Enduring trials - Pray for my family

[Guest]

I almost don't want to type this because I understand how it can seem almost petty to some, but I am asking for your prayers for myself and my family. The reason I say it may sound petty is that while praying about using funds we have set aside for possibly replacing our water heater, furnace and AC, our water heater started leaking. Before we could replace it we noticed that the floor was still wet underneath the linoleum so we removed the water heater and linoleum and the wood underneath was wet. The problem isn't that but the mold we found. The mold was growing about a foot away from the actual water damage so we were "lucky" to have found it. It was probably from a sewer backup we had several years ago and has been growing there since.

I'll go ahead and admit I'm hyper-analytical. So add that to the fact that I'm terrified of "toxic mold" and you can understand my concern. Mold spores can spread mold throughout the home and cause serious health problems. Since I have 3 children (and a 4th on the way) along with my wife, myself and my mother-in-law who's currently staying with us, I'm concerned for their health, but there is little I can do about that. All I can do is properly clean up the mold and get back to life. Sounds pretty simple, even to me. The problem is since this is one of my great "phobias" I feel like Paul when he said:

2Co 1:8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. 2Co 1:9 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead

In other words, the potential for serious harm to my family is real if we have one of the two toxic molds out there. If my family did suffer I would have a hard time not blaming myself for not removing the threat completely. On the other hand, hiring an environmental cleanup group would cost more than I have and is out of the question. So it's time to trust God.

God knows how to test me to make me grow, as most other disasters would not test my faith like this one because there is so much that is unknown. Tonight I will tear up the floor in our pantry as some water has gotten under that floor as well. It looks to be dry but please pray that there is no mold there and that my family will be kept from harm. On Tuesday the AC guy will be here to remove the furnace and AC so I can get to the rest of the mold that is under the floor where the furnace is setting. This is only a few inches of wood there so it shouldn't be hard to clean but the wood could be water damaged under there. So here I sit, wondering what I'm going to find tonight and Tuesday. The waiting is killing me. I'll feel better once it's over with. Please pray for my family's health and pray for my peace of mind so I don't worry myself to death wondering what I'll find or what "could" happen.

Peace,
Sean

[Guest]

I will definitely pray for you -- I also have some advice, as my sister went through this a few years ago when the nation (and especially the humid and wet South) went through the "great mold scare," which almost broke a number of insurance companies. Aside from God's protection and provision, the main thing to remember is that mold has been with us for a long time, and people in coastal areas with high mold spore counts in the air don't have higher incidents of all the things folks are afraid of concerning mold these days. Secondly, the "so-called" black or toxic mold is pretty rare Most molds aren't toxic in that way, and even that stuff can be eliminated through bleach and removing damaged wood/tiles, etc. followed by a little ventilation, etc.

So many people submitted claims of mold damage that you can't buy home insurance policies with mold coverage anymore. If your policy includes mold coverage, notify them immediately, but do immediate repair yourself (or hire someone) to keep from letting it spread and/or . Keep some in ziplocks or something until the insurance company can inspect it and confirm coverage, etc. The key is to remove any water damage early and anything with mold on it.

Because of the "widespread fear" at the time My sister's insurance company told them to wait for them to take care of the problem and to leave the house immediately (over-reacting to the "scare" at the time and not having protocols for it). They were told to turn off the a/c to prevent spreading and to check in to a hotel. After going through a whole summer with the insurance playing "coverage games" and no repair being done with no a/c, the house was a sauna and the mold spread throughout the home (literally on every surface). They lived in apartments and hotels and rented houses with three kids over the next year and a half. I don't tell you this to scare you -- I'm convinced none of this would have been a problem if they had just worried less about it, cut out the offending square foot of sheetrock and wiped down the immediate area with bleach. Since then, I've looked at people's homes I've been in and virtually none of the homes more than 10-15 years old seem free of mold around bathroom and utility rooms -- most people don't have problems associated with toxic mold, so the odds are with us.

So, my basic advice is to clean it up and try not to worry about it. I have family members with "phobia" issues, so I recognize logic and explanation doesn't make the concern go away, but it can't hurt. If you're really worried, take a sample and send it to a lab to be tested -- if it's not toxic mold (most are not), you can sleep better.

Again, I'll pray for you and hope to see an update.

[Guest]

Mold and mildew is part of the curse of the law(deut 28:22) but you are no longer under the curse.

I heard a sermon fairly recently and the speaker said that he had a mold problem in one of his closets; they prayed, commanded the mold to die in Jesus' name, and the mold disappeared within a couple of days.

praying and cursing the mold to die seems strange, but isnt that what Jesus would have done?

TK

[Guest]

praying and cursing the mold to die seems strange, but isnt that what Jesus would have done?

I kinda think Jesus would have gotten on his knees and cleaned it up. When plants died and decayed in front of him, do you think he stopped to curse it ?

Besides, mold isn't a dying thing, but a living thing -- any toxic effects "may" be a result of the fall, but why assume mold is due to the Fall ? Don't forget -- penicillin comes from mold, too.

[Guest]

i guess in deuteronomy, at least, mold and mildew was viewed as a cursed thing. i suppose toxic mold would fall into the same category.

sure, cleaning the mold with bleach might work, it probably will, although the stuff can be pervasive. might want to toss in a prayer though, for good measure.

TK

[Guest]

Thanks for the prayers everyone. My paranoia calmed way down the day after I posted this. I really do believe it was the prayers of others that calmed me down. So I was able to clean up the mold without freaking out about what "could" happen. It's been a long week or so but as of Saturday we had all of the mold cleaned up and the water damaged wood replaced and new linoleum put down so the AC/Heating guy could replace the furnace, A/C and water heater. All just in time for the 100 degree weather we are suppose to have today.

Thanks for the info Darin. I'd honestly rather not test it. I don't really want to know what it was, since I already removed it anyway.

What ever happened to your sisters house?

TK, I did think about the Deuteronomy passage. Of course the thought went through my head "Why has God cursed my home"?

I decided to remove the mold and pray for it not to spread.

[Guest]

sean wrote:

"Why has God cursed my home"?

i think the simple answer is that He didn't.

TK

[Guest]

I deal with mold all the time in my line of work. I have never had a repeat occurance. The key is to remove all the infested wood and wall board. If the wall is insulated it too must go. A clorox/water solution will aid in killing the spores if they are the less toxic kind (only a lab can really tell) and then paint on a Kilz (do not spray it on). Then replace the removed flooring and wall components. One good precaution I sometimes do when I replace a water heater is to set the water heater on a fabricated pan with a drain hose leading to a drain or outside of the house. Most future leaks will be caught in the pan. Most water heater leaks come gradually.

[Guest]

What ever happened to your sisters house?

They've been living in it again for about 4 years. She lost much of the contents and others (pictures, etc) are in ziplocks, etc. Some furniture was frozen by a remediator and re-upholstered. Much of it is in storage.

They've been uninsured since then as the insurance companies won't insure it for a few years, so they're trusting solely in God to protect their home, etc. Resale's was really not an option. Maybe after a few more years, they can consider selling it.

[Guest]

I deal with mold all the time in my line of work. I have never had a repeat occurance. The key is to remove all the infested wood and wall board. If the wall is insulated it too must go. A clorox/water solution will aid in killing the spores if they are the less toxic kind (only a lab can really tell) and then paint on a Kilz (do not spray it on). Then replace the removed flooring and wall components. One good precaution I sometimes do when I replace a water heater is to set the water heater on a fabricated pan with a drain hose leading to a drain or outside of the house. Most future leaks will be caught in the pan. Most water heater leaks come gradually.

Thanks Allyn, That's good to know. Since the drywall was nearly 3/4" above the subfloor it never got wet (it should have been obvious if it had). I considered tearing out a piece and looking behind it anyway but I couldn't bear to look.

I did use a water heater pan this time. It's connected to a floor drain so hopefully any future leaks are caught by it.

Darin,
Thanks for the info. How did they kill the mold that was growing throughout the house itself? I hope things go well for them. At least they got the house back. It seems odd that the insurance company told them to leave the home in that condition and now won't insure them or replace the damaged items. It seems that following their advice caused the problem to go from bad to worse.