Be extremely careful when hiring a contractor. I am starting to believe that 90% of contractors belong on that show to catch a contractor. Recently I have seen several examples of clients who had hired a contractor to build something or do repairs on their home and they end up damaging something or screwing up in a way that leads to water intrusion. They then try to hide it or pretend to repair it, meanwhile leaving the moisture there to be a breading ground for mold. Unless you catch it quickly, you then have a mold problem to deal with which can be very costly and harmful to your health depending on the type and how long it has been there.
In many cases my clients then let the contractor know and said they want the remediation paid for and they are met with one of two responses. 1. No, we will not pay for it and they are willing to fight it out in court because they know how expensive it might be. Or 2. I will remove the mold myself, don’t worry about remediation.
Because the second option sounds like a good solution clients usually accept this and let the contractor do the mold removal himself. I can totally understand why this is an acceptable solution to them. No one wants to go to court and deal with that on top of dealing with an expensive mold problem as well as insurance agencies and so on. That is why I want you to be informed and equipped to reject that offer and be more willing to fight with the contractor. A lot of times they give up because it is provable that the water intrusion is their fault. Especially when they were working on your roof.
The reason you need to reject their offer to remove the mold is because they have no idea what they are doing. In 99% of cases the contractor just spreads the mold throughout the property and makes the problem much worse and difficult to remediate. There is a reason why professional companies set up a containment area with negative air pressure before opening up or removing anything. There is even a specific standard for how you need to package and remove drywall or wood to prevent contaminating anything else. If the mold is an allergenic or toxic mold (the only way to truly know is to get a certified mold inspector to take samples), spreading that around your home just turned a small isolated problem into a situation in which you need to leave your home until it can be remediated.
Whether it is your contractor or your landlord or you want to DIY, bleach doesn’t get rid of mold!!! Save yourself a lot of trouble and stay on top of your contractors work. And in any case that you find water intrusion contact a mold inspector first and if he is a good one, he will help you thought the process in the best way possible not only to protect your health but to save you money in the end as well.
Any question or concerns give me a call. Stay informed and protect yourself from a headache.
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