So you have Mold........ Now What?
First think!
Where were you exposed?... Home? School ? Work?
If at home
Do you Own or Rent?
Are you and your family sick?
If you rent
First, contact your Landlord or management company and notify them that you believe you have water leaks and possible mold growth.
Secondly, you may want to take some precautions in advance in case management is non-responsive. Take your own photos of the water leaks or visible mold growth. Then hire a disinterested third party to document what you are living in. This would be a "certified" mold inspector. Make sure the mold service professional you select can produce a current Certification from a nationally recognized certification body, not an online certification mill.
Third, if you and you loved one are sick and you believe it's from the contamination within your home seek medial diagnosis, and treatment.
Fourth, if management is uncooperative you may want to seek the advice of legal counsel. It is wise to make sure your legal counsel has had a lot of experience with mold cases. The last thing you may want is legal counsel who is using you and your family as a learning experience.
If you live in a contaminated rental unit or home what does the landlord or management company owe you?
The insurance companies on a national level have set the standards for what is called ALE, or "Additional Living Expense", they are as follows:
1. To relocate you and your family to a place fully furnished and equivalent to your current living conditions.
2. You should receive $12.95 / person / per meal / day, three meals a day.
3. You should also receive $75.00 / week / person for laundry and dry cleaning.
These most basis needs should be met during the time your contents and clothing are being professionally remediated for mold and bacteriological contaminates.
The average cost to professionally remediate the contents of a one bedroom apartment can range from $9,000.00 to $11,000.00,(Average costs generated by the Xactware systems used by insurance industry professionals)
If You Own
Before you talk to anyone you are best advised to first read your homeowner's insurance policy, and find out if you have mold coverage, prior to filing a claim. Just because you may have mold, and do not have mold coverage does not mean your claim should be denied,if you don't have coverage you can still claim water damage.
If you do have mold coverage you may want to get your own environmental specialist to do the testing to see how far the contamination has spread within the structure.
At School Or Your Place of Work
Everyone deserves a clean place to live, work, and go to school in. If you are confronted with being forced to work or go to school with water lakes and mold, first contact managment and make them aware of your concerns. If they are unresponsive, you may want to engage your own private environmental firm to confirm whether it is mold in the environment or not.
If you Believe you have been Exposed to Mold
You must understand recovery from mold exposure is not over night, and it is a process. In many cases it may take up to eight months to a year to begin to feel normal again. Mold exposure is serious and has been linked to many symptoms, including cancer and even death. If you or a loved one has been exposed you may consider being medically tested, as mold sickness can affect the human body up to several years after the initial exposure.
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