Mold is Bad, Don’t Blame Us
There are thousands of words in real estate contracts that I call the “Don’t Blame Us” clauses.
- If I give you names of home inspectors and they do a bad job, they have to be accountable for their own work. Don’t blame us.
- There could be neighborhood restrictions that prohibit you from having chickens. Don’t blame us.
- The school zones might change. Don’t blame us.
- The local utility companies may experience black outs. Don’t blame us.
- And one of the most serious… There is mold in this area because it tends toward the damp. Some mold is deadly. Most is bad. Get it inspected. Don’t blame us.
I just read my friend’s post about her battle over the bathroom shower with her husband.
After years of begging him to squeegee it and leave the door open so it could dry between showers I gave up and started using the upstairs bathroom. I figured his mess, his problem.
I didn’t realize that a shower I didn’t use could bother me so badly.
I waited.
I waited some more.
I think, but cannot confirm, advanced life forms developed in the stall. I heard the whispering late in the night.
Heather began feeling sick - her allergies were waging war on her body. And then she discovered it was the shower. Her husband has cleaned it, but now …
The downside is the mold started a cascade I haven’t been able to completely stop. The every day allergens I’m sensitive to, but haven’t bothered me in years are making my life miserable. I’m on new medications and I have an appointment with an allergist for Tuesday.
I once listed a home that really needed some TLC. The sellers knew it. The buyers knew it. And the home inspector really knew it when he emerged from the crawl space with a look of horror. Black mold. The buyer thankfully *really* wanted the house so they were willing to renegotiate the price and had the mold eradicated using a full hazmat crew.
It’s dangerous stuff. It’s so much more than “Don’t Blame Us” …. DO take it seriously. Get rid of it and do it right.
Photo by Nicholas 11mos via Flickr Creative Commons.
