You. You are the reputable company.

Most mold is black. Most mold can be cleaned, sealed, and you are on your way. I bought a house with so many colors of mold, one even in the shape of a beautiful, large starfish. That was bright red.

I wear a good mask, wash all of my clothes three times, (twice with soap, once more no soap, just for a good, thorough rinse, and take a good shower . Same laundry wash for my cleaning rags, except add bleach.

When washing moldy, poopy, boogery, nasty surfaces, I always do ‘no dip-backs’ in my wash water, so I don’t spread mold spores, bacteria, fungi, alien life forms, or hair. ( yuck. The hair grosses me out. Other stuff, meh) So, get three buckets and a zillion rags. Old sweatpants/ sweatshirts make the best cleaning rags. Bucket one: water, soap, bleach add rags. Ring each rag out and put inBucket two. Now you are ready to wash surfaces. Use each rag ONCE toss into Bucket three. Need more rags? Rinse your hands off, start over. That’s No-Dip Back cleaning.

Lots of other good advice in this thread. I had to snort/chuckle at ‘reputable company’. I truly believe most ‘remediation companies to be a scam, so reputable… not so much.

plenty, if in an empty place save the money and just clean it sans clothing.

This is a response from Hoosier, from the post "Mold Issue Gets Worse" March 11, 2024.

"Oreo,

I was a licensed home inspector and did mold testing. I agree with most on getting an attorney and getting the tenant out, but I have been beating the mold drum on this forum forever and wish people would get the message...

MOLD IS A NATURAL OCCURRING SUBSTANCE AND IS EVERYWHERE, IT CANNOT BE TOTALLY ELIMINATED.

Not all molds are harmful to your health. There is no such catgorization as "black mold"...black is just a color and nothing more. Most molds are either harmless or in the "allergenic" category, which means they would only be noticed by someone with a sensitive allergic system...and even then the affects would be minor such as sneezing and coughing...not hospitalization or death.

I did air quality testing in about 200 homes and EVERY home had some level of mold. As a control, we also tested OUTSIDE the home. The key was whether the mold levels in the house were significantly higher (in ppm...parts per million) than outside. If so, there may be an issue and furhter investigation is warranted.

Thank goodness you have a clause about other areas outside the unit not being included...that's good. Do you also have a mold addendum as part of your lease? I did and I posted the complete contents on this forum once before...read it!

The news media has scared everyone with the "mold" word. We eat blue cheese and mushrooms...both of those foods are grown through a process involving mold. Not all molds are harmful. In my numerous tests of mold genuses, I only found ONE that was a harmful genus...staychybotrys. All the others were not toxic.

Should we as landlords be responsible for the fact that some people have a more sensitive allergic system than others? I think not. Should we provide a clean and safe living environment? Yes we should. Should we take reasonable steps to eliminate any mold? yes we should.

Denise,

Good advice so far.

My state Health Dept sates "Many molds are black in appearance but not stachybotrus" (the bad stuff).

Get Concrubium or JoMax, or other mold killers at Home Depot, Lowes, Menards...and soak it.

Scrub clean and let dry for several days. Seal it with oil based Zinsser BIN.

OR replace the subfloor and be done with it.

Not the end of the world. Just every day clean up.

BRAD

I was a licensed home inspector for 7 years and did many mold tests. The term "black" in terms of mold means nothing other than the color. Most molds are relatively harmless unless you have a sensitive respiratory system. If you are concerned, buy a mold test kit and find out the genus of the mold. This will help determine how dangerous it may be. Most of the tests I did on molds were Cladosporium, Penicillium, or Aspergillis...none of which rise the the level of "oh no, move out right away".

You say it's "thick"...in that case you can't easily paint over it...it will need remediated. Depending on the type of mold (find out by testing) and your respiratory system, you may be able to clean it yourself...but if it's a large area it's probably easier to let a professional do it.

Once cleaned, seal it with a sealer...Brad mentions "oil-based" Zinsser, but I like the shellac-based product...do NOT use the water-based product.

About 10% of people are allergic to mold and might experience a reaction.

I lightly spray the mold with a water/bleach solution then scrub with SOS pads. Wipe that sludge away with paper towels and put them directly into a plastic trash bag. Rinse a couple of times with clean water and dry with more paper towels, which also go into the trash bag. Cinch it up tightly and dispose.

Busy, you use your imagination. I will just leave the tools on the floor.