When mold attacks: Couple, baby forced from home

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When mold attacks: Couple, baby forced from home

Whidbey News Times - Whidbey,WA

By Jessie Stensland

Jan 20 2007

http://www.whidbeynewstimes.com/portals-code/list.cgi?

paper=84 & cat=23 & id=815969 & more=

Mold is everywhere. A typical coffee table, for example, may have as

many as six billion mold spores on it.

But for one Central Whidbey family, mold in their home became a

nightmare right out of a King novel.

shares her family's story as a cautionary tale of the

dangers of mold and the importance of getting a home inspection and

an air sample test before you purchase real estate — no matter what

your agent may say.

" I'm ready to have our lives back, " said after finally moving

back to the Admirals Cove house after she, her husband, their 1-year-

old daughter and two small dogs spent months in hotel rooms,

visiting out of state and even crashing at a neighbor's home to get

away from the dangers in their own home.

" It could have killed my daughter and it almost killed one of my

dogs, " she said.

Mold has become a hot topic nationally and the real dangers are

often exaggerated, especially with the " sick school syndrome " making

headlines. But if conditions are right, molds can pose a real

danger, especially in places with wet climates, like Whidbey Island.

Hicks, an environmental health specialist with Island County

Public Health, said she gets three to seven inquiries a week from

people concerned about mold.

Usually, the fix is simple. " Eliminating the problems associated

with mold means eliminating the cause of mold, which is water, " she

said. That means patching leaks.

But for the s, the solution was anything but simple.

First home

a nightmare

The story begins last May. and her husband Ben , a

culinary specialist seaman with the Navy, decided to buy their first

home. They found a friendly agent, Bob McNeill at RE/MAX Acorn

Properties in Oak Harbor. He showed them a modest home in Admirals

Cove and it seemed perfect.

claims that McNeill told them that the home had been damaged

by a tree that fell and " cracked " the roof, but that it had been

fixed immediately.

Later, said she would find out from neighbors, including one

who happened to have photos, that this wasn't quite accurate.

" It wasn't one tree. It was three trees that put a huge gaping hole

in the roof, " she said. " It was left open for three-and-a-half

weeks. "

The s wanted a home inspection, but McNeill said it wasn't

necessary. In fact, claims that both she and her husband,

their lender and a relative who is a real estate agent called

McNeill and requested a home inspection.

But McNeill talked them out of it, the couple claims.

" He said, `I just want you guys to trust me that this is a

completely safe house,' " said.

McNeill didn't return calls for comment. But a News-Times reporter

was present when McNeill explained to a military representative that

he had urged against the home inspection in order to save the young

couple some money.

Whatever the intent was, it turned out to be a mistake that cost

everyone involved.

Sick upon

moving in

The s moved into their new house in June.

" Right away we started feeling sick, " said. " It smelled bad

and felt wet. The musty smell got worse and worse. "

They started finding mold stains. She found them on her wedding

dress, a military uniform, baby clothing, the walls, sheets and

boots. Their two small dogs developed severe skin allergies.

said she had headaches and her asthma was worse than it had

ever been before.

But worst of all, six-month-old Emma was sick all the time.

" Emma started getting nose bleeds, " said. " The draining in

her nose and throat started getting really green. "

During all this time, said she called her real estate agent

many times and got promises that something would be done, but

nothing seemed to change.

Finally, said her daughter's pediatrician ordered them to

leave the house. The Navy put up the family at a room in the

Coachman Inn in Oak Harbor.

also hired Mathers of Island Indoor Air Quality in

Freeland.

Mathers explained that he tests the air inside and outside the house

to compare the amount of mycotoxins, which are toxins produced by an

organism of the fungus family, which includes mushrooms, molds and

yeasts. He said a finding of 10 times the amount of mycotoxins

inside as compared to outside is a red flag.

" In 's case, it was 100 times over the outside test, " he said,

adding that test found dangerous levels of Penicillium.

Family advised

to leave

Mathers said he also told the family to leave the house immediately

and not come back.

said RE/MAX agreed to hire specialists to fix the problem at

the expense of the real estate office, but only after many phone

calls, letters and the threat of a lawsuit.

Tired of living in a motel, the s went out of town for three

and a half weeks in late November to early December. said the

work on the house was supposed to be completed while they were gone.

It was a huge project. The drywall had to be torn down and replaced.

The carpeting and padding were removed. Special chemicals were

sprayed on studs and everything else. Giant HEPA filters cleaned the

air.

When the s returned, their house was a disaster. The subfloor

was littered with nails and tack strips. There was equipment left

inside and on the roof.

After more phone calls, the family ended up staying at a neighbors'

home while and Ben worked endless hours pulling the nails and

tacks from the floor while Emma was confined to a baby pen. They

spent Christmas in the half-finished home, opening presents on the

rough boards of the mold-stained subfloor.

They also discovered that the workers hadn't fixed vents on the roof

that had been installed wrong, and continued to leak water into the

home.

House work nearly done

Hopefully, all's well that ends well for the s.

Thursday, Ben said RE/MAX has made good on their promises.

They are in the process of installing new flooring. Once that is

complete, everything will finally be back to normal for the family.

The s have learned a lot about both mold and real estate over

the last year. said she'll never buy a house without first

getting a regular home inspection and an air sample test.

" I knew that mold was dangerous, " she said. " I knew that it could

make you sick. I never thought this could happen to us. "

Yet for people who aren't buying a house, Hicks said the Health

Department doesn't encourage the average homeowner to get air sample

testing.

" The solution is the same no matter what kind of mold is present, "

she said. " Target the moisture. "

Mold should be cleaned from nonporous materials with warm, soapy

water. Some people like to add bleach to the solution, but the

Health Department doesn't recommend that anymore. In many cases, she

said, the caustic bleach causes more health problems than does the

mold.

If you must use bleach, dilute it at least to one part bleach to 10

parts water.

HEPA air filters can help, Hicks said, but stay away from ozone

generators, which are very harmful to people's health if used in

occupied spaces.

Mold needs moisture or humidity to thrive, which is why mold and

mildew proliferates in bathrooms.

Mathers said he sometimes has to act the part of a detective to find

the source of water leaks in homes. Common sources he's found are

leaky hoses on washing machines and standing water that accumulates

under houses because of poor drainage.

In the majority of cases, the mold problem will go away after the

leak is fixed and the mold is washed away.

The home was a rare case in which major remediation was

necessary.

" If a leak isn't take care of, it just — pardon the pun — mushrooms

from there, " Mathers said.

You can reach News-Times reporter Jessie Stensland at

jstensland@... or call 675-6611.