terrible thing coming up

[catcat]

I had an inspector come in & I need major mold remediation. We had a number of floods in basement ---electricity went out & sump pump couldn't work, a hose broke on furnace humidifier, sump pump malfunctioned, & once the drain hole at bottom of outside stairwell froze over some leaves & water came in over the sill. I know we should have had the cleanup done professionally, but for several reasons, we did it ourselves. Obviously , it was wrong.I worked so hard with a contractor type wet vac & heaters, etc. for days, that I can hardly believe it. Now I am much older, widowed, & I have to get through this. They will haul out furniture, some of which needed to go anyhow, haul away & clean stuff I want, rip out carpet, possibly have asbestos co. do abatement if tile underneath is cracked, etc., & 'scrub" the air with machines. The scrubbers will also be on first floor as the spores go everywhere. The inspection & estimate will be on Thursday.
I have 2 cats who will be a problem, trying to keep them away from basement. there is no door there; i think they would seal it off anyway..
Nobody seems to have been sick from this mold & it has been there for many years, according to the floods. I was between biopsy & mastectomy & then Chemo during one of these episodes. And when another occurred, my DH was post-op & had Group B Strep & ended up on 51/2 weeks of Abx. Those contributed to not having it done professionally at the time. Whoever was well enough did it.
These illnesses were not b/c of mold, of course.
I am frantic, overwhelmed & it has kicked up grief again for DH b/c he is not here for support, even if he couldn't do a thing physically.
Just venting, catcat

[bluefrog]

Oh, yuck! I'm sorry, catcat. I'd be overwhelmed, too. I hope the whole thing goes as smoothly as possible for you.

[messyme]

That sounds like it'll be a very difficult thing to go through! I hope it goes as well as it can.

(My parents' house is quite humid and they have some black mold on the ceiling. I read a lot about it, and found out that mold isn't as bad for the health as the media makes it out to be. A lot of people probably know that, but just FYI).

[babz25]

Im sorry catcat.....its totally understandable why this would be so overwhelming, and why it would kick up feelings about your hubby. My best wishes to you!!

[CourageouslyLion SeeksSerenity]

[Sunshine]

I'm so sorry you're feeling overwhelmed. You know you can always vent here.

[cellybird]

I'm so sorry! All of this sounds just awful. Sending you good thoughts!

[WestsideStory]

I'll be thinking of you and sending you lots of TLC and support on Thursday, catcat.



WestsideStory

[moonglow]

Catcat: So sorry you are having to go through this. So stressful. Thinking of you and hoping that everything goes smoothly and quickly.

[catcat]

Thank you all for the nice support. Will try to keep you updated.
catcat

[eagle]

Catcat, I know it's terrible, but it's also a good thing. The professionals will do it right and you won't be burdened with the work yourself. You can rest easy knowing they'll do a thorough job because they are trained and licensed and bonded and don't want to get sued for doing a less than effective job.

Best wishes to you and yours.

[mythreecats]

catcat,
I understand your stress, what a difficult situation. And I'm so sorry this is bringing up feelings of grief for you.
I just wanted to say that just as I was about to sell my house 8 years ago, I discovered a serious mold problem behind the paint on the bedroom walls (which I guess explains the scratchy throat I often woke up with in the house that went away after I moved).
Anyway, I had a professional mold remediation. At the time, I was really overwhelmed. In the end, I was so happy to have it done. I didn't have to explain it while selling the house, and the new walls looked so much nicer!

So, you will get through it, and hopefully you will have the same positive experience that I did. I'll be thinking about you.

(The final bit of good news is that I have OCD, and prior to this experience had a HUGE fear of mold. That fear is now gone. Yay!)

[catcat]

Man named Harry came out for inspection on Thursday & the carpet--wall to wall-- has to come out, the ceiling tiles & about a foot of bottom of knotty pine paneling. They will haul away things I don't want & clean the keepers. Air scrubbers will vent to the outside with negative pressure. One scrubber will be on first floor. It will be sealed at top of stairs next to kitchen.

Problem is the basement & laundry room were the worst doom rooms in house so I have hours of brutal work for myself before this can be done. Otherwise, sentimental things would be hauled away. I am wearing a mask & gloves & old, throw-away clothes, then creeping naked upstairs, down low so i can't be seen, to shower. Too much info ?

I am not sure about what to do about DH's tools, most of which I don't want, but they can't be washed. He said to wipe off small things that are non-porous with Dawn detergent in water. Then they can be taken upstairs. My daughter will help me wipe down Ikea bookcases & haul them upstairs until job is completed. I am being fairly ruthless throwing things away. I had been doing baby step throw-aways down there, but now I am not able to do it in baby steps.

A microbiologist will do air samples inside & outside the home before job is started & within 5 days of job completion, he will repeat inside air samples. If there is not enough improvement, the company will redo anything he says until it passes.

Then I will have to have baseboards put in fast to keep badcat from getting into sump pump room or laundry room. Then will have someone lay vinyl sheeting over asbestos tiles that reside under carpet.

That is all I will replace b/c it is no longer used as a family room. It got many years of use as one, but kids & grandkids are grown & I don't need a family room any more, just a place to walk thru to get to that bathroom & the furnace/laundry room. Also, when I am gone & the kids get the house in shares, it will be sale ready. It would never sell this way.

Thanks for support. This is a nightmare, considering my age & arthritis.

Love, catcat

[CourageouslyLion SeeksSerenity]

Catcat, thankfully you will have real professionals doing the work.

Here are some links about what you can do for your own safety:
Mold info:
takeonestepatatime.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=17964

Sending you love and strength,
Lioness

[sparkle]

oh, catcat. I had to sit down and take a few deep breaths. bless your heart.

of course it'll be wonderful when it's all done but the getting there is gonna be, let's face it, horrendous. how much time do you have? have you lined up a date or do you call when you're ready?

I see we will be wearing matching outfits for a while. the most comfortable masks I've found are 3M with a respirator, about $5 ea. at Walmart, cheaper in bulk. I find I don't need a new one every day but after a few sweaty days in a row I want a clean one. you'll probably want to have one for your daughter, too, when she comes to help. I'd rather err on the side of caution with mold or hanta virus.

I hope you'll be able to let us know what happens along the way. I'm so sorry that you have to do this gruesome work by yourself. I'd better add another hug.