mold..

Ok, so after gettin my jeep running - I had to get the garbage disposal running! Old one sprung a leak, and new one had to get installed.. While I was under the sink tonight I was a little surprised at what I found. I've noticed over the last year the grout around my sink began to crack, but I wash dishes in the sink, not ontop of it so I wasn't entirely worried about that... Maybe I should have been. When I bought the house the inspector said the kitchen sink previously had a leak but it was repaired, and I left it at that. The wood cabinet had some stains and warping, but I figured new pipes, it was all repaired and nothing to worry about. Not sure if the problem I'm facing now is from before, or if its happened since I bought the house in '08. To repair it, what I'm looking at is ripping up the counter top (which is all tile, cheap shit, but still its tile), ripping out the cabinet, and possibly cutting out the drywall. Who knows if this problem persists behind the dishwasher, which is off to the right of the sink.... Looks like I'll be calling my homeowner's insurance. Anybody else have this problem? How much of a headache am I in for?

Odd way for a garbage disposal to go...



Mold - The plywood under the tile is even rotting and falling apart

be careful, especially if you have young children in the house. Black mold is a bad mofo.


good luck!

Spray that mold with bleach.

Let me know if you need a hand replacing anything.

Looks like you have mold on your water filtration system also. I would toss that and get the 5 gallon jugs from a water store for drinking water.

Jeff

That filtration system is old, been in since before i owned the house. Ive been filtering water with one of those water pitchers with the filter in the cap. Didn't know what that yellow stuff was tho, thought maybe something from when they repaired the original leak. Maybe I should bypass that system tho incase there is mold there.... Thanks for the offer of help there, papercut. Hopefully i can have my insurance take care of this tho - especially if it is the toxic black mold.

I work in the Insurance Restoration Business and typically long term damage from slow leaks is not always covered. If you are going to try to santize the mold then use Formula 409 which is a disenfectant as it will help sanitize the area. Also wear rubber gloves and a N95 dust mask. Bleach really is not the preffered household soultion these days. Formula 409 is made by the Clorox Company. If you do decide to make a claim I can put you in touch with our local office that covers your area. DO NOT PUT A FAN ON THE AREA TO DRY IT AS IT WILL ONLY SPREAD MOLD SPORES!!!! Good luck