Finding Mold Under the Clutter

No one likes to admit that they have mold in their house, not even me, and I’m pretty open about most things.  It’s extra hard to write this because I don’t know why I was so oblivious to the water that was pouring down my wall every time it rained for months.  Why didn’t I realize how much damage was being done?  How could I let it get so bad?

Finding the First Source of the Mold

I think that I was in denial for a long time.  Good money went into putting a new roof on the back of my house so I didn’t think that it could possibly be coming from there.  I kept telling myself that the leaks must be coming from the windows.  For some reason, I thought closing the screen windows would help even though that didn’t make sense.  I kept putting off the investigation that was really necessary to find where the water was coming from.

Finally, during one particularly heavy downpour, I realized that there was way more water pouring down the wall than I had seen before.  I finally saw it for what it was – water everywhere that wasn’t coming from any of the windows.  We got someone up on the roof and what he saw was a whole bunch of holes in the rubber roof that the other roofer had put up there.  My new roofer fixed it and it hasn’t leaked since.  Unfortunately, the damage has already been done.

The Second Source of Mold

We had to start taking showers in our upstairs bathroom because of a leaky tub problem downstairs.  We took the bath mat from downstairs upstairs and have been using that for a few weeks.  I noticed a small mold spot on the mat but ignored it for a few days.  Finally, the other day, I lifted up that corner and was mortified by the big mold spot that was underneath.  I panicked.

After seeing that bath mat, I’m starting the mold clean up in my upstairs bathroom.  We haven’t used it in a long time so all of the soaps, shampoos, etc, that have been in there for years are now in the garbage.  The bath mat is in the garbage outside and the floor is soaking in something that is supposed to kill the mold. I’ve cleaned out the sink and will be finishing the floor.  The toilet is last.  There’s nothing in that room now except for towels and a few personal hygiene items.

Next will be the downstairs bathroom.  It’s another incredibly moldy place.  The bathtub has been leaking in there for far too long.  There are obvious signs of mold on the tiles.  We used to try to clean it but eventually gave up because it would grow back even faster.  I know that sounds terrible but we just don’t have the money for major repairs.

Not sure how to begin the mold clean up process

Here’s what I’m imagining will need to happen.  The entire downstairs bathroom needs to get ripped out and everything in there replaced.  The wall that had water leaking down it needs to get ripped open so that the insulation can be replaced.  That wall affects the kitchen, hallway, and basically the whole house.  I’m picturing tens of thousands of dollars that I don’t have.  I’ve heard nightmare stories of mold removal and I’m not looking forward to the process.

For now, I’m working on making sure there’s no new places that would cause mold to grow.  If I find mold on anything at all, it goes in the garbage.  I don’t care what it is.  I’m making sure that the kids don’t take any food to their rooms that could be left there for too long and I make sure the dishwasher is run often.  We completely stopped using the moldy shower. When we get out of the other shower, we pick the towel up right away so it can dry out completely.  I don’t think any of this will help much since I think there’s a problem in the walls but at least we won’t be adding any more fuel to the fire.