Need HELP w/ 1st WD Job!

**b18cyacrx** · 09-14-2009 10:27 PM

Hi this is Jen, normally Chad. I have my first WD job. I have never done this before so this very exciting to me. I think I can handle it with a little help.
There are two rooms one with soaking wet carpet and wood paneling. The other with concrete floors and painted block walls. Everything has a thin layer of mold on it including the furniture,toys,nicknacks,and even the poor buck on the wall. We are going to remove the carpet, then going to scrub the walls and concrete floors with bleach, then rinse, dry and seal them.
Hopefully we can salvage as much of thier belongings as possible. We are also taking off some trim and replacing it with new trim. I hope that is all we have to do. I don't know until I pull back some of the paneling on the wall to make sure there is no more mold underneath it. I am also putting dehumidifiers and fans down to get everything dry. Please tell me if I am on the right track. I bid this job at 3-5K and got the job. Thanks Jen

**RDCCARPET** · 09-14-2009 11:09 PM

Originally Posted by danny4406

I would not use bleach at all. I would spray everything with Micro Ban even behind the walls.

i agree about not using the bleach it will get nasty with little ventelation in a basement get a gallon or 2 of some kind of micro and wash the walls with that. as far as the price goes its not bad some people will charge more some less but i think as long as you get in and out as quick as possible you will turn a profit. Its your first time and you are learning so even if you broke even it is worh the experience. what part of pa are you located in?

**Jason Whaley** · 09-15-2009 08:05 AM

Be careful and take some IICRC classes. WDT and ASD and if you are going to be doing mold take a mold class. This is nothing to be playing around with. It can cause people to get really sick or even in worse cases, die.

I personally don't touch a water damage job if it has been wet for over 5 days because of mold and the liability that goes with it.

Here is the class schedule:
http://www.iicrc.org/courses.shtml

**Pro-Clean** · 09-15-2009 08:54 AM

Not only is this a water restoration job it is also a Mold Remediation. DO NOT Turn drying equipment on until you do a Mold Abatement. If you do not take care of the mold and you blow the mold spores all over you can contaminate other parts of the house and you also can be breathing the air born spores. There is possibley a future law suit for you company.

Don't dought the home owners, they might know more than you think. With todays internet they probabley have read up on the removal process. My advice let a trained company come in and you can work alone with them and split the money.

**Pro-Clean** · 09-15-2009 08:59 AM

Is this a cat #1 or cat#2 or Cat #3?
How long has it been since the initial damage has accoured?
If it has a cat 2 or 3 damage you have to rip the carpeting out and get rid of it especially if it has been more thatn 24 to 48 hours.

My advise is to you get some schooling it will keep you from liability.

**Daron Farrar** · 09-15-2009 09:48 AM

I understand that bleach based solutions are not very effective disinfectants for mold or much of anything else. However in doing a little research I learned that if you lower the pH of the bleach solution then it is not only a much more power disinfectant but it sterilizes all dried bacterial and mold spores after no longer than 20 minutes. The way that you make the solution is mix 1 cup of bleach to a gallon of water then add one cup of white vinegar to the solution. Thoroughly wet the effected areas to where they remain damp for at least 10 minutes, preferably 20. Obviously you do not want to use this solution with textile surfaces but you could use the Microban in those areas.

Here is a link to the info that I found- http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/38067.php

**Scott W** · 09-15-2009 10:29 AM

Although bleach can kill mold, it leaves you with dead mold. Like trapping mice and leaving the mouse traps scattered around the house. Mold is still a contaminaent dead or alive.

In some cases contact with bleach can trigger the release of mycotoxins into the air whixh are also harmful.

Areas that are not affected need to be sealed to prevent the spread of mold and mold spores (fungal contamination) to new areas. Failure to protect these areas can be a real liability issue.

A mold job is not a good first water damage job. Beware. Get an experienced professional mold remediater involved.

Dry the area. The dispose of what is contaminated with mold or remove it from the home by sanding and HEPA or ULPA vacuum. After this is done you can wash the surfaces with a disinfectant to remove any remaining traces.

Scott Warrington

**jmathis** · 09-15-2009 09:49 PM

1.Make sure you have a work authorization that releases you from any liability post clean up. 2 Only 5k what about the contents (sofa's chairs etc...)3 Make sure you have a work authorization that releases you from any liability post clean.

**b18cyacrx** · 09-18-2009 10:22 PM

Update on this job. We went and took a closer look at the damage and it was very bad. Homeowner said it was wet for a good month. We told the homeowner the paneling needed replaced and most of the furniture should be thrown away. The mold had wicked up all the studs and even on the ceiling. Well he didn't think it was that big of a deal(I don't know how, his tenants and their children were all sick). He had another outfit come in and they told him they could save everything except the carpet and it wasn't a big deal. We don't see how this is possible, so with all the liability we walked from the job. We weren't going to take a chance of the mold coming back and us being liable, it wasn't worth it. We aren't hard up for work or anything. We thought the place should have been gutted but he didn't want to do that. He was being cheap.
Thanks to everyone for the responses and to Jason W. for the phone conversation. We learned a lot about WD & mold even though we didn't do the job. We are now going to learn more about all this and soon hope to offer this as an additional service. Thanks again TMF members!

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sorry about this

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Need HELP w/ 1st WD Job!

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Another thing

Bleach

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