5 ms·
I wonder how this kind of thing plays out for people that don't have anywhere near $50k available. I'm assuming since the company worked first and then invoice
by steven777400 11y ago
I wonder how this kind of thing plays out for people that don't have anywhere near $50k available. I'm assuming since the company worked first and then invoiced, that the options would be either (1) sell the house and use the proceeds (assuming equity exists) to pay off the cleaning, or (2) declare bankruptcy.
If the company were to require pre-payment for cleaning, then it's really just down to either (1) abandon and have the bank seize the house, or (2) sell the house for pennies on the dollar to an investor.
Things like this (well, not this exotic, but like a busted sewer line which could cost $20k to replace) used to keep me up at night after we "bought" a house. I've found I can rest by mentally reframing the mortgage as rent and knowing that an "out" (strategic default) is always there if something goes very expensively wrong.
- thaumaturgy 11y agoYou're forgetting (3): get the shopvac, vacuum it all up, and then dump it in the back yard. And yes, I know people that would do exactly that.
- cjbprime 11y agoUnfortunately in this case they ended up having to demolish a floor and ceiling to find all the mercury that had soaked through the floor; a shopvac won't do that.
- cbr 11y agoA shopvac (or any vacuum not designed for mercury) would be a really bad idea: they vaporize the mercury and seriously distribute it around the house.
- thaumaturgy 11y agoI agree with you both, but that doesn't change that I suspect this would be the default approach for a lot of people that have neither the money nor the ideology to justify a professional cleanup. An easy example of this kind of thinking is that people used to (and many still do) bury used motor oil in their yard. (See e.g. http://www.experienceproject.com/question-answer/How-Can-I-Dump-Used-Motor-Oil-In-My-Yard-Without-It-Killing-My-Grass/2144279 http://www.experienceproject.com/question-answer/How-Can-I-D...)
- 001sky 11y agoThere are alot of dangerous polutants out there, and around the home, but run-of-the-mill motor oil is not really one of them. http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/1991-04-28/old-motor-oil-is-dirty-but-is-it-toxic http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/1991-04-28/old-motor-oil...
- toufka 11y agoSeriously, NO!! If anyone ever reads this do NOT use a shopvac. You will make the problem 10000x worse. Mercury is only an acute health hazard if vaporized. A shopvac will instantly vaporize it. You will turn an expensive and irritating headache into a medical and possibly life-threatening emergency.
- prodmerc 11y ago(3) clean it up with a dustpan :-D Seriously, mercury is not dangerous unless inhaled or ingested. Suit up with a cheap hazmat and gloves and clean away...
- mingabunga 11y agoYeha, I'm a bit dumbfounded about the calling of the fire dept, the reaction and so on. I would have just figured out where it was coming from and cleaned it up myself with some gloves and a dustpan.
- Xorlev 11y agoAnd if you miss any, your young daughter is going to find it. Seriously isn't something you want to mess with.
- hliyan 11y agoThis happened to me when I was about 9, when I didn't know what mercury was. There was a few droplets on the floor and I ended up poking it with my index finger for a few minutes. To this day I don't know what the medical effects were.
- beeboop 11y agoUnless you licked your finger afterwards, nothing.
- alextgordon 11y agoEven if you lick your finger, if it is elemental mercury then probably nothing either. But don't try it!
- cytzol 11y agoJust curious: what would it need to be for it to do something? Not that I'm planning to...
- Crito 11y agoHow normal (not wealthy and/or Californian) Americans deal with mercury in their home: 1) Ignore it, or sweep it into a dustpan and throw it out if it really bothers them. 2) Enjoy not having a $50,000 bill. 3) Almost certainly live into their 80s anyway.