Breakin' 2: Remediation Boogaloo
Here is an update on the mold/breaking things saga.
Mold remediation is a bitch, y'all. The aforementioned loud dehumidifiers drove us out of half of our house, and cost about $200 per day, which we weren't at all sure the insurance company would pay for, even though they'd called the drying service. Then we had to get rid of the mold. rt_hon_rackman researched a remediation company called BioScience, which uses enzymes to break down the mold and spores, hence they don't have to tear out as much cabinetry as traditional remediators. They also treat the air ducs and HVAC system. They weren't the cheapest, but we decided that they'd be the best for our situation if they performed as promised.
Unfortunately, they came the day before my parents were coming to stay at our house. So we left in the morning, they treated the house, we stayed in a hotel (more money) and boarded the dog (more money), then came home in the morning to a house that felt and smelled as if a thin coating of Lemon Pledge had been sprayed on everything. My parents, bless them, paid for a cleaning service to come in and clean up as much of the film as possible while we pulled off dust covers, put furniture back in place, and rehung all of the pictures (they took them down so the glass wouldn't get coated). The carpets and floor still felt tacky, but the house was in reasonable shape for my parents, except for the small problem of THE FUCKING DEHUMIDIFIERS, WHICH WERE STILL THERE!
Since Mom and Dad were in the living room, they got to listen to the machines all night, but they didn't hold it against us. They took us out to eat for most of our meals, watched the kids so we could go see the Capitol Steps for rt_hon_rackman's birthday treat, and in general continued to prove how awesome they are. (Dad and Elliot share a particular bond, perhaps because of their shared middle name.)
Finally, we got rid of the dehumidifiers. Our mold count tested normal (more money). We hired a contractor (more money) to replace the drywall that the remediators removed, and take away the last of the damp cabinets. We tried to get a serviceperson to fix the dishwasher (you remember the dishwasher?), but he wouldn't work on it unless it was installed, which seemed silly because he just had to uninstall it right away. Anyway, rt_hon_rackman did a test with the dishwasher to find out how much it was leaking each load (1.3 gallons), and then when the contractor was finished, rt_hon_rackman reinstalled the dishwasher. Again we tried to get it fixed, but first I had to move the appointment, then the serviceman was in a car accident.
At long last, the day came. Our dishwasher, the start of all of this misery, is fixed. Our house is ours again; a quiet, relaxing sanctuary. We are still trying to get some blood out of the Allstate turnip, and we may never acheive it, but now that our house is a home again, our healing process is over.
Unfortunately, the blow to our budget means that we won't be able to attend Thanksgiving at rt_hon_rackman's aunt's house in California, for the traditional Showing Off of the New Baby. And our finances have been set back about a year and a half. But we can pay for it, which makes us better off than most of the people in the world.
Lest we forget, the string of breakages (remember the breakages?) continued, tailing off (we hope) with broken wingnuts on our kitchen table, a broken trunk latch on rt_hon_rackman's car, and a ticket for me because my tail lights were out. And I had to send my repaired computer to be repaired again because the speakers were screwed up. There is good news in that quarter, however -- the data recovery people are sanguine about getting much of my data back (more money).
So it has only cost about $10,000 to get . . . exactly where we were at the beginning of the year before all of this shit happened.
Why!?!
Mold remediation is a bitch, y'all. The aforementioned loud dehumidifiers drove us out of half of our house, and cost about $200 per day, which we weren't at all sure the insurance company would pay for, even though they'd called the drying service. Then we had to get rid of the mold. rt_hon_rackman researched a remediation company called BioScience, which uses enzymes to break down the mold and spores, hence they don't have to tear out as much cabinetry as traditional remediators. They also treat the air ducs and HVAC system. They weren't the cheapest, but we decided that they'd be the best for our situation if they performed as promised.
Unfortunately, they came the day before my parents were coming to stay at our house. So we left in the morning, they treated the house, we stayed in a hotel (more money) and boarded the dog (more money), then came home in the morning to a house that felt and smelled as if a thin coating of Lemon Pledge had been sprayed on everything. My parents, bless them, paid for a cleaning service to come in and clean up as much of the film as possible while we pulled off dust covers, put furniture back in place, and rehung all of the pictures (they took them down so the glass wouldn't get coated). The carpets and floor still felt tacky, but the house was in reasonable shape for my parents, except for the small problem of THE FUCKING DEHUMIDIFIERS, WHICH WERE STILL THERE!
Since Mom and Dad were in the living room, they got to listen to the machines all night, but they didn't hold it against us. They took us out to eat for most of our meals, watched the kids so we could go see the Capitol Steps for rt_hon_rackman's birthday treat, and in general continued to prove how awesome they are. (Dad and Elliot share a particular bond, perhaps because of their shared middle name.)
Finally, we got rid of the dehumidifiers. Our mold count tested normal (more money). We hired a contractor (more money) to replace the drywall that the remediators removed, and take away the last of the damp cabinets. We tried to get a serviceperson to fix the dishwasher (you remember the dishwasher?), but he wouldn't work on it unless it was installed, which seemed silly because he just had to uninstall it right away. Anyway, rt_hon_rackman did a test with the dishwasher to find out how much it was leaking each load (1.3 gallons), and then when the contractor was finished, rt_hon_rackman reinstalled the dishwasher. Again we tried to get it fixed, but first I had to move the appointment, then the serviceman was in a car accident.
At long last, the day came. Our dishwasher, the start of all of this misery, is fixed. Our house is ours again; a quiet, relaxing sanctuary. We are still trying to get some blood out of the Allstate turnip, and we may never acheive it, but now that our house is a home again, our healing process is over.
Unfortunately, the blow to our budget means that we won't be able to attend Thanksgiving at rt_hon_rackman's aunt's house in California, for the traditional Showing Off of the New Baby. And our finances have been set back about a year and a half. But we can pay for it, which makes us better off than most of the people in the world.
Lest we forget, the string of breakages (remember the breakages?) continued, tailing off (we hope) with broken wingnuts on our kitchen table, a broken trunk latch on rt_hon_rackman's car, and a ticket for me because my tail lights were out. And I had to send my repaired computer to be repaired again because the speakers were screwed up. There is good news in that quarter, however -- the data recovery people are sanguine about getting much of my data back (more money).
So it has only cost about $10,000 to get . . . exactly where we were at the beginning of the year before all of this shit happened.
Why!?!