Lafayette Man Struggles to Remove Mold From House

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Lafayette Man Struggles to Remove Mold From House

WLFI.com - West Lafayette,IN*

Updated: Dec 28, 2007

http://www.wlfi.com/Global/story.asp?S=7553196 & nav=menu591_3

If you find mold in your home, most professionals say you should

have it removed immediately. But one Lafayette man says he can't

afford to do that. Hank Weston bought his home in June. In November,

he discovered his crawl space was full of mold. Weston said it's too

expensive to get the mold removed and the rest of his house cleaned.

" We're looking at anywhere from $12,000 to $15,000, " Weston said.

So Weston has been living with the problem and says it is starting

to affect his health.

" My breathing is worse now than it was. The mold in here is not

helping me at all, " Weston said.

Weston said he does not know what caused the mold in his home.

" The vents were open. Whether it's not vented enough, I don't know, "

Weston said.

ServiceMaster by Clean Air Management Owner Jeff said mold

can appear in many places.

" People should be on the lookout for visual growth. They should be

on the lookout for wet areas, any leaking areas should be addressed

immediately or as soon as possible, " said.

said there are ways people can avoid getting mold in their

homes.

" The best way to avoid getting mold is maintaining your humidity in

residence or your facility below 60% relative humidity. You should

also address any water intrusion issue immediately to prevent mold

from growing, " said.

Weston admits he made a few mistakes when he bought his home. One

being that he did not have a home inspection. He said he thought

since the house was relatively new and had only served as a model

home, he would be fine without one. Weston said unfortunately

because he signed all the papers, he is stuck with the problem.