7 Key Points to Combat Toxic Drywall

June 26, 2010krista1 CommentDaily Grind

Homeowners from 37 States across the nation have complained about toxic drywall.

What is this phenomenon?

Around 2008 homeowners began complaining that they had houses with smelled like rotten eggs or burning matches.

Rotten eggs? I giggled over that, but apparently it was much worse than just the nasty smell, their walls were turning black. Not to mention that the smell was so bad it was making them sick and the coil for the air conditioners was being eaten away by it, rendering them useless.

At that good old peak of 2004 and 2005, the notorious years which led to our real estate market now, the drywall manufactured in China contained toxins that created this issue.

If you think that you have toxic drywall issues, here are the key things to know:

1. There is a Federal agency called the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). This is the very first place that you will want to begin. The number to the hotline is (800) 638-2772 and you can see their protocol here

2. If you think that you have toxic drywall, you may want to temporarily relocate. There is no proven effect on our health yet, however many people have complained of bloody coughs, bloody noses, eye irritation, upper respiratory problems, and headaches.

3. The criteria that fit for toxic drywall is rotten egg smell, blackening of copper electrical wiring, and it must have been installed between 2001-2008

4. To drill down further, the CPSC says that homes where drywall was installed between 2005-2008 must meet two of the following criteria:

Specific chemical emissions from the drywall must be detected.
Certain chemical markers must be found in the drywall.
The coil corrosion must match chemical analysis
Certain markings must be on the drywall

If you installed new drywall between 2004-2008, CPSC says that all 4 criteria have to be met.

5. Toxic drywall may require a lot of work to get rid of.

The CPSC doesn’t just recommend ripping out all of the drywall, if you have electrical components, wiring, gas piping, sprinkler systems, smoke alarms, and carbon monoxide alarms…all should go.

Pretty costly? Well that brings us to the next point….

6. Some homeowners have arrived at $50,000 and up to fix these issues at hand.

As in any situation, pranksters and scams come out. Make sure that you check the contractor’s credentials you hire and if you can hire one that has experience dealing with environmental remediation that would be even better.

7. Financial relief

They say that you can get some help from the Housing and Urban Development.

I went on the Housing and Urban Development website, and like most agency websites, it was clumsy and not very user-friendly. I tried typing in “financial relief for toxic mold” but didn’t see anything that jumped at me addressing that issue itself.

In any case, with a little more research into the site and through CPSC, they have indicated that financial relief is available. Although their first recommendation is talking to the builders of the house.

Apparently some builders have voluntarily paid to remediate homes that were constructed with toxic drywall.

If you know of a friend that is currently living with this issue, please pass it on. At this time, we do not know what health implications the toxic drywall can mean.

Questions? [email protected]