Mold issue

April 14, 2008

Mold issue

Monday, April 14, 2008

Wellington Daily News - Wellington,KS*

http://www.wgtndailynews.com/articles/2008/04/14/news/news2.txt

After years of living on the streets of New Hampshire, Duane and

Sheri Walch finally made their home in Wellington.

With a low rent base, the two were hoping to rebuild their lives in

a small community. Hoping for a new start and a real home to call

their own, the two settled in an apartment on South F Street. They

didn't realize it would turn out to be another hurdle for them to

overcome.

The Walches claim their building is infested with mold - that

ceilings, walls and carpeting have become breeding areas for the

spores.

" You can just smell it everywhere, " said Sheri Walch. " It's so

strong, I can hardly breathe at times and the basement is just

overwhelming. "

The Walches, who are managers of the building, allowed The

Wellington Daily News access into their apartment, other vacant

apartments in the building and the basement. Signs of what appeared

to be extensive water damage to ceilings and floors, mold in corners

and along paneling and signs of general disrepair were in every

corner of the building.

In their own apartment, the Walches complain of a leaking ceiling

and mold on floor moulding in the kitchen.

" It's disgusting, " said Sheri Walch. " I wouldn't let a dog live

here. "

Her husband, pointing out a collapsed ceiling in another apartment

says he had to cut a hole in the ceiling to keep the rest of it from

falling down.

" The water leaks and leaks and there is no where for it to go, " said & #8200;

Duane Walch. " This is just going to happen over and over again. "

A state official agrees.

" You don't have a mold problem without having a water problem, "

Joyce Barrett, an Indoor Air Quality Coordinator for the Kansas

Department of Health and Environment, Bureau of Air and Radiation,

said.

Barrett says mold spores are everywhere - in the air, on your

clothes, on household objects - and aren't a problem until they are

given a source to feed on.

" They don't do any harm, generally, until they have a food supply, "

said Barrett.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says people who are

sensitive to mold may experience stuffy nose, irritated eyes,

wheezing or skin irritation from mold. People with weakened immune

systems, such as children or the elderly, or those with chronic lung

diseases, may develop mold infections in their lungs.

Sheri Walch, who suffers from epilepsy, says her doctor told her

mold may be causing her to have more seizures than usual.

" It causes more stress on my body, he said and that's why I'm having

so many. I've had more here in the past four months than in the last

year, " said Sheri Walch.

Barrett echoes her statement, explaining she understands Walch's

concerns.

" I haven't read any reports on mold and epilepsy and how it relates,

but I can say it's likely those with already compromised immune

systems receive additional stress on their bodies from mold

exposure, " said Barrett.

The coordinator states mold can be removed and covered up, but until

the source of the " food supply " is found and fixed, it continues to

be a reoccurring problem.

" It's just a waste of money and time on the part of the tenants or

landlord, " said Barrett.

" We've tried to do our best, " Duane Walch said of fixing the

problem. " But we aren't the landlord and we can't take money from

our own pockets to fix this. "

The Walches say they have tried everything - from talking to their

landlord, identified by the couple as Wellman of Belle

Plaine, to calling the city and even the governor's office in

Topeka. In all cases, the two say nothing is being done.

" We've tried talking to everybody and nothing is happening, " he said.

Wellington City Compliance Officer Arebalo says he's been

made aware of the Walch's situation, and said he would be contacting

the landlord about their concerns.

Arebalo says he deals with tenant and landlord problems on a daily

basis.

" It makes up about 20 percent of my daily complaints, " he said.

The compliance officer says after the landlord is notified, he will

have 10 days to make progess on fixing the problem. After that,

Arebalo says he could make a case with the city prosecutor, who in

turn could file criminal charges.

The city was called out to the property once before, according to

Arebalo, to deal with tenants, though not for any building problems.

Arebalo says he will try to set up a meeting with the landlord

sometime next week to look through the building.

Walch also noted other safety issues, such as three uncapped gas

lines, no fire extinguishers or working fire alarms in the building

and no fire escape for apartment residents.

" If this place were to catch on fire, there would be no way out. You

would have to jump out the windows, " he said.

In addition to the building problems, the Walches claim Wellman has

shut off the gas to their apartment, keeping them from using the

broken stove they acquired on their move-in. The two say they are

paying rent that includes all utilities paid, but still the gas

stays off.

" That's more money out of our pockets. We got to eat and we can't, "

said Duane Walch.

Now the two are paying $200 per week to stay in a hotel room, and

have recently reported they have been kicked out of their apartment

by their landlord.

" We only get $926 a month from disability and if we are paying $200

a week to stay in a motel, it doesn't take a genius to figure out

that that adds up, " said Duane Walch.

As their pockets become empty, the two are quickly running out of

options.

" I don't know what we'll do, " said Duane Walch.

Efforts to contact Wellman were unsuccessful, as his phone number is

disconnected.

The Walches are hoping something will be done about the mold, not

for their sake, but for the other tenants, future tenants, and for

those dealing with similar situations.

" I hate to think of him getting away with this, " said Sheri

Walch. " It's going to be on my conscience if something bad happens

to a baby or young child because of this mold. "

Kansas has no statute on how mold should be handled by landlords,

according to Barrett. While laws are in place for lead paint and

asbestos, Kansas has yet to touch on the mold issue.

" There are no state laws on how to fix it, " said Barrett. " And it

makes my job all the harder, "

The state official said many of her daily calls relate to mold

problems and how to fix them. Her biggest complaint is a common

scare tactic - black mold.

She states many people test the kind of mold in their house for

hundreds of dollars, but to no avail.

" It doesn't matter what color it is, if you see mold or if you smell

mold, you have mold and you need to take care of it, " said Barrett.

December 4, 2010

I feel so bad that kids any age have to be so sick with this disease - well any

illness but this one we have to fight for proper testing and we as parents have

to be on top of it all the time to help these poor kids to get proper treatment

that is if we can afford it. So many things that are so unfair. My kids that

are so sick and one that can't even attend school this year so far have a set of

grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins that do not believe that they are even

sick!!!! That makes my blood boil - and these grandparents could help these

kids get proper treatment but they would rather treat us like we are lazy!!

I have as had others try to educate them but nothing has helped .

In fact they seen under you skin movie and had nothing to say about it

Ugggg. We are strong parents and I am blessed to know you all and I pray for

all of us to be able to live a normal life!!

Diane:)

On Sat Dec 4th, 2010 9:53 AM CST endomr wrote:

>Natash:

>Sorry to hear that things are taking a turn after your daughter was doing

better. I think that would be so hard. How is she dealing with being out of

school? Our poor teenagers!

>So how does one evaluate mold? How does an LLMD separate Lyme issues from mold?

Couldn't it be a coinfection? Are you living in a basement?

>I can't remember if your doctor does CD-57 levels. Does that factor in?

>I hope you get it figured out soon! You guys have been through so much already!

>Thinking of you,

>Kari

>

December 4, 2010

Hi Diane -- I know others in your boat. I had to help my mom get the full

picture because she has not really even been that sick and thought you could

just do mind over matter and make yourself get well if you tried hard enough.

The picc lines and seeing my daughter lying in her bed moaning in pain more or

less convinced her so I felt lucky...

Sorry you are going through this. I hate that it's the kids. That's the worst

part...

Onward.

Natashs

________________________________

From: Diane Biel <dkbmama@...>

Lyme Treatment

Sent: Sat, December 4, 2010 8:39:49 AM

Subject: Re: [ ] Mold Issue