Black mold warps family's dream into nightmare

[Guest guest]

Black mold warps family's dream into nightmare

Toxins force evacuation of Habitat for Humanity in Knox County

Peoria Journal Star - Peoria,IL

Sunday, June 17, 2007

By Sampier

of the Journal Star

http://www.pjstar.com/stories/061707/REG_BDGAQ9OJ.031.php

Galesburg - The West family's pursuit of the American dream - owning

their own home - has turned into a nightmare.

Unable to purchase a home through traditional means, the Wests

worked with Habitat for Humanity to buy their first home. They were

left with a house filled with black, toxic mold; children with

health problems; and the loss of thousands of dollars and hours of

their time. They are now living in a rental home.

It started with a small black spot on the kitchen ceiling.

" We thought we had a leak, " said Amy West, who worked to build the

Habitat for Humanity house with the agency. " It just got bigger and

bigger and bigger. "

When West's husband, West, went into the attic in March to

inspect what they thought was a water leak from the roof, he found

the black mold growing on wood rafters and insulation across the

attic. The mold eventually grew across windows in the living room

and kitchen and latched onto walls in the main living quarters.

" On the way up into the attic, he said, 'We have a problem here,' "

she said.

The Wests had been living in the house at 2085 E. First St. since

June 2002 with their three children, who are 9, 7 and 5 years old.

Through the Habitat for Humanity program of Knox County, the Wests

helped build the home with Habitat workers and received a no-

interest, 20-year mortgage.

Habitat for Humanity is a charitable organization that helps

families who are in financial need to own homes of their own.

The family paid the monthly mortgage of $318 per month and added an

extra $82 each month to pay the house off even faster.

When the mold was discovered, representatives from Habitat for

Humanity said the home was no longer covered by the one-year

contractor's warranty, Amy West said. The homeowner's insurance

wouldn't cover the costs to inspect or remove the mold because it

was a building defect, she added.

Working full-time jobs, raising three children and being financially

eligible for a Habitat for Humanity home in the first place meant

there wasn't a lot of money left over for much else.

The Wests went ahead and paid $490 for a mold inspection.

" She had a ton of different types of mold, " said Randy Stufflebeem,

owner of B-Sure Home Inspection and Environmental Co., including

Stachybotrys.

One " raw count " of Stachybotrys mold in the air is considered

elevated, Stufflebeem said, and is a cause for concern. The Wests'

home had a raw count of 848.

" That's scary, " Stufflebeem said, as the toxic black mold can cause

significant health risks after long-term exposure, including

respiratory problems and illness.

" That (type of mold) by far is the worst of the worst, " he said.

The Wests say the mold problem began in the crawl space of the home,

where several inches of standing water was discovered. They said

Habitat for Humanity used a sump pump in the crawl space while the

home was being built but took it out when it was finished and didn't

tell them they would need one permanently.

Jim Ecklund is the executive director of the Knox County Habitat for

Humanity program. He said a sump pump was used during the

construction phase because rain water had collected in the crawl

space before the home's roof was built. After that, it was taken out.

" We'll obviously put a sump pump in for the next owner, " Ecklund

said.

The Wests say they aren't the only ones who have had mold problems

with Habitat homes. They have a newspaper article from California,

where a similar incident with Habitat went to court. The Wests say

the same thing has happened to homes in Warren County and in the

Quad Cities.

" Obviously there's some flaw in their design of housing, "

West said.

Ecklund says there is no design flaw and points to the agency's

record.

" The bottom line is, Habitat has built 36 houses in Knox County, and

this is the only one that's had that issue, " Ecklund said.

The house was approved by city building inspectors, who made sure it

met various codes, Ecklund said. However, he acknowledged mold

problems in other Habitat homes.

" I'm sure there have been other instances, " Ecklund said. " I'm aware

of the one in Warren County. "

Ecklund and the Wests tried to find a middle ground that would

satisfy both sides.

The Wests say Ecklund wanted to set off fogger-style " bombs " to kill

the mold and then paint the walls with a special mold-killing paint

but wanted to add $5,000 plus material costs to their mortgage.

Stufflebeem said a fog bomb, similar to those used to kill insects,

would be ineffective against the mold because it wouldn't reach

behind drywall, and even if it killed the mold, it's still just as

dangerous dead as it is alive.

" Whether it's alive or dead, it's just as infective, " he said.

West said her children have developed asthma and allergies from

living in the home.

The Wests have since moved out of the Habitat house and now live in

a rental home in Galesburg. The family recently signed the deed over

to Habitat and was let out of the contract.

The house will be cleared of mold next week with the fog bombs, and

dirt will be added around the outside edge of the home as backfill

to prevent water from entering the home, Ecklund said. It will then

be readied for a new family, he said.

But the ordeal didn't come without a cost. Amy West said she lost

nearly $13,000 on the house and received a $1,500 refund from

Habitat.

But the experience hasn't turned the family against their dream of

home ownership.

" I want a house of my own, " she said, and sees the past few months

as a learning experience.

So does Ecklund, who said this incident can be used to teach other

Habitat for Humanity homeowners about mold and the problems

associated with it.

" That's a big part of home ownership, being aware of moisture, "

Ecklund said.

Sampier can be reached at 686-3041 or state@....