Oh What a Moldy Day!

Last Friday I sat nestled in the corner of the family room sofa reading. 

That corner is the most comfortable place in the house. 

As I was reading I heard water dripping.

I stopped, looked around, didn't see actual water dripping, so I resumed my reading.

A few minutes later, I heard water dripping, again.

Knowing how destructive water leaks can be, I stopped again, crawled out of my corner and approached the area from where I thought the water was coming.  With relief, I looked out the window and noticed water dripping from the side of the house onto some patio chairs.  I opened the window and the sound increased.

Sure enough, I thought...  Water is dripping outside.  Whew!

Once again I resumed reading. 

Read a while longer.

Changed the laundry. 

Folded a batch of clean towels.

Took a call from one of my sisters.

Meandered upstairs to talk in the sitting room.

Then it happened....

Margaret came downstairs and told me my bathroom was flooding.

I talked to Charmalee a few minutes longer and then ended the call.

How bad could it be, I thought, as I wandered upstairs to my bedroom......

Whoa!

It was pretty bad.

Knowing how destructive water leaks can be, I turned off the water to the toilet, took off my shoes and stood there (in the cold, standing water) waiting for Val to bring up the wet/dry vacuum.

Margaret and I started to vacuum up the water but I knew this was too much water, much too much, for our little wet/dry vacuum to handle.

While Margaret continued to vacuum up water, I called our insurance agent to see if he had someone he could recommend for water clean-up.

Placed a call to the company and waited for them to arrive.

I've always enjoyed watching Holmes on Homes.

Even though I already knew water can be a destructive thing in homes, watching that program educated me on just how serious it can be, so I was grateful I was able to call a company for help.

I knew they'd have more powerful water extraction machines and would have the water out of the carpet in no time.

Right?

If there is enough water leaking to get sheet rock wet, the insulation and wall studs usually get wet too.

When insulation gets wet, it takes longer to dry because the sheet rock is also wet.

Saturated sheet rock and insulation inhibit the wooden wall studs from drying.

All of this wet... everything... creates a perfect environment for mold growth.

MOLD!  It's bad. Real bad.

The Disaster clean-up folks don't use water extraction machines.

They have huge dehumidifiers and fans.

They come in and remove your carpet pad.

They set-up dehumidifiers and fans.

They ask you to turn-up your thermostat.  Really high!

They return the next day and remove the wet sheet rock and insulation.

And on, and on, and on...

Now let me be clear... I am very grateful for the disaster clean-up people.

Very, very grateful.

But MOLD! It's bad. Real bad.

Mold is very insidious.

Mold can also be a death sentence for homeowners insurance coverage.

Most insurance companies won't pay mold related claims.

In fact, if you file a claim for mold related damages, many companies will cancel your coverage.

Thanks to the digital society we live-in, insurance companies share information.

Armed with that information, other insurance companies won't accept you as a client.

MOLD! It's bad. Real bad.

When all is said and done.

When our house is put back together.

When the chaos has ended.

I'm grateful for our home.

I'm grateful for our insurance coverage.

I'm so very grateful for my sweet husband who always tries to allay my fears and frustrations and helps me at every turn.

I just don't want to have to endure fire, earthquakes, tornadoes, wars, rumors of wars, or more water damage.

I'm a wimp and don't like handling all this stress and chaos.