*edit* selling what i could, a temporary bank loan, borrowing from one bill to pay the remediation, and some sales helped pay to remove the mold and clean the vents. Sadly, we have encountered an emergency of epic proportions that they believe could have been forseen to a point.

The hvac completely died which means for the foreseeable future the Slucher home has no heat. System is a 2013 system with several pricey parts that need at least 5-7 days to order and then wait for installation. Heat pump is a 2003 and past its prime and cannot be guaranteed to work much longer.

As far as issues go it started with the thermostat fying when repair man got here to diagnos why we kept hearing a metallic sound and burning smell after a vent clean was done a week later. Was told to turn unit off after finding it's been running on emergency heat while not on the emergency heat setting. Which promoted further diagnosis. Breaker was believed to be the problem as one of 2 had died. Was able to switch out an existing non-used breaker from the system that was disconnected as we were told our system was too old to handle both running and not necessary. Was told last year that eventually we were going to see more repairs because of the age of the unit. Nothing had been said about heat pump to this point until today.

After breaker was switched the unit refused to turn on still. The fan motor is dead to boot, which he now believes was the source of the burning smell we started smelling at 8pm last night. The metal whirring could be from the fan motor dying a slow death over night. The fan is getting a signal but wont turn on or move.

After discovering this and seeing the coils are completely rusted its a done deal that coils need replaced and due to thenunit notnbeing able to turn on they cannot determine if the heat pump is broken. But all evidence shows that unit was struggling and why we had $200+ electric bills the past two months.

Now tonthe amount. We do not fornsure know what the full amount is but are going off a rough estimate of around 10k. Of that 10k the home warranty is offering to pay 3k this week to replace as it will cost almost as much in parts if everything is as bad as it could be in worst case scenario. With this worst case scenario the heating company is willing to replace the entire hvac, a uv light to stop mold growth from happening again, new thermostat, new heat pump, and installation and removal of the old. With that theybare alsonwilling to give me a $1470 credit because they believe this could have been seen at the time of the cleaning to ensure things were working properly before they left which isn't what they usually do, but they feel compassion and empathy for the sake of my kids. It's on record I never miss and am loyal so this is the best case scenario in a very bad situation. So that means we roughly need possibly 6k.

Best case scenario is 4500 and warranty covers 1500 of that but we get no credit from the installer. The 4500 replaces the heat pump and thermostat after warranty hopefully covers the coil and other parts. Downside we have to wait up to 1.5 weeks to fix and have no heat outside of space heaters and heated blankets.

The only situation that gets us heat by Monday is to replace it all and in the long run is the logical conclusion as fixing the parts they discovered today does not ensure its fixed as full diagnostic couldnt be completed. If the refrigerant is out in the coil and heat pump its hoing to be another thousand and still noncredits outside of $120 off from the home warranty plus multiple service fees. Our best solution is the replacement.

Mike can get 3k from his 401k but it will take about a week to get here and they wont wait for the payment. We are going to attempt financing but it will be a miracle for us to be approved as our bankruptcy doesn't fall off our credit report until next year. Bankruptcy was finalized in 2020. Takes at least 5 years for it stop completely wrecking financing opportunities and 7 to fall off completely. I'm begging for help. Search my Facebook for more detailed answers. But this is the long story shortened.

*edit* The waiver did not work out. 6 companies we reached out to not only didn't call back, but also didn't show several times. Not once was a call received when they didn't show until over a week after. Just a vague apology and reschedule only to not show again. At this point, company number 1 is still on the books and has verified they are coming. We have come up with a little but we are still short. To keep from being late on any bill that could cost us our home, it makes us $750 short. We now have until Monday to make it happen.

Most know, we are no stranger to hardship. A lot know, we don't bite this asking for flat out help bullet without really weighing if it's necessary. Sadly, it is.

Right after Halloween our family kept getting sick with all kinds of respiratory viruses and having asthma issues. Some were of the flu and bug nature. But it got to the point Phil, Colton, and even Lauren had to go to the hospital because their asthma just couldn't catch a break.

Lauren deep cleaned everything every time. We saw myriad of doctors. We checked everywhere for mold just in case. The only place we thought possible was the attic, but it was deemed clear surprisingly. However, Lauren pushed me to get a second cleaning done on our hvac for maintenance. I usually fight her on it. Saying once a year is enough. But she reminded me our air ducts hadn't been cleaned since 2020 and that even though we were saving up for it come tax time we couldn't miss the biannual clean until then.

She was right. With how wet and humid Kentucky has been this year and how dirty it was we had started a very recent black mold growth. Lauren pulled together everything we had and had not only the heater fixed before the big freeze that we didn't know was dying, but also paid for them to chemically kill the black mold and clean out the blower.

The problem is we were told it will come back if we don't clean out every single duct, vent, return, and the system while also sanitizing it with the mold killing compounds. So far we've been quoted $1000 from fast response heating and cooling, but Lauren is unsure if that includes a respray of the killing compound. On the chance it doesn't our second option which we know will go that fill extent is $1400 with Klean Air. A third company is coming to inspect to see if the growth is definitely gone before being able to even quote us. But this cannot wait past this month. We are on the schedule either way through the first two with the ability to cancel should one offer the better price and solution. Both companies have offered to understand this. Both companies are willing to come out asap because we have special needs kids with asthma.

We have hope that a waiver program can help, but it's not even a guarantee and we've been trying to prepare for the likelihood it isn't. If it is there are several other safety things we do need fixed and redone that the extra would go to, but we know this is the amount it will cost between clean up and the service. The boys cant even be in the home when this is being done so one of us will be taking them elsewhere while it is achieved.

We try to earn everything. It's why Lauren works 6 different businesses, cleans cars and houses, does all her crafts, and even is a full time caretaker for phillip. I work a full time job at Amazon as well. We do not qualify for any assistance either. We give when we can. But this time we keep being told to make this GOFUNDME. So we are doing it. No judgement please. We just want our family to stop getting sick.

Air duct cleaning can be costly when you live in a 3 level home with multiple main lines, vents, and returns....then add in mold remediation and you got a problem. We can provide picture proof too.