I don't know but if I were in your situation I would just board your bird until things are settled. It isn't fun. We had to flea bomb our house last month. Because of late notice I wound up boarding my birds at a dog vet, not ideal but at least I knew they were safe until they could come home.

As a home owner I would get the repair work done quickly mold is very bad and can make people very sick, probably isn't good for the bird either. On the bright side at least winter's in Florida tend to be much dryer. I assume you have had more then one person out to evaluate the problem, if not I would also recommend getting a second opinion before plunking down a bunch of $$$.

 

I don't trust this guy, I am definitely getting second opinion. Unfortunately even the winters in south Florida are extremely humid and muggy... only get a cool front which blows in for a couple days here and there and then it's humid like heck in between.

 

Wow, upon further due diligence I most certainly will NOT be allowing them to be spraying those foggers (toxic checmials into the air in my home!!!)

http://www.1800gotmold.com/blog/the-argument-against-biocides-why-we-dont-need-to-kill-mold/

These money hungry idiots do not even know if there is mold in that tiny soggy patch in my bedroom!!!! I am calling another contractor who can do the job safely and properly!!! I simply need someone to take out that area of drywall and replace it and fix the leak!!!! Not fumigate the entire house with TOXIC crap, I will not allow that my bird is at risk.

 

I am going to call this company... I like what their article says:

http://www.1800gotmold.com/blog/the-argument-against-biocides-why-we-dont-need-to-kill-mold/

I cannot allow anyone to start spraying dangerous chemicals into my home. It is not necessary. I know mold is extremely dangerous... but the fix for my specific situation is easy as it has been caught early and is confined to a tiny patch area underneath the window. These contractors just want to suck more money out of me.

 

Darn!!! I just spoke to the company I gave link to above and they were so nice but they are in NJ and do not serve FL

The guy said he doesn't blame me and he would NEVER allow such foggers to be used in his home either and that those toxic chemicals are NOT needed or necessary. He said the drywall simply needs to be replaced in that area... fix the leak and then carefully have a professional use the HEPA vacuum system to prevent any possible mold spores from contaminating anything else.

Time for me to call around to find hopefully find another DECENT company like the one I just spoke to with on the phone.

 

OMG is a nightmare... I was going to try to get a FREE estimate but it appears I am going to be scammed??? http://activerain.com/blogsview/3772940/mold-scam-alert-homeowners-beware-

I am having trouble fining someone to fix this urgent problem and I don't even know if I have mold! I know this leak and drywall has to be fixed/replaced urgently though.

 

What the heck??? I told the guy who was going to do the job... the guy who DEMANDED he must use biocides "chemical foggers" (which by the way costs a TON of money) and I told him NOWAY will I allow that... and now he emailed me the below... what he is saying is INCORRECT he is clearly trying to scam more money out of me!! Second issue... they didn't even TEST if there is mold there... there could be no mold!!! Not only for the health of my bird... But I for MYSELF do not want unnecessary chemical foggers in my home they are not needed I have verified this with other companies who are unfortunately not serving my area... and I cannot find one who does serve my area

----------------
We might have been able to wipe down the area with just soap and water if you didn't have a block wall there. Because the block wall (behind the drywall) is porous, soap and water and the use of a HEPA vacuum is not enough to assure the removal of mold spores that have developed inside the block's porous material. Unfortunately, I don't see another way to make sure that the job is done properly. But I completely understand why you are against us using chemicals. Your bird is a dear pet, and I know it's health is very important.
--------------------

 

So much frustration isn't it? I agree with you 100% though. Good luck finding someone in your area who will agree with you.

 

I again contacted that other company for a second opinion and see below what they said in response to that douchebag saying I "must" use those toxic chemicals.... they again confirmed you do NOT need to use those nasty/toxic chemical foggers! I WISH the below company saying the below info served my area, I would use them in a heartbeat! I guarantee all the ones I call tomorrow are going to do the same thing as the douchebag I'm fighting with now.... they are going to DEMAND to use biocide... I don't want biocides in my home... not for myself nor my bird! They do this because then they can literally charge more $$$ I wish I could get the heck out of this house and move into another house I hate this house!!!

The company I contacted for second opinion says....

Juliet,
Remediation is not about removing all the spores. It's not possible. And even if they kill them, which is not necessary, more will land there later and grow on the surface if it remains wet. Furthermore, mold doesn't grow on concrete. It may grow on the dust or the paint, but not concrete. There is ZERO need for biocides in the scenario.

 

... it seems like "air scrubbers" are safe though???

It looks like that just cleans the air? Unlike "air foggers" (aka biocides) of course. This is driving me nuts. :wacko: I don't want to have to board my poor tiel for several days at the vet because I'm too scared to bring him home due to deadly biocides in my home air. I've got to find someone decent to get this resolved.

 

What kind of companies are you contacting?

Have you tried a general contractor to just do the repairs?

Maybe even a local handyman?

 

I'm calling to call a few today and see if one can come out and give FREE quote (I'm so poor right now it's not even funny)... but I highly suspect they will refuse to even touch the wall without first telling me I have to have a mold company come out (I almost feel it's STUPID for mold inspector who charges several hundreds of dollars when I already know there is mold there??). I know earlier I said the guy doesn't even know if there is mold there... but he was very insistent there is mold due to length of time and condition of the drywall. Below is a pic of the problem. There is hole on exterior wall next to window which is allowing water to leak underneath my window sill.

I also have moisture problem in the kitchen ceiling, the popcorn cerling next to AC vent is constantly moist from condensation (that will 100% lead to mold). So I have 2 serious problems that must be urgently fixed....

I think I'm going to have very difficult time getting someone to agree NOT to use biocides

EDIT: Excuse the ugly walls/baseboards, it's my tiel's fault I cannot paint my house!

 

Sorry if I'm boring you guys or annoying. Just realized I posted 500 times in a row to myself in this thread, oops.

Another company is coming out here who repair drywalls from dry rot and water damage. I already stuck it to this prick on the phone I will NOT allow any biocides to be used in my home. He said it depends where and how it's used.... but I'm going to show him all the info the other company sent me about how it's not necessary to use biocides. I'm curious what this one's going to say.

 

I'd stay in a hotel with my tiels for a couple days and let them do their thing. I had a soggy patch in my bathroom in WA and ended up losing 7 tiels to black mold. And that wasn't even the worst of it. There was a whole wall downstairs that was moldy and they didn't know it until we were moving out (which explained why my birds kept getting sick and my hubby had allergies.)

All I'm saying is, in a place like FL, there's likely mold and it's best if you let them do the job. Get a hotel, stay with your tiel and let it air out really good before you move back in. We had to bomb that same house a couple times too with foggers and our tiels were fine. We'd take them on a long car ride and then my hubby would air the house out before we brought them back in.

Edit to add: I just read the rest of the posts and if you can find a company to do it without the biocides you need to. The other thing he had wanted to use is just to scrub the air (think that if they are dealing with mold spores and this is FL we are talking about, I grew up there) so that they don't inhale those spores either. Good luck in finding someone who can do it the right way.

 

Crap, now I'm thinking it would be better to have a mold inspector... NOT a mold remediation company because the risk of getting scammed by them is too high since they can claim I have "serious mold all over the house" even if I don't just to get more $$$ from me. I would rather deal with a mold inspector who does NOT make more profit if there is indeed mold in several places. I'm positive there has to be mold in my bedroom wall though.

Those mold inspectors are soooooo expensive and I am in debt right now until I get my next commission but it must be done. This other guy from another company is coming to my house this afternoon. I'm eager to hear what he has to say.... maybe they can ONLY apply the biocide in my bedroom... then I have to board my tiel at the vet's as I cannot afford to stay in a hotel right now sadly.

 

The guy who just came to my house from another company.... I really jumped on this guy's throat that I do not permit any biocides to be used and then I showed him the documentation I had on biocides and how the other company I got second opinion from does not ever use biocides. I think I scared this guy LOL. He said I might not even have mold.

He said if I do have mold he would spray some "green" chemical.. yeah right! "Green" my butt... I don't believe that one bit... but he said he would email me the ingredients in that "green chemical" and it would only be used on that small area that has mold. I said that would be ok... he will email me the quote (I am nervous to see how much he wants to charge!!). I still want to get a quick THIRD opinion from yet one more company. It's been free estimates so far....

I like this guy better than the last because he said I most certainly do NOT need to fog the house with biocides and he ONLY does this in houses that have serious visible mold in large areas. I liked the sound of that. The guy prior to this guy wanted to fog the heck out of this house with biocides. Noway Hosay.

 

This sounds much better. But find out what the fgreen is.

 

I don't really like this second guy... there was something "off" about him. I don't trust him. He also said the only thing he would use to fix the leak is to simply caulk it. That sounds CRAZY to me????? In that case I can fix the leak myself but I do not feel simply caulking the crack/hole in the exterior wall which caused this entire mess in the first place is acceptable? As caulking degrades overtime and then this whole problem will happen all over again!

I have caulked many things in the past using the toughest most durable forms and it never seals things properly. Am I correct about this or wrong? I would have thought he would use a far more durable and surefire way to seal the leak??? Also the neighbor's sprinkle system is hammering my window at night blasting it with water which is right where the leak in my wall is.... I don't see how ANY calking could withhold all this??? Crap, now I need to have a THIRD company come out here for another opinion, not good.

 

OMG how ironic... I was so worried about being scammed by a mold remediation company... yet ironically, a mold remediation company saved me. I just spoke to a super nice guy (who was insanely honest) from a mold remediation company in my area. He was kind enough to EDUCATE me... if the affected area is less than 10 by 10 feet (which in my case it is definitely less) then I do NOT need the services of ANY mold remediation company as they will just be trying to scam more money out of me. He had me download this PDF file....

"A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home EPA-402-K"
https://www.google.com/search?q=mold+epa+booklet&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

He told me if anyone tries to suck more money out of me for "mold remediation/testing services" I should just stick this documentation into their face. A regular contractor can easily solve my problem... if there is mold... then a simple scrub down with an antimicrobial (which can be bought from Home Depot) will be sufficient... no need for biocides/checmical foggers!

This nice guy referred me to a guy who was too busy to help me so I got referred to another guy... hopefully the guy he referred me to will finally get this done!

 

Reading through this thread I can see just how upsetting and stressful this is to you. Here's some things I've noticed:

1. Get to the base of this problem. Tell your neighbor they need to move their sprinklers or turn down the pressure or something because it is damaging your property and, whether there is mold or not, could lead to health problems in you and your pets

2. You seem very untrustworthy of nearly every company you call. At some point, you're going to have to bite the bullet and choose someone to fix this issue. It's small/not a hazard/manageable now, but the longer you're looking for someone you don't end up not-trusting an hour later, it will get worse. Especially with your neighbor's sprinklers hitting it.

3. Push comes to shove, you may have to follow roxy's advice of finding a hotel or a relative you can seek refuge at while you let the contractors do what they need to do. Definitely do your research and you absolutely have a say in what kind of chemicals you want in your house, but you're getting opinions ranging from cutting out the wall and caulking the leak to completely fogging your house, a safe-happy middle to ensure this problem doesn't keep coming back may be some kind of chemicals.


If you leave the problem, then you'll have mold and then you and your bird's health will be at risk just as if you buckled and let someone spray to remove any spores that may currently exist.

 

Thanks for your post. If I wasn't so poor right now then this wouldn't be stressful at all... I would have turned this into a little vacation and just taken my tiel to a hotel for a few days (that would have actually been fun)... but I can't afford to That's exactly what is really making this whole thing so stressful.

You are right though... I have great difficulties trusting these repair companies. So far the second guy wanted to do a half***d job by putting a quick bandaid over the problem by using caulking to seal up the leak rather than doing a proper stucco repair (he was totally trying to take advantage of me) and the first guy wanted to fumigate the entire house with toxic biocides.... which several people have told me is not necessary especially for my specific problem.... also told me that is not proper way to handle this.

I have 3 different people from 3 different companies coming over tomorrow... I have to bite the bullet and just pick one ASAP... then board my tiel at the vet for a couple days. I need to make sure whoever I chose is actually experienced dealing with mold though. I will also talk to my neighbor that he needs to adjust his sprinkle... he's a very nice neighbor so it shouldn't be a problem.

Keeping fingers crossed tomorrow will be better progress than today cuz this has gotten a bit ridiculous

 

My fingers are crossed for you too! At least if you can't afford to get out, you can board your baby at the vet. As long as he's out, things just need to be aired out before you bring him back in. I think having your bird out of the house will make you feel a little better about the process with whoever you choose!

 

I think you're on the right track. Let's see what you find out tomorrow.

 

OMG, I FINALLY hired a guy to do it he's here sawing my drywall out. I ended up hiring the guy who was referred to me by a very nice contractor who was referred to be by this super nice man who owns a mold remediation company. The guy I ended up hiring says it should only cost me about $250ish.... whereas the other guys were quoting me over $1500+!!!

This guy does not even think I have mold... OMG I HOPE he's right and I made the right decision!

EDIT: My tiel is with me on my shoulder... I don't even have to evacuate my tiel since I will not be having him paint the wall... I can do it myself at a later time.

 

Awesome!!! I made the right decision!!!
Shockingly, even though the leak has been happening for a very long time and my dry wall was all rotten, I have NO mold!!! I am sooo happy I hired this guy. The second I spoke to that super nice guy who owns a mold remediation company I knew I was on the right track. The other guy who came to my house told me I DEFINITELY have mold, this was a RED FLAG… now it’s getting done and my tiel can stay with me (yay!)… no need to evacuate my tiel as I told him he doesn’t have to worry about painting the drywall.

Awesome. So this “disaster” has been resolved and for a great price!!!! He told me materials will only cost about $50 and the labor about $150... whereas the other jerks anted to charge me thousands. I have a very serious ant infestation though which no pest control company has been able to solve… you can see how the ants have dragged a TON of dirt into the wall… that’s crazy! Ants come into my living room in the middle the house... the ants are living inside inside ALL the walls in my house!!! Pest control companies say it's the worst infestation they ahve ever seen.

I solved one problem today but I have given up on the severe ant infestation.

 

Okay this is my last post about this before I drive you crazy. But wow! This guy I hired is doing a great job! He cleaned up the drywall and window sill and it looks so spotless and brand new... also found the leak as he tested it by spraying water into the area and could clearly see where the water was leaking into the walls.. there are small cracks/open crevices in the window sill and underneath. I was so stressed out about this and it turned out perfect... now if only I could have the ongoing severe ant infestation solved... good news is ants can't kill my tiel but mold can... so that's good enough for me.

 

Was the mold visible or was it completely hidden inside the walls?

Mine was a wet spot in the bathroom right next to the tub. I noticed it when we first moved in so I bought mold resistant paint from Home Depot and painted over it. That lasted about two years until it started eating the paint and we had to call maintenance to come in and fix it. They removed that board, put in a new one, sanded it down, and repainted it. The other wall in the laundry room wasn't discovered until we moved out.

I'm glad you got it fixed!

 

That is REALLY scary that the mold you had killed your tiels? I am so paranoid now when I can afford it I want to have the air tested in this house espcially since I live in a dreadfully humid/muggy swamp.... air tested NOT by a mold remediator but by a mold inspector.... those mold mediators are crooks!!! I was lucky to FINALLY speak to one who wasn't (I spent all day yesterday on the phone)... I found the needle in the haystack

 

Congrats. Save that Guy's number.

 

For sure, I saved his number as well as the nice people who referrred me to him ... he got to my house and has been working since 9am this morning and it is now 2pm and he is STILL here working!! This guy must be from a sweat shop??? LOL. He is from Columbia. Or maybe he just decided to move in? :hmm:

I DESPERATELY need to get both my bathrooms and kitchen GUTTED and renovated (when I can afford to) because it is beyond old and DISGUSTING. I always feel so GROSS in this house because it is corroded and run down.... it's really gross desperately needs to be gutted! Maybe I can have this guy do the renovations because he does renovations. He also told me the cabinets sold at Home Depot are crap and gave me number to another local company who sells better quality for same price as Home Depot.

He told me he could gut and renovate my bathroom for about $1,200 and my kitchen for about $1,000 or $1,300... this cost is ONLY for the labor... it is the materials that jack up the price he said (for example the cabinets alone would be maybe $5,000 and the quartz counter top several thousand)... does this pricing he gave for the labor sound right to you?

 

The repair guy just left, he was here working like a horse for 6 hours! He fixed the leak, he replaced the drywall/baseboard... he also fixed my front door. The total cost for everything was $350 and then I gave him a tip. So instead of getting SCAMMED by the other A-Holes who tried to take advantage of me and scam thousands of dollars... I got lucky

I didn't have him paint anything in my bedroom (he just used some "white colored stuff" which is used when putting drywall up the fill in the crevice in the baseboard... he said it take couple hours to dry)... so it should be safe for my tiel to sleep in my bedroom with me tonight?? As I smell no fumes whatsoever and my bedroom window was open getting aired out. My tiel sleeps in a fish tank next to my bed every night.

 

Sorry please disregard this post everything is fine now