The trouble with mold Basement water turns into woes for tenant, landlord and ag

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The trouble with mold

Basement water turns into woes for tenant, landlord and agencies.

South Bend Tribune, South Bend, IN*

JOSEPH DITS

Tribune Staff Writer

http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

AID=/20070730/News01/707300311

SOUTH BEND — Water has turned the basement of Ward's rental

house into a breeding ground for mold.

And it's hard to tell how much that — or other factors — are

complicating her fickle health.

" I've never been so sick since I've been in this house, " said Ward,

54, who moved March 2006 into this one-bedroom house on Sample

Street, a block west of Olive Street.

The white paint is bubbling up from the concrete-block walls of her

basement, which are turning brown and black.

The landlord's maintenance crew has begun some work to try to fix

the basement. And Ward plans to move in the next month.

It's hard to tell whether either of those actions will fix the house

or Ward's troubles.

Ward recently complained of swollen eyes and hair that's going thin.

Her skin has itched; that improved after she went to a doctor almost

two weeks ago and got some medicine for it.

But other factors could affect her health. She takes medicine for

diabetes and high cholesterol and uses an inhalator. She smokes,

which she admits to doing more of since she's been depressed by her

home and financial woes -- maybe seven cigarettes a day, she guesses.

One person's body may react to mold while another's doesn't respond

at all, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Common

reactions tend to be like allergies: watery eyes, sneezing, itchy

skin, worsened asthma and the like.

In fact, officials are moving away from the scary term " toxic mold "

because the issue hinges more upon how a particular body responds,

said Rebekah Waechter, an environmental health specialist with the

St. ph County Health Department.

Last week, the maintenance crew started digging a couple of feet

down along the house's foundation. They planned to swab it with tar

and maybe lay in some plastic. On the inside, one of the men said,

they planned to scrape the walls and mop up the standing water that

filled a corner of the basement after a storm the week before. He

said they'd dry the basement out and apply some waterproofing to the

walls.

History of problems

Mold hasn't been the house's only issue.

Inspectors from the Section 8 housing voucher program, which helps

to pay Ward's rent, found nothing wrong with the house when she

moved in.

A month or two later, Ward complained and a Section 8 inspector came

back to find several issues: a lack of storm windows or screens, a

problem with electrical wiring in the basement and phone and cable

lines touching the garage roof. A few of the issues were fixed right

away, but others lingered on until October, according to Section 8

records.

In December, an annual inspection found that the furnace vent needed

to be sealed. Records show that it was fixed by Jan. 3.

Several months ago, Ward said, water started dripping from the

ceiling tiles near the furnace vent in her living room. It soaked

her cable TV box, which the cable company had to replace. That

started brown stains on those ceiling tiles, then others at other

corners of her house.

Also months ago, Ward said the basement flooded. Ward had it cleaned

up with the help of other people.

The CDC warns that mold will grow if a flooded basement isn't dried

out.

In recent months, brown and black stains have grown on the basement

walls, and the paint bubbled. Black stains proliferate in a closet-

type space with an entry but no door or light.

After Ward called, a city Code Enforcement inspector on July 3 cited

the ceiling stains, questionable flashing around the chimney (a

possible source of leaks) and concrete plugging the basement windows

and basement drain. It also cited missing hardware on the front

door, missing screens on windows and windows sealed with plastic.

But Code sent its enforcement letter to a company in Arizona called

Household Finance Corp., which is now listed in county records as

the property owner. Employees at that company say the home isn't

among their properties now.

Pay 'N Stay, which earlier this year changed its name from Superior

Homes, is in charge of the home, said manager Sara .

When The Tribune pointed this out July 20 to Code's chief inspector,

Stan Molenda, he said a letter would soon be sent to Pay 'N Stay.

Pay 'N Stay has operated out of a house on South Michigan Street

marked " We Buy Ugly Houses, " which said was started by

local businessman D. Kollar.

points out that former employees looked after the house

until she took it on in February.

Section 8 sent an inspector to Ward's home July 17 and found badly

sloping gutters, weathered and curled roof shingles, a leaky chimney

flashing, stained ceiling tiles and water damage in the basement.

On July 20, The Tribune showed pictures of the basement

damage. She immediately called her maintenance man, who'd

accompanied the Section 8 inspector.

argues that Ward is calling agencies and The Tribune to

avoid eviction and paying back rent. Ward hasn't paid her share,

more than $90 per month, since February. Section 8 pays about $355

of the bill. said she's more interested in moving on from

this mess rather than filing eviction.

Ward argues that the landlord has been negligent in caring for the

property, including the mold. She wants to move. But, according to

federal rules, she cannot take her Section 8 voucher with her unless

she pays off her back rent or reaches a settlement with her

landlord, said Jacelyn , Section 8 manager for the South

Bend Housing Authority.

In spite of her monthly Social Security disability check of $613,

Ward says she's short on money.

Who's responsible?

Both Code and Section 8 are due to revisit the home in early August.

If it fails Section 8 inspection again, the voucher program won't

pay the landlord, requiring another house instead, said.

Kent Hull, an attorney with Indiana Legal Services, took on Ward's

case. He hopes to seek a declaratory judgment that would declare

each party's rights and responsibilities, including Code and Section

8. Then he'd seek an injunction, forcing them to fulfill those

duties.

Are public agencies responsible for noticing health risks?

Molenda said there's no requirement that Code Enforcement notify the

county health department if mold is noticed.

But Marc , the health department's environmental health

manager, said Code tends to be good about alerting his department

about potential health risks.

said his department can investigate mold in a home if the

resident shows documentation from a doctor that the mold likely is

causing the person's health problems.

Eventually, he said, his department could order the property owner

to correct the mold problem.

The Centers for Disease Control doesn't recommend the long, hard

investigation into what kind of mold it is.

You're best off to just clean it up and prevent future growth, the

CDC advises.

Cleaning up mold

Find easy-to-read advice about the health risks and cleanup of mold

at the Web site of the Centers for Disease Control:

www.cdc.gov/mold. The CDC also advises:

Use soap and water or no more than one cup of bleach to one gallon

of water.

Open windows and doors when you use bleach.

Rubber gloves and goggles are recommended. If you're sensitive to

mold, wear an N-95 mask, which you can buy in a hardware store.

Take things outside that were wet for two or more days. They likely

have mold growing on them, even if you cannot see it.

Remove things made of cloth, unless you can wash them in hot water.

Remove things that cannot be washed, like leather, paper, wood and

carpet.

If you are removing bubbled-up paint, beware if some of that paint

may contain poisonous lead. Find advice at www.epa.gov/lead.

Completely remove mold and let surface dry before repainting.

If you hire someone to do the cleanup, be sure the contractor has

experience with cleaning up mold. Check references.