Hi my name is Amor and I have a terrible mold problem. I live in low income housing in Seattle I moved in December 2008.
About a year after moving in there was a fire in the attic, it was a minor, little damage and luckily no one hurt. Bare with me as this is a complicated situation and trying to write a short version without leaving out important details, now this fire is where I feel it all stemmed from.
About 2 years after that I started to notice mold in my bathroom, and my bathroom has no windows and a ventalation fan that sounds like it works but doesn’t when I signed my lease there was a form regarding mold and how to clean it. So I cleaned it just as the paper said. The mold became so bad that I was cleaning the mold 2 to 3 times a week, all the while calling and emailing Seattle Housing Authority with very little response. Every year they do an annual inspection to see what repairs need to be done, and every year I have told/reminded them about the mold and the fan and every year they said they would put a work order in asap.
By now my family and I are starting to experience extreme respiratory symptoms such as runny nose, cough, my daughter was even hacking up black stuff from her lungs and we have never been sick like this. My nephew who was born with a heart condition came and stayed with me Monday-Thursday for school last year started having respiratory problems. We took him to the ER where they transferred him to children’s hospital as they thought he possibly had blood clots in his lungs, luckily he did not but at his follow-up appointment after hearing our story and looking at the pictures she wrote a letter stating that the mold was so bad that the house was inhabitable and all people residing there needed to be relocated. As this was done by her own choice she was not asked. Little did it do to help as Housing said in basically was a no good letter as he was not on my lease, which I don’t understand because he is a minor.
As for myself, who is home more than anyone already have a compromised health history. In 1999 I had a gastric bypass and have had issues ever since. Bowel obstruction, GI bleeds, pancreatitis, have lost all my teeth because I spent the first year throwing up stomach acid which eroded my teeth (still have no teeth or dentures, can’t afford it). I even had a heart attack 2 years ago anemia related. So I am the one experiencing more symptoms. Have not yet confirmed by doctor but I’m pretty sure I have Raynaud’s disease ( picture below).
So here we are almost 10 years later, over 100 emails sent, hundreds of pictures of the mold throughout the years, and many annual inspections and nothing done. I did forget to mention that they did come and deal with the mold by painting it with mold resistant paint, 4-5 times over a 10 year period. The last time they painted was just two months ago and you can already see the mold again. Doesn’t sound like mold resistant paint if you have come in more than once.
So I finally had enough and called the city’s code and building inspectors department and filed a complaint.
The city came and inspected and along with the mold issue that I have been complaining about they found other code violations. I was told that not much could be released to me information wise.
That helped because about 2 months after the maintenance people started showing up to fix it, or so I thought as I just got official word that they failed and noted black mold present in the home. I am happy that something was found because I feel like my family and friends think I’m just crazy, but even angrier because I don’t have the money to move, hire someone to clean it or fund a retainer fee ( unless personal injury attorney’s do these types of cases…. anyone know if there is any).
I am just at my wit’s end, I feel the mold is killing me slowly ( I know my other health issues don’t help either). Any advice resources anything please. And thank you for taking the time to read all this
1 comment
I worked for a commercial company, one day dealing with mold from a flood.
It is quite simple.
Everything, is removed in boxes.
2 feet of wall is removed.
A hand held moisture sensor is used to find areas where the drywall is wet, like around the sink.
A chemical like Orange as mentioned in an earlier article is sprayed on the wooden frame studs.
The drywall, is replaced, and painted.
The whole time, large commercial fans blow fresh air into the space being renovated.
I also renovated apartments condemned by the City of Saskatoon, in Saskatchewan.
The problem was 2 fold.
The roof leaked over years, damaging the walls, and pipes bringing in fresh air.
The windows, are single pane, in a climate with temperature of -40C. Moisture, constantly condensing on the cold glass.
The only solution, is replace the roof, and gut all the walls down to the wood.
The sad story, of a woman who spends 10 years in a mold infested building, and all her children getting sick is really. sad.
As Vancouver, apartments, are now extremely expensive, we have this problem, like my current apartment.
Water damage from a leaking furnace. The furnace was replaced, but the mold is still in the walls.
The owner clearly did not have water damage insurance.
The cost of replacing the drywall, cannot be covered by myself. Its simply better to move.
I will be buying a commercial mold killing chemical, to minimize this problem.
Love this website.