Florida homeowners were the most affected by Chinese drywall, which was used in most new and remodeled homes constructed between 2001 and 2009. Home inspectors or contractors are able to tell if you have toxic drywall in Florida. Let’s look at a number of things contractors check when trying to identify the toxic drywall.
One of the most common signs of toxic drywall is a strong sulfurous smell. The Chinese drywall tends to smell like rotten eggs. If you’ve been using a water heater for a long time and you notice the smell of sulfur in the water, it could be as a result of the toxic dry wall.
Toxic drywall can also affect air conditioning units and reduce their service life. You will notice a black film on the copper wires at the back of the unit. The sulfur chemicals that are emitted by the toxic drywall are known to cause this discoloration. The toxic drywall can also eat up the copper evaporator coils on you’re A/C unit and cause it to fail permanently. Have a contractor to come and look at your A/C if you’ve noticed it is not performing normally.
Even though most toxic drywalls did not have the right labeling, some of them have marks that indicate the name of the Chinese manufacturer or supplier. If you notice names like ‘Made in China’, it could be the toxic dry wall. This is especially the case if the drywall was imported between 2001 and 2009. During this time, large quantities of defective dry wall were imported from China, and most of the subsequent complaints were received from home owners in Florida. This defective drywall emits a high volume of sulfur compounds which present a risk to health and safety.
If you suspect that your home has toxic drywall, the next thing you need to do is to contact a reputable contractor or home inspector to come and verify the presence of this defective product. The contractor will perform a number of tests in order to tell you if your drywall needs to be removed.
If the inspector confirms that there is toxic drywall present in your home, the next step should be to plan on how it’s going to be removed. The toxic drywall in Florida must be completely removed by a well experienced expert. Look for home construction experts with experience in dry wall remediation if you want the process to be done safely and effectively.
JJ Staten Homes performs removal of toxic drywall in Florida. If you suspect there’s toxic drywall in your home.
