Black Mold in Attic...Help!

16 years ago

Discovered a bit of black mold in the attic or rather some black spots on the interior roof sheathing. I also discovered that the bathroom exhaust vent ducts were laying on the attic floor and not connected to the dampers on the roof. I am first going to connect them properly but my next step will have to be dealing with the mold.

We have a one year old and I don't want to leave anything to chance. What does it cost to have mold remediated? What are the proper steps here? I also had not been in the attic since the inspection so it was about a year before discovering this. Will I have to tear down the new 30 year roof and replace? Will I have to replace all of the insulation? To compound the problem the attic flooring in insulated with loose blown-in fill insulation. I have homeowners insurance...what are my options here?

Thanks.

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Comments (9)

lostinit
Original Author
16 years ago
I should also add that yes we were running these exhaust fans regularly after showering so I am hoping these ducts recently became disconnected but I am guessing this likely happened in the summer when we had about a week of 95+ degree weather and that's probably what dried up the adhesive on the already lousy duct connections.
larke
16 years ago
What you need is to find out if water is coming in or were the vents really the whole problem. As far as the mold itself goes, a bleach solution should take care of it, but if the source problem is not dealt with, it will return of course.
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Linda
16 years ago
As far as the mold itself goes, a bleach solution should take care of it,

Bleach is ineffective in cleaning mold. It is now recommended to use Borates since it has been shown effective in also killing the mold spores which can penetrate the wood since it is porous. Mold isnt something you want to be messing around with. I would recommend calling a few mold mitigation companies to get some estimates and see what you're really dealing with.
pris
16 years ago
The first step is to identify the type of mold. Not all molds need to be professionally removed. Once that is determined, then find out the best remedy for the type.
lostinit
Original Author
16 years ago
I have found a potential solution....Concrobrium Mold Control. Everyone swears by it and it's used by remediation companies.
toxcrusadr
13 years ago
How is the attic constructed? Is the insulation under the roof or under the attic floor? Are there vents along the soffit (down by the gutters) and on the roof peak? Are there vents at the gable ends (triangular wall sections at the ends of the house)?

What I'm getting at is, will the extra moisture be vented out or has it all been trapped in the attic for a year. If the attic is well ventilated, maybe cleaning surfaces and reconnecting the vents is all you need to do. If it's basically sealed up, you might need to dehumidify it.
sunnyca_gw
13 years ago
You mention "black mold" in Los Angeles area & they rip your house apart. I saw the mess they made of Erin Brockenvitch(or whatever her name was(Julia Roberts played her in movie about different problem) anyway several houses in area of her house got tore to shreds. Well, they were fairly close to ocean so you naturally get lot more mold growing. Most houses have some mold, just take a Qtip & put it in your sink drain in bathroom, run it around & in most cases it will be black!! I have allergies so I have narrow brush that is on end of 6 ft cable so I can scrub it out, I use Comet & rinse well & then hydrogen peroxide& forget about it until next time I clean it. A lot of times the "black" or dark spots in attic is from moisture getting in before the new roof was put on(reason they put new roof on!
jcalhoun
12 years ago
If you still have the issue a lot of pest control companies do mold removal and treatment.
jackieblue
12 years ago
Before you are swayed by a mold remediation company, read and understand this:

http://www.forensic-applications.com/moulds/sok.html

Most of the people who do mold remediation are not scientists and they have no specific training to even know what they are dealing with. They only rely on the power of fear and how strongly fear affects persuasion.