We owned the house for 10 years with no problems. The A/C pans rusted thru & the leaks were hidden in the walls. By the time we discovered the problem it was severe. Just spraying some Clorox on the problem would not have solved it. Also the house was on Galveston Bay with high humidity all the time.
We had the mold tested & found we had at least 6 types of mold including toxic. We sold the house "as is" with a check from the insurance co. We considered tearing it down & building another but decided against it.
I repeat, SOME people are made VERY sick by the presence of mold. I could not spend ONE night in my house without getting sick. I shutter to think what would have happened to me if that had been my permanent residence.
Do not scoff at people who tell you mold makes them sick, just feel fortunate that you & yours aren't one of them. BTW if you ever try to sell your moldy house don't be surprized if you must take a loss.
Heh. My house is worth well over double what I paid for it; and if anything, it was even moldier when I bought it, and scads of buyers got in a bidding war over it then.
People who value old houses are charmed by the basement with its hand-hewn beams and log pillars and aren't put off by a little mold.
And by the time I'm ready to sell, the mold scare fad will be long over.
I'm not scoffing at your health problems. I'm scoffing at the overhyped notion that mold is the big bad bugaboo that lawyers are making it out to be. And as I said earlier, correlation is not necessarily causation.
You and I have had this discussion numerous times - so you know I am firmly in your camp on this issue.