You guys on this forum are among the most knowledgeable people I know when it comes to home matters, so that is why I am asking this here.

We are currently renting a home that has brown mold on the drywall. The real estate agent is sending someone out to look at it today, and we want to be sure they don't try to jerk us around.

The mold is toward the bottom of one wall and near the middle of an adjacent wall. Every time it rains, the problems gets worse. This has been over a two week period.

The spots on the wall are not wet.

What is involved with mold removal on dry wall? What should we be asking for in the way of replacement of dry wall, determining how extensive the mold "infestation" is, etc.

If the drywall needs to be replaced, should we cover our furniture to prevent mold spores from spreading to our furniture?

How much of a health hazard is brown mold?

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

I can't answer you questions about the mold itself. I'm no expert on mold and spores and such. It would be a good idea to remove everything or cover it when the work gets done.

It sounds like you have a foundation/drainage problem. who knows maybe the gutters are clogged up but the moisture is getting in somehow. Do you have a basement? What kind of foundation do you have? Maybe we can get to the bottom of where the moisture is comming in.

I would remove 4' of sheetrock where you have the mold. Meaning 4' up on the wall and however long the effected area is. Then after that you can determine if the mold is on the studs and how bad it all is. Definitely don't let anyone tell you that its just on the surface and you treat just the inside and paint it. The mold is growing on the back side of you drywall for sure.

 

The person that shows up will have been already told "this is just a rental, I do not want to spend a lot of money on this". So keep that in mind.
If someone says it comes every time it rains I go inside long enough to see what area is affected, and then head outside to see what's going on.
Rotted or loose siding, rotted window sill, bad flashing around roof vents or chimmney, siding closer then 6" of the outside grade, if it's a crawl space I look for standing water in it, missing or broken shingles, no soffit vents, no ridge vents ECT.
If something is found out side that is causing this I'd bet it's been going on for a while and there's a lot more mold behind that sheet rock. After fixing whatevers wrong outside, I'd do as suggested and find the seam and remove the sheetrock, and toss the old insulation, treat behind the wall with Boric Acid and hot water solution.