replace it.

They then added an addendum to the leasing contract stating, and I quote, “There is no scientific evidence to prove there is a problem with black mold…” and required all tenants to sign.

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u/Some_Air5892 22d ago

Making you sign something like that sounds like it was just to make you feel like they didn't HAVE to do anything about it.

Depending on the state they still VERY MUCH do legally have to come and get rid of the mold.

Here is the state by state laws of mold and rental properties

https://themoldguyinc.com/know-your-rights-against-mold/

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u/JoMamaSoFatYo 21d ago

Yeah, I really thought about pursuing it further legally, but didn’t have the funds to do so. Thank God I finally got to leave that place a few years ago.

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u/Javad0g 23d ago

Adding some clarification as a plant/fungus person. Not all molds are the same. Yes, when we refer to toxic (still a misnomer) black mold we talk about Stachybotrys chartarum, but there are plenty of molds (black color included) that are not as toxic in the manner of Stachybotrys.

Not suggesting you want any mold hanging around inside the home on or inside the walls, however, just because we see mold does not always mean 'burn it to the ground'.

Thanks for letting me share.

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u/robsteezy 23d ago

Mold in the walls can pose several health risks, especially for individuals with allergies, respiratory issues, or compromised immune systems. The potential health risks include:

Respiratory Problems

• Wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath — Mold spores can irritate the respiratory tract, particularly in people with asthma or other lung conditions.

• Sinus congestion and irritation — Mold exposure can cause nasal stuffiness, sore throat, or sinus infections.

Allergic Reactions

• Symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose, red or itchy eyes, and skin irritation are common in those sensitive to mold.

Asthma Exacerbation

• Mold can trigger or worsen asthma attacks.

Immune System Effects

• People with weakened immune systems (e.g., those undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplant recipients, or individuals with autoimmune diseases) are at greater risk of developing infections from mold exposure.

Toxic Mold Symptoms

Certain molds, like Stachybotrys chartarum (commonly called “black mold”), can produce mycotoxins. Prolonged exposure may lead to:

• Chronic fatigue
• Headaches
• Difficulty concentrating
• Dizziness
• Neurological symptoms in severe cases

Skin and Eye Irritation

• Contact with mold or its spores can cause rashes, itching, or irritation in some individuals.

Long-Term Health Risks

• Prolonged exposure, particularly in damp environments, can contribute to chronic respiratory conditions and mold-induced health risks.

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u/Javad0g 22d ago

thank you for being so.....precise.

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u/robsteezy 22d ago

I was too lazy to type. Thank ChatGPT for the quick answer and my copy and paste haha.

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u/Javad0g 22d ago

As retired IT, I have loved chat GPT since we saw it come to us a couple Novembers ago. As I explained to my students not just a month ago, "AI is of NO use unless you know what to input."

I find it a great tool for punching me out a quick workout plan for my Track and Field athletes, but it still takes the understanding of your 'profession' in order to actually compile the results you are looking for.

But good Lord do I love how it takes the busywork out of teaching and coaching.

Hey, thanks for letting me share and I do appreciate your response.

Take care

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u/robsteezy 22d ago

I appreciate your input. Be well friend 👍🏼

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u/bluegender03 23d ago

I too work in restoration and that wall absolutely is covered in mold.

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u/Zagadka06 23d ago

Agreed. I saw the "after" picture in the BA and wanted to tear out all the caulking for free, too. I've been an apartment manager for a long time at various places and seen it a hundred times. I can't fix the building itself (usually) but you have to get rid of that mold. (Then I saw the window pictures...)

Good on the OP. Did a nice service and a nice job.

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u/Putrid_Ad_7122 23d ago

What pictures are we seeing mould?

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u/BrAveMonkey333 22d ago

Don Tilman... is that you?

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u/WaffleTacoFrappucino 22d ago

the depression is probably caused by the mold

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u/Appropriate_South474 22d ago

Black mold doesn’t burn hot enough to melt wooden beams!

Glad she got some help

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u/TikiCatStix 22d ago

No need to concede your point, they’ve done it as well and so has many others.