Re: Fungus a homegrown conflict

[Guest guest]

THERE'S THAT DAM BLEACH AGAIN!

tigerpaw2c <tigerpaw2c@...> wrote: Fungus a

homegrown conflict

Tenant troubles persist despite owner's repairs.

Columbia Daily Tribune - Columbia,MO

By T.J. GREANEY of the Tribune's staff

Published Sunday, December 23, 2007

http://www.columbiatribune.com/2007/Dec/20071223News005.asp

It can lurk inside walls, under carpeting and flow through air

vents. Mold is everywhere, and in disputes between landlords and

tenants, the existence of mold spores might be the toughest

complaint of all to fix or disprove.

" It's like, if I tell you I have a headache, and I say it, you can't

tell me that I don't. There are no medical tests for a headache.

Mold is the same way, " said Debbie , roving compliance

officer for Yarco, owner of Lakewood Apartments at Old 63 and East

Walnut Street. " But when you address all the issues and other people

have been in the same environment and not had problems, it just gets

to the point where this is ridiculous. "

and Lakewood Apartments Manager said they're at

wits' end with a tenant who insists mold in her apartment is making

her sick. Three independent inspections have shown mold is not a

problem, they said.

" It's just been unreal, " said. " I don't know how many more

inspections we can do. "

The tenant, Remington, 51, said moldy conditions in her

apartment have given her migraine headaches and made her cough up

blood. She has sent spore samples to be tested at a laboratory and

grown seven different fungi in petri dishes, including some

reputedly toxic molds. She has extensively photographed the problem

and has been prescribed antibiotics for mold-related illness by two

doctors.

" It's awful. If we don't clean every day with Clorox, I get ill, and

everything I touch now I have to go wash my hands, " Remington said.

Gruesome photographs and two physicians' notes confirm the extent of

her illness.

The dispute, though, takes place in a legal gray area. There are no

federal guidelines for acceptable mold levels, and mold is

completely left out of Missouri's Landlord-Tenant Law.

Tips to control mold growth published by the Missouri Department of

Health and Senior Services advise that mold is natural and that

toxic mold is extremely rare. The state also says the effects of

mold through inhalation are unproven. Cleaning mold with detergent

is the best policy, the state agency says.

" Mold will always be found in testing. It is everywhere, and there

will always be some level of mold, " state health officials advise on

the department Web site. " Even after testing, the solution remains

the same, `control the moisture, control the mold.' "

The local dispute began Oct. 29, 10 days after Remington moved into

her apartment on Anita Court. She complained that moisture in a

washing machine alcove was causing green mold to flower. It was also

making her sneeze and cough, she said.

promptly dispatched " mold remediation " specialists from

ServPro, a local cleanup crew. Perkins, owner of ServPro,

said he saw a small patch of mold on the wall near the washing

machine, but he didn't consider it serious.

Perkins recommended the landlord replace the kitchen cabinets and

replace some Sheetrock near the washing machine. But he said he

regularly sees places with far worse moisture problems.

" A small patch of mold, if you're allergic to it, can cause you to

not feel well, " Perkins said. " And if you're not allergic, it may

not bother you at all. Someone highly susceptible like that, the

mold needs to be removed or they need to be removed from the

mold. ... My suggestion to her was, `If you're not feeling well, you

should move.' "

Remington declined an offer to move into an identical Lakewood

apartment. Lakewood then followed Perkins' suggestions and purchased

a new $1,800 cabinet for Remington's apartment, repaired the

Sheetrock and replaced the carpet.

But Remington's illnesses persisted, and she complained to the

Missouri Development Housing Commission. The MHDC dispatched an

inspector who determined there were no signs of visible mold or

moisture that would cause mold in the apartment, according to

documents.

Another company, Service Master, visited the apartment and conducted

a full inspection and air-moisture test. They also determined

conditions fell within the normal range.

Remington insisted she is not making up the illnesses and doesn't

know what to do next. She has gone on three different cycles of

antibiotics but feels the environment is toxic. " They keep trying to

tell me I'm hallucinating, " she said.

Braun, a mold expert and certified master inspector in

Jefferson City, said he regularly sees conflicts about mold. He said

air in the house might be suitable for the vast majority of people,

but for someone with acute sensitivities, it can cause symptoms

described by Remington.

" I see it all the time, you know, even my girlfriend is

hypersensitive. She can tell me if I've been in a house with some of

the types of toxic molds. She knows it immediately, " Braun

said. " Mold puts out spores, which release microtoxins, and some

people are just more chemically sensitive to it than others. "

Braun said an expensive air test of the house by an industrial

hygienist and " scrubbing of the air " might be Remington's only hope.

But he also was sympathetic to property owners' problems; some have

spent more than $3,000 to address such problems. Mold is a tough,

often invisible problem that baffles landlords, he said, and it is

time for the government to deal with it.

" I think the government learned through radon, lead and asbestos

that when you make that a problem, guess what, you start spending

money on that problem, " he said. " If the federal and state

governments don't get involved, they do it at the hazard of ignoring

a lot of real-life stories. "

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Reach T.J. Greaney at (573) 8 15-1719 or tjgreaney@....

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[Guest guest]

WHY DO THEY KEEP LYING SAYING THAT 'THE SENSITIVITY' CAUSED THE MOLD ILLNESS

AND INSTEAD TELL THE TRUTH -

THAT THE CHRONIC MOLD EXPOSURE CAUSES THESE PERMANENT 'ALLERGIES' IN

PEOPLE,

ALSO THAT IT CAUSES IMMUNOSUPPRESSION?

THE 'SENSITIVITY' DID NOT EXIST BEFORE THE MASSIVE EXPOSURE...