In nearly 20 years as a contractor/investor I have faced many problems with houses not only in the repairs, but also in the conditions that affect houses. One topic that has been on the rise for a few years now is mold and how it affects houses and the people in them.
Blamed for unknown illness and allergies, mold has become a hot topic when it is present on a house indoors or out. I will always pressure wash a house before I rent or sell, because this removes any visible signs of dirt and mold, and also improves the appearance of the house. Almost all pressure washers (rented or owned) have an attachment called a chemical injector. This allows for the machine to mix a solution of regular household bleach and water as it is applied to the house. The mixture kills the mold and the pressure removes the residue. This is easily done by just about anyone. It’s like taking your car to the dollar car wash. The water pressure is slightly higher (2400 to 3000 psi average) and if you can wash your car, then you can wash your house. The main idea is to stay 12 inches away from the surface you are cleaning and this will not remove paint or damage materials being cleaned. You can strip flaking paint and such by getting closer than 12 inches, if you need to. Pressure washers can be rented for about $60.00 per day. I use them for cleaning the siding, roofs, decks, fences and driveways. A hydra scrub is an attachment that can make cleaning driveways much easier.
Mold on the inside of the house is a different problem. Normally caused by moisture and bad ventilation, indoor mold causes many problems with health and the general appearance of the home. Any where that has warm, damp conditions can cause mold to breed. This means that bathrooms, shower stalls, basements, kitchens and crawl spaces are prone to have a mold issue arise. The most common mold and mildew forms are ugly and a nuisance, but can be removed effectively by getting a spray bottle and mixing a 50/50 solution of household bleach and water. This can be sprayed directly on the mold itself and will normally kill the mold or mildew on contact. Then you can just rinse and your problem is gone. There is no real need to buy expensive specialty cleaners when this technique works just fine.
The problem though, is that this is only a temporary fix and the mold conditions will return and you will need to repeat the process. The only way to make this problem go away is to change the conditions. In the bathroom, an exhaust fan may reduce the damp conditions. For other parts of the house you may need a dehumidifier to relieve the conditions that cause fungal growth. In basements and crawl spaces, I have found sump pumps to work well. The big thing is, you must remove the damp, moist conditions to stop the growth.
Mold and mildew come in colors. Black, green and white and have a smell that resembles damp soil. A musty odor in a room could indicate a mold problem that you can’t see. One of the biggest scares these days is referred to as “Black Mold”. Don’t fret… Just because it’s black, does not mean that it is the dreaded black mold that requires remediation. Black mold has become a scary term in the real estate business due to it’s expensive removal. I have actually seen instances that people had been forced to move out of the residence while the black mold and the materials that it had affected were removed. If you find yourself in a position where you have a property that has been inspected and found to have the dreaded (Black Mold) that causes serious illness, here’s what you might expect.
First, there has to be three sets of people involved. There is a consultant. This is the entity that confirms that you have the black mold that is dangerous. Then you have the remediation contractor. This is the contractor that removes and all items affected with the mold such as drywall, siding, wood, flooring, wallpaper and such.
Third is the general contractor. This is who comes in to replace everything that had to be removed and to get the house put back to it’s pre loss condition. Keep in mind that the three must be separate entities and can not be affiliated with each other. This would cause a conflict of interest. This ordeal looks like a sci-fi movie because the people who come out to remove the affected items dress up in Haz-Mat suits (hazardous materials) and have special vacuums and tools that most are not used to seeing. This process can cause several thousands of dollars to repair.
So my advice is this. Learn to properly inspect a house for undesireable conditions yourself. If you can find defects about a house that would stop you from buying on your own, then you have saved hundreds of dollars that you would have paid someone to tell you why you shouldn’t buy the house. However, if you don’t find anything and you want to buy the house, then you can hire a pro to make sure that you did not overlook something. I save thousands by finding things on my own, but when I am going to buy, I look for the pro to insure that there is nothing wrong.
If you find mold indoors, use the tips I have provided in this article to remove the problem. If the mold problem is extremely large and out of hand, have it inspected to make sure that it is not a dangerous strain of mold. Outdoors, remember the pressure washer and it’s ability to spray the chemicals to clean the house. If you have a lot of green mold on your siding and deck areas, use a 2 gallon pump up sprayer and from the paint department in most hardware stores, get a product called “Jomax”. This added to bleach (follow the label directions) will remove stubborn mold from siding, decks, fences, concrete, stucco, drywall and most surfaces that you would not be afraid to spray with bleach.
Lastly, let me leave you with this…Sometimes water gets into houses in other ways. Busted water pipes, sewage or toilet backups, wet carpets from houses that flood when it rains, broken dishwashers, laundry machines and many other causes that not only let in water but also germs and contamination. For these issues that need treatment for mold, and also for germs, viruses, bacteria and such I have two suggestions. One is called Microban. The other product is called Odoban. To find microban, you may need to use a search engine to find a local seller of this product. For Odoban, just go to your local Sam’s club and find it in the cleaning products section. It costs about $10.00 but will make 30 gallons. Microban runs about $25.00 a gallon. These product both kill mold,
Mildew,bacterias, viruses and eliminate odors too.
For more info from Mr.Rhab visit www.peteyoungs.com
About the author Pete Youngs A.K.A Mr. Rehab, has been a general contractor/investor for almost twenty years. For the past seven years he has taught a foreclosure rehab bootcamp that he and his brother Tony haddesigned and together have taught thousands from all over the U.S. and abroad. Pete has also shared the stage at national conventions and seminars with all the top names in their fields of expertise. He is also a highly sought after speaker at real estate investment clubs seminars and and conventions. His expertise is teaching others how to rehab properties for 50 to 75% below retail costs. He has authored many courses, books, tapes and videos on the subject of rehabbing as well as termite and property inspections.
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