Very brave, Mrs B.
We used to do fixer-uppers until parenthood arrived nearly thirteen years ago now (mid-fix-up, as it happened). The new "cause for concern" grew into a - from her father's perspective - worryingly presentable English rose. The old one stayed pretty much where it was, though I did deal with the ceiling mould in the kitchen after a number of years.
And that's what I wanted to tell you, Mrs B. Aside from a few minor and perfectly manageable symptoms like an unhealthy fascination with internet politics, our mould had no noticeable effect on me at all.
I think this guy you hired may possibly have a vested interest in scaring you to death. Be very distrustful. Treasure your mould. After all, if Mars Rover 5 found it in the Valles Marineris, Washington would spend billions to get a couple of MIT hydrologists up there to marvel at it.
BTW, you don't have to feel the same about the dead pigeons in your water tank.
Congratulations, Mrs. Blessed, on finding a home. I'm sure you'll get the mold problem solved with less hassle and less cash outlay than the Professional Alarmists would have you believe. Perhaps the house will be all the more sound after the mold is gone. I know for a fact that cheese tastes really good when it grows mold and then has the mold sliced off. Mrs. Scorebored and I will be praying that y'all's house is a haven for your family and a beacon of godly hospitality for those who visit you there.
Thank you both for your kind words and prayers. Scorebored, you will find it funny that the inspector told us that 95% of all homes have mold, right before he told us to rip out the basement down to the concrete. :0)
Guessedworker, what a pleasure to have you visit my blog! I love MajorityRights.com. And your comment had me laughing out loud. I do think the inspector had more than a few conflicts of interest, but on some level I can't blame him for trying to make a buck. It's a very competative industry, and I can see where he would benefit from making a name for himself in a certain area.
On the other had, us skeptics need to make sure we speak up to keep others from being fleeced.
I have dealt with mold in older houses as well.
1. consider digging a trench along the outside wall and installing a 'french-drain' or leech-line to carry surface water away from your house. If you can get water to stop building up on the outside of the foundation, it will help lower the humidity inside the basement.
The de-humidifier is a good idea.
And they have mold-killer paint too.
I have sprayed lots of bleach on things. You can use h2o2 also, I get it cheap from a local hair salon supply outlet. They call it 'clear' stabilizer, dont use the 'creme'.
2. on another note, my wife experienced two heart attacks. One in Novemeber and the second in December. Months later now we know that at her work place, the ventilation ductings are full of mold and have been tested to prove that they have dbgerous levels of mold. Her cardiologist thinks the mold is at fault for her heart-attacks. And other workers have been having respiratory health problems. So mold is serious.
We will lift you in our prayers.
Bless you.
Galen
ET1(SS) US Navy - retired
Don't take mold lightly, Mrs. Blessed. When we lived in Denver we had a lovely older home (1926) in a delightful neighborhood. However, I was sick literally all the time, had pneumonia and ended up with reactive airway disease (a form of asthma), which I hadn't had before. It took us a while to trace it back to high level of mold in the basement, where the laundry area was.
It took moving to another state (ok, it was a job transfer for my husband) to clear up my problems. I will never take mold lightly again.
Laurel
Congratulations on your gem. Hope the mold is taken care of without problems. I actually can see a day when the dishwasher won't be used as often. Now that the children are getting older, I see more sense in washing and drying the dishes and putting them away right away as opposed to running a dishwasher 2 or 3 times a day.
I would encourage you to be diligent in your safety precautions around the pool. Our friends lost their 15mo son last year to a pool drowning. Today would have been his second birthday. I am also aware of another family that lost two or three children in one day to drownings. The older children tried to save the youngers. (The third child may have survived. I don't recall.) Our little ones should be starting swim lessons in just a little over a week. I would hate to see another family go through what our friends have gone through. The Lord has lifted them and provided them with peace but the pain is till very intense.
Home renovation can be really fun but I recommend staying away from wallpapering together with your husband. LOL We all have our limits and Harry and I decided we were better off painting together. 
I LOVE renovating but have learned it would be best to be a house I wasn't living in at the time. Lowe's and Home Depot have free Saturday classes that give instructions for all kinds of house projects.
Have fun!
Stephanie
Thank you so much for your comments, Galen, Laurel, and Stephanie! We are taking the mold situation seriously. We still have a lot of research to do yet, as we wait for closing.
Stephanie, thanks so much for the words about pools. I am pained to hear about your friend's family. We are VERY concerned about this pool, as there is no fence around it (the backyard itself is fenced, by law). The only way to get into the backyard is through the garage, thankfully, and that door will always be locked until we get the pool filled in.
I will be blogging about our challenges with this home. We are very excited but know that there are a lot of areas of concern.
Thanks again for your kind words!
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