Well, well, well! What a day it’s been. Had a number of emails forwarded to me in regard to the other day’s newsletter entitled, “The World’s Most Dangerous Job?”
A couple of themes were played over and over:
The most important is this: you’ve faced similar experiences and relate with the stories I share.
This is a good thing!
The fact is, we all learn best through stories.
Here’s a couple more for you.
Kevin, My name is Stuart Cleary. I’m a co-Owner of a Mold Remediation Company operating out of NY.
The picture you describe is an accurte portrayal of what is going on out there in the world. I know you understand the misconceptions people have about mold.
I have been in the Mold industry for 5+ years. I know enough to understand that planning is everything!
Thanks again…Stuart Cleary
Stuart, you are so right. Until you decide to take a proactive role and learn how to deal with this problem, you’ll just be a victim, and that’s guaranteed.
For the uneducated person, the question is no longer “Will I ever have black mold in my home?”
The question is “When will I be forced to deal with black mold in my home?”
If you choose to stick your head in the sand and pretend the problem doesn’t exist, hey, fine by me.
But I recommend that you get off your rear and take action to protect yourself and your family against this threat.
If that means investing a little money and time to educate yourself, then so be it. It’s a heck of a lot better than the alternative.
K.T.
Kevin, First thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge in the mold area. Secondly, I am where you were for the last nine years.
My ex suddenly left me after being together for 7 years and I was like you, devastated. For the past two years I have let it affect my life in every way..I made the same proclamation as you…Never Again… well, I am still in the same place..but am glad to hear there is a light at the end of the tunnel and your story has me thinking. I had given up pretty much everything I enjoyed in the past, it could even be the most simplest thing.
I also became at arms length with everyone, no way in hell was I ever going to go through that pain again, if so I would considered masochistic…
Anyway, thank you for sharing a portion of your personal life with us. I look forward to receiving your emails a nd I am very concerned with the “oh, they are making mold a much bigger issue than necessary’ attitude.
I am an Independent Contractor who primarily works with one Management company at several of their properties. Last year, we had a raw sewage back up in one of the units where the toilet and bath tub continued to back up all over the apartment for a period of 1 week before discovery.
Need I say it was the most disgusting thing I have ever seen and smelled in my life. In addition to all of the raw waste everywhere..doors, walls, under the flooring, etc. there was also mold EVERYWHERE.
I worked on this project for three months..part of it was due to the company not wanting me to remove the carpet, padding, etc….it was stated to me – just clean it up and when you have completed we will have it steamed cleaned…
WRONG ANSWER!!
After fighting them and convincing them that there was not a truck around that could get to the temperatures necessary to kill what is living in the carpeting, I was finally allowed to remove.
I billed them in March and am fighting them on paying as they found my billing too high and that some of the work was not “necessary”.
So. life goes on, right… thank you again.
Terri Blake
Hi Terri, I can relate with you 100%. So which part of the job wasn’t necessary – removing the carpet?
Here’s the deal…
I long ago made up my mind that I wasn’t going to let the client tell me how to do my job.
The reason they called on me is because I’m the expert.
The fact is, they don’t have a clue how to take care of the situation, and once they start telling me how to do the job, I simply say, “If you already knew how to handle the situation, then you don’t need me”.
I then turn and walk out the door.
At that point the client appologizes and pleads with me to help them.
I had a guy call me on the phone just this afternoon after he’d read one of my articles in a major newspaper.
He had a water leak in his home and wants to know how to deal with the ensuing mold.
Now get this, he comes to me because he obviously felt I could help him. As a result of the newspaper article, he obviously thought I was more than qualified.
Yet when I told him what to do, he comes back with, “Well can’t I just do it this way instead?”
I say, “No, if you want to get rid of the mold, and get the job done right the first time, you’ve got to do it this way”
He continues to argue with me, so I finally tell him, “Look, if you don’t want to take my advice, then you’re just wasting both of our time, and I ain’t up for it. You’re gonna have to call someone else”
He did end up taking my advice, and now he’ll be able to get his situation handled, but trust me Terri, I can relate to your story.
Well that’s about it for today, but before I go…
On this special weekend, I want to take just a moment to salute all the World War II veterans who were honored yesterday with the opening of their very own memorial. Without your efforts we wouldn’t have the life we do today. We owe you an enormous amount of gratitude.