How to pay for mold clean up for low income family?

Mold needs moisture to grow. Get a big dehumidifier and run it until everything dries up, that's what the mold removal people will do. Some dehumidifiers give you the option of running a hose from them to a working drain instead of having to constantly empty the tray. Labels on dehumidifiers will tell you how large of an area they can serve. Once you have it all dried out you should be able to better assess the damage. Is it a finished basement? You may have to replace the ceiling. Kogeliz's story is scary, I've never heard of this kind of thing happening. Does anyone sleep in the basement? Are there any programs in your area that provide low-cost repairs to low-income families?

Yes. Run a dehumidifier in the basement continuously while you figure out plan "B".

Unless it's a really cut-and-dried policy exclusion, it might be worth appealing your insurance company's denial of coverage. It might even be worth getting your state insurance regulator or state Attorney General involved. This is why people have homeowner's insurance, after all. If you can't live there in the state it's in, then you don't have a choice but to call a mold removal specialist. Worrying about whether they are going to have the house condemned is secondary to solving this problem. There is a 100% chance you'll have to leave if you don't solve the problem, but a So you ask the mold removal people whether they will work with you: you say, "there's an issue with insurance coverage that we are working on, but we have to get this done. Can you work with us if we pay (say) $300 up front and $100 every month until the insurance issue is solved?" And then you call around until you find someone who says "yes." And do make the effort to get satisfaction out of the insurance company.1>

If I were in your situation, I would start by calling your county environmental health folks. (I don't know what county you're in, but it looks like at least some county environmental health departments in SE Michigan handle mold.) I know actually contacting the government probably sounds like the *last* thing you want to be doing right now, but you don't have to tell them your name or address, and you can call from someone else's phone if you'd feel more comfortable. They may have advice on who to call in your area, or resources for you. Also, I think talking to someone at the government could help make you feel more comfortable about this. You can ask them if mold in a (non-living-space) basement causes that kind of situation. I strongly suspect they'll tell you it doesn't. Also: you actually have a huge advantage here, because (a) you know the source of the mold -- the busted hot water heater -- and (b) you have already abated it (cured it). Most really expensive mold situations involve something like a cracked basement slab, which needs to be fixed before the mold situation can be addressed. I think zug has good advice about dealing with this as a private homeowner. http://www.epa.gov/mold/cleanupguidelines.html. One thing I haven't seen mentioned above is getting rid of the debris -- you may need to rent a rolloff dumpster. http://homerenovations.about.com/od/legalsafetyissues/a/artrentdumpster.htm. I'd suggest calling a couple local solid waste companies to get quotes.

I can only tell you an experience three months ago that happened to my (disabled) aunt, cousin and two young children. (This is in Florida) An electrician came into their home to fix something, saw that there was a lot of mold behind the walls. He called Child Services. Child Service came to the house and told them they had to find somewhere for the children to stay until the mold was cleaned up or they would take them. They said the adults (my aunt and cousin) could do whatever they wanted as long as the children were not in the place. My aunt and cousin could not afford the mold clean up and moved out (my aunt stayed an additional week, my cousin and her kids left that day). They ended up staying with my sister. My aunt has/had a mortgage on the place but I have no idea what happened with that. They currently live in a shitty apartment now. So, I'm guessing unless you have an elderly person in your house or children, I don't think anythign will happen. But I could be totally wrong.

Michigan's Dept. of Community Health has several resources on mold. There are some informational flyers http://www.michigan.gov/mdch/0,1607,7-132-54783_54784_54984_55925---,00.html. Specifically, check out http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdch/MOLD__HOME_OWNERS_MDCH_312224_7.pdf (pdf) which has a few tips about insurance (even if you're not covered for mold, maybe can you claim it under water damage?) and gives a list of groups and agencies that might be able to help if you are in a tough financial situation. On the side question about the plumbing not draining, are you on your own septic system or connected to a town sewer?

I'll bet you're out of luck on insurance. The insurance policy probably excluded the flooding damage and attributes all the mold to that flooding. You have to buy a flood policy in most states to cover damage caused by flood waters. (I don't know about your state.) The fact that the water heater busted and leaked for a while will probably be blamed on the flooding (I assume it's in the basement?) and, for that reason, also not covered by the insurance policy. If it's not in the basement, and the water it leaked ran into the basement, you might have a different argument. But the insurance company will likely fight you very hard on that one simply because they will say the mold was caused by the flood waters while you will say the mold was caused by the water heater's water. Is it possible for you to look into a home renovation loan? You say the house is mortgage-free, so this could be the opportunity for you to take out a loan, with the house as collateral, to renovate your basement and remediate the mold issues. Think of it as like re-financing. It would likely be cheaper than moving out and renting. Lastly, this is why you always cut away sheetrock and insulation after a flood up to a level just above where it's wetted by a flood, and then spray that area with a bleach solution. You don't want mold, so you have to get all that wet stuff out of there BEFORE mold begins to grow. If you're worried about asthma, perhaps you could buy a respirator?

If there are any windows, vents, or whatever, connecting the basement to the outside, you could set up a fan, to run 24/7, to exhaust the air in that space to the outside, thereby putting it under negative pressure, and having the air from the house go into that space, rather than having the air in the basement flow into the house. It is not a fix, but it will buy you time and keep the air in your house more healthy.

If you can't do the work yourself look for a neighborhood handyperson, a Jill/Jack of all trades. Given the economy in your part of the country there ought to be plenty around, ask friends and family for recommendations.