A Meadows Mobile Home tenant says black mold is taking over her home

February 27, 2007

KQTV - St. ph,MO

A Saint ph woman said dangerous, black mold is taking over her

home. A tenant at Meadows Mobile Home Park said many of the trailers

aren`t fit for living. The newest problem is mold and one woman said

it is making her sick.

Roxanne Liechti took KQ2 on a tour of her molded mobile home. The

smell is pungent and the sight is repulsive. Liechti said it`s not

the kind of conditions anyone should live in and she`s moving out.

" I don`t want the next tenants coming in here because I know they

come in and fix things just to slide by, " Liechti said.

Liechti said she called the city for help. The housing authority

sent a letter to her landlord pointing out the problems, but she

said the mold is the proof little has been done.

" When they came in and replaced the sheet rock under the windows

where it was full of mold, they told me they put this board up

because it is water board and it would not, nothing would be on it, "

Liechti said. " This is the same paneling that was on there that they

put back up. They just replaced this, but it`s the same insulation,

boards, everything is full of mold. "

Liechti was recently diagnosed with emphysema. An admitted smoker,

she also has asthma. Health officials said mold can make these

problems even worse. Liechti said she believes she`s been breathing

it in for the past year and a half.

" Every time the air or the furnace kicks on, we`re breathing that

too, " Liechti said.

Frozen pipes during the winter filled air ducts with water and that

makes a perfect place for mold to grow. Gaps in the home let water

get in.

The Environmental Protection Agency said it`s impossible to get rid

of all mold indoors. That the mold can often hide deep into walls

and floors.

" It may entail actually removing some boards to get rid of it, " St.

ph Property Maintenance Manager Walter said.

Something the city said it will follow to make sure it`s done. The

city said older homes are more prone to mold problems. KQ2 tried to

contact the Meadows where Liechti lives but no one answered the

phone and the voice mail box was too full to leave a message.

Recommended Posts