Noticed wetness and light mold at the attic entrance. But the inside is dry and no condensation there. Is it common during winter? Any suggestions to resolve this?

https://preview.redd.it/hzh0cdfndh7e1.jpg?width=5712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8f29eae5ed5a50ff1bd2449dd63a0c3a2a4894fa

Found mold around outlet in the kitchen (rear facing wall). Pulled it off and cut the drywall back, it’s on the furring strip but not the block or back side of drywall. It due to cracks in block which we plan to have sealed and house repainted next month.

Remediation company is quoting $5k to remove upper and lower cabinets, countertop and remediate. We would have to reinstall. Work would be done next month.

A general contractor came in and as a cost saving measure recommended my husband cut back as much drywall as he can, seal the outside of the house that’s the source of water, let the area dry out, bleach as much of the strips as possible then put up drywall again. Then have the company come as scheduled next month to professionally reseal and paint. He is saying as long as the water source is gone and the area dries out, the mold and spores will die. Not sure how true this is. Especially if the mold goes up or down the furring strip where we can see to clean- he recommended a pump sprayer and hoping for the best for those areas.

My question is, is the cheaper method more sound in terms of ridding the mold for significantly cheaper?

Insurance won’t cover this, we have a baby and I would like the not be without a kitchen forever.

Very near and dear to my heart is a family member and their family. (They are Reddit people so I am being vague) In the last couple years there as been never been two consecutive weeks where someone in their family of four is not sick. They have gone to hospitals and have had the gamut of tests conducted to find the cause and have had no luck identifying the root cause of their family illness.

They live on a hobby farm, and have contact with chickens and what not which is a possible cause in my mind that they deny. With that said their house smells strongly of mildew, especially in summer. There is spotting mold on the ceiling and walls of their bathroom, and a year ago they had an actual fucking mushroom grow out of the grout in their shower. There is water damage to the soffit of their roof where the wood has rotted away.

Despite all this, they will not test their house for mold! They have gotten it into their heads that once confirmed, they will have to disclose the info to the future owners and they will not be able to sell their house. There are literally thousands of good arguments against this logic, but I’m done trying to convince them to test for mold themselves.

So! How do I test my self while I’m there. It has to be discrete and reasonable quick. I am genuinely concerned for their wellbeing and want prove or disprove that mold could be the cause of their long term illnesses.

So a year ago (almost to the day) we bought a house. It passed inspection with flying colors. HVAC broke in the Deep South. Home warranty agreed to replace it…8 months ago. It’s still not replaced and with the new expenses (having to buy portable air conditioners…5 and having to get dehumidifiers…3 we spent well over 1k. Plus our electric bill went from around 300 a month to 800-900 due to all of the extra machines. Not to mention all of the new medical expenses which have added up due to hotel costs and such. Newly diagnosed asthma that resulted in a 1 month chronic asthma attack.) we couldn’t afford to replace it ourselves. Plus they said $500 is all they would pay if we went with our own system and not theirs.

I’m sure you can see where this is going. TONS of damage. Yesterday a contractor came out (we’ve had a few out) and they have deemed our house “uninhabitable”. We talk to two lawyers today. I’m at a loss on what to do bc well…I have a lovely home that If you see it in pictures it’s looks quite beautiful (if I do say so myself). You just have to look and find the swelling walls, mold, and other damage.

I don’t know where to start or what to do. I don’t even know how to get my kids out of it bc our bills have been so extravagantly high we don’t have savings like we should.