That Mold Smell is Just a Symptom

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My husband said, “Hold your breath while I open up the garage door and let it air out a little bit.”

I was five months pregnant so we were extra cautious around items and houses in contact with flood water and mold. He wanted to show me all of the furniture family members and volunteers had saved from my aunt and my grandma’s flooded homes. He was about to clean it all in the next month. I was more than curious and excited to see what was left too.

The garage in my aunt’s new house was overflowing with furniture that sat in flood water for days. It was all unclean and untouched other than the handling it took to go from the house to the garage in her new home.

I held my breath and quickly walked outside of the garage door breathing in fresh air. That is, until I got the first waft of the scent coming from the garage in the breeze…

I was shocked. It was a familiar smell!

It was exactly like my grandma’s house used to smell! I just couldn’t believe it. All this time I thought it was the smell of mothballs, not that I ever saw a moth ball or even know what one is–a mothball is the kind of thing you read about in a Nancy Drew book. I think perhaps someone told me the smell was mothballs when I was really young?

In any case, I could never justify the smell. Nor could I pinpoint the exact scent. But at some point, having grown up with it as a kid at every vacation and holiday celebration, you just get used to it and you move on.

The one time it did not smell like that was when we did laundry. You know how it has that nice fresh scent? The clothes always smelled nice coming out of the laundry. Somehow by the time we got home and unpacked, the clothes still had “that smell” from the house. I would unzip the suitcase, flip open the lid and the distinct scent would hit me in the face.

So did every package that arrived on the doorstep for Christmas and our birthdays. It infiltrated bags of cookies too.

I just can’t believe the smell coming out of the garage exactly matched the smell we had lived in. The worst thing was I didn’t even live there–I just visited!

Another unexpected supporting instance

My aunt has two cats. They’ve always been slightly skittish. One does more than her fair share of seeing spirits on the ceiling…or at least she did in my aunt’s old house.

To be fair, my aunt’s old house did not smell like my grandma’s house although both homes were hit by the same flood in 1979. It did not smell like a new house, but it did not have a super funky smell. It was not quite the normal lived-in smell we all get in our homes to some extent, but close.

Having visited my aunt’s new house only once post Harvey, I immediately noticed these are not the same cats! They are relaxed: I did not see one spirit sighting and I observed a lot more playfulness with toys I saw in the other house but never saw an action. My husband, who is crashing with my aunt, agrees with my observations.

I realize her new house is only a year old, but it also has never flooded.

Cats have a sixth sense. Sometimes they are a bit crazy and we question their sanity, but they are observant and sensitive in ways people are not. For instance, if you have a cat and have a hot water supply line break in your home’s slab foundation expect the cat to find it first. Before you discover you have a leak you’ll find your cat sitting in an odd spot in the middle of the floor soaking up the heat.

The cats know the new house is a better house. It is a house with no mold smell. It is a cleaner house. It is safer.

What’s that smell?

So what is it going to be like for the people that buy unremediated/ improperly remediated homes? Specifically, what does the source of the smell do to people who live in this environment over the long term? Breathing it in constantly can’t be positive…

It makes me start thinking differently about any health issues my grandma, grandpa, and uncle experienced. What about their friends and family who also lived in that environment post 1979?

Sure, a family home and cats are only two test points for possible microbial growth. However, out of both instances there are possible health and attitude issues due to living in this kind of environment.

Studies and researchers agree there are long-term impacts

An article in The Washington Post states, “The worst symptoms from routine mold exposure — some amount of mold is in the air we breathe every day — are typically allergic reactions and are rarely fatal but can exacerbate other health problems.”1

The Pitt Review Learning Lessons from the 2007 floods lists many of the health problems. “Some people also reported physical health problems, including sickness, diarrhoea, asthma, sore throats, cold sores and bad chests, which many attributed to the damp living conditions and continuing contamination of their homes.”2

If you are here on this post to find out about black mold, here is the unfortunate news: Researchers from Texas Tech explain, “‘There are probably 100,000 species of mold. Some are very dangerous, some not so dangerous, but you can’t tell what type it is,’ Straus said. ‘All mold should be removed.'”3

It is also not just about the physical aspect of living in poor conditions, but also the mental aspect. Oxford Academic’s Journal of Public Health published an article on the Long-term health effects of flooding. “Even those returning to their homes can experience ongoing anxiety, a lack of security, anxiety and loss of a sense of home.”4

Share the knowledge!

Your physical and mental health, as a direct result of living and working on your home, is one of the reasons why you see these kinds of posts coming out on this blog. It’s not just about a smell. It’s about how an unclean environment negativity impacts the lives of you, your family and friends. It’s also about getting the word out there–educating flippers, real estate agents, construction companies, remediation companies, insurance companies and regular people like you and me.

If you and I are more supportive of these longer lead times to clean out and replace everything in our home, the remediation and reconstruction company(ies) are not pressured into cutting corners to shorten the job. In turn, the insurance companies would know, expect, and pay for the latest procedures.

On the other hand, perhaps they just don’t know! It’s not like the people working on all these flooded properties in the past and currently are lazy or terrible people intending to remodel a flooded home improperly. We can help by asking questions and requesting certain procedures. Putting a business hat on, if you have a constant lineup for business you could be so busy about the only time you have to yourself is when you go to the bathroom. If you are truly that busy is that the time when you want to read the latest industry publications or would you rather surf Facebook?* This means you don’t have the time or energy to brush up on new techniques or products out on the market. By educating ourselves we can help make a change in the industry too!

We are much further along building science wise than we were even a few years ago. However, getting the word out there is slow. Education is key.

There is a better way.

Yes, it will take more time and more money. That is against what most flippers, insurance, and real estate involved individuals want to hear. It hurts the bottom line.* Heck, we all want to get back in our homes as fast as possible. There is no place like home! However, cleaning and putting it back a better way will also make a home safe for everyone!

We have new standards. This is the restoration industry perspective. There are long-term effects after a flood. That the strange smell is just a single symptom. My husband and other professionals will call the smell “suspected microbial growth” which most people would call mold, but it could be more. Those terrible flood waters carried all sorts of things: sewage, chemicals, fuel, dirt, etc. Those got into homes and businesses. That stuff soaked into brick, sheetrock, plaster, carpet, under tile, under vinyl and more… It takes trained help to treat, remove and or seal these things away.

A mold smell after a flood is only a sign after the fact. Do it right the first time rather than learn the hard way when you have to remove everything you just put back.

I don’t want this mold smell for my family and I certainly don’t want it for yours.

Related posts:

How to Spot Shitty Hurricane Harvey “General Contractors”

The Housing Market After a Hurricane: Month 2

We are Actively Looking for a Home in Dickinson, TX

Do You Need to Remove Tile After Flood Water Invades?

Spot Warning Signs of a Shoddy Flood Remodel <– This one has been updated with three additional tells! If you are a regular reader here FYI: I decided to update the old post rather than do a follow on post.

Are You Looking at a Flooded Fireplace? How to Investigate!

*To be clear, I’m not saying run up an insurance claim. That hurts everyone’s premium. What I am saying is that the vast majority of people who we know are being undercut by their insurance. The reason you have insurance is to cover your loss and to replace it with “like, kind and quality” in your time of need. This is why we all have insurance. However, this does not seem to be the case on the ground right now. Instead, public adjusters are making bank because the claims are coming back short and they are hired to help. Additionally, contractors are having to fight back with supplemental claims. All of this is more time and money on the insurance company’s part. On top of all that, every last “covered” person is still in limbo and displaced due to the money game.

1. Ben Guarino; The health dangers from Hurricane Harvey’s floods and Houston’s chemical plants, The Washington Post, 1 September 2017,   https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/08/29/the-health-consequences-to-expect-from-hurricane-harveys-floods/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.8fb0534aa27d

2. Sir Michael Pitt; Learning Lessons from the 2007 floods, December 2007,   http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100702222546/http://archive.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/pittreview/_/media/assets/www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/flooding_review/flood_report_lowres%20pdf.pdf

3. Glenys Young; Researchers: Flooding Can Have Long-Lasting Impact on Health, Environment, Texas Tech Today, 1 June 2015, https://today.ttu.edu/posts/2015/06/flooding-long-term-impact-health-environment

4. Selena Gray; Long-term health effects of flooding, Journal of Public Health, Volume 30, Issue 4, 1 December 2008, Pages 353–354, https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdn092