Re: Could it be mold? Yes, it's mold, but is it making you sick?

[Guest guest]

Hello,

I read your description of the problems at your apartment, and you've defintely

got a mold problem -- the question is whether it's making you sick. Whether or

not the mold is making you sick -- and how it is making you sick -- is going to

be relevant in how a physician treats the problem. If you have not already done

so, make sure that your own physician and your children's pediatrician know

about the indoor mold problem so they can do the appropriate tests, reach a

diagnosis, and prescribe what is needed.

I do agree with Carl and his discussion of habitability issues, but caution you,

before you take any actions that you expect to be compensated for, to (1) locate

a good attorney in your jurisdiction (attorneys are licensed by state) who

specializes in landlord/tenant habitability issues; and (2) check your governing

authorities (i.e., state law, county law, and local law) to see if they have

enacted anything with respect to fungus or mold. You might get lucky and find

an attorney who specializes both in landlord/tenant and mold.

I'm an attorney in California, and the mold habitability issue can be

" bootstrapped " based on a landlord's obligation to keep a building envelope

tight and free from water intrusion, and free from vermin, but there aren't

" mold " statutes to rely on.

Good luck!

Cyn

>

> Last summer we moved into the apartment we're in. It seems like

> we've been sick ever since and we are rarely sick. We started out

> with:

>

> 1- Nasal congestion

> 2- Thick phlegm

> 3- Coughing

> 4-Headaches

>

> My husband, myself, our 5 yr old, and our now 18 month old have all

> had this. My husband finally had to go to the hospital and they told

> him he had a respitory infection. Then our boys were so sick, we

> finally took them to the ER. The oldest had a respitory infection.

> The middle one was said to have a sinus infection.

>

> I'm the only one who hasn't seen a doctor. I was pregnant up until

> the end of November....my ob/gyn said it was just a cold and that I

> didn't need to be seen and even if I was seen, I couldn't take any

> medication other than tylenol.

>

> I had our baby Nov. 21st (he is 7 wks). He seemed to have " caught "

> whatever we had shortly after being brought home. We had to take him

> to the ER last night because his breathing is so labored and he is

> hardly eating (can't breath with the bottle in his mouth).

>

> The past week, I've been getting extremely dizzy. The other night I

> actually fell over because of it...luckily I was not carrying the

> baby.

>

> Tonight, our oldest boy was brushing his teeth and his nose started

> bleeding for no reason whatsoever.

>

> Does this sound like we could have a mold problem in the apartment

> (is this the type of mold that causes health problems?)?

>

> 1- The windows always have water running down them and it collects

> in the window sill. Regular household mold is always growing in the

> sills. I clean it with Clorox spray and it's back w/in 2-3 days.

> It's not just a spot or two, it covers the entire sill and up the

> sides. Could the water be leaking into the walls also?

>

> 2- We have mold growing in some of the cabinets below the sink.

>

> 3- The wall behind the toilet is puckering out from water damage and

> it looks like the bathroom walls have been re-done like there was

> water damage.

>

> 4- The central air unit is in the boys room...right after we moved

> in, the relief drain backed up and leaked all over the floor. It

> soaked the floor in the closet and about 5 feet into the room

> itself. Our landlord came and fixed the leak and said to leave the

> closet doors open so the floor would dry. There was so much water

> that when you stepped on the carpet, water would actually squirt up

> in the air. He didn't do anything to try to get rid of some of the

> water. Well, ever since then, white mold has been growing on the

> surface of the carpet. I've tried to get rid of it and I think I

> finally did, but what is underneath the carpet that we can't see?

>

> Do you think this is why we are all sick?

>

[Guest guest]

first off, as we know, they will have problems finding a dr or

pediatrition who will have any knowledge of mold illness, even if

they do, they might have a severel months wait to get to see them,

then find a lawyer, costly, find one who want to do anything but

waste their time, probably not, then get involved with government,

well that will take them forever. By then one or more children will

have become a statistic, they will be so sick that they can't work,

and can't afford the Dr's and lawyers, and with brain fog so bad

they won't be able to get through any government red tape- excuse me-

cut thrrough the stuff and get out- notify your landlord the place

is untenetable- and go

> >

> > Last summer we moved into the apartment we're in. It seems like

> > we've been sick ever since and we are rarely sick. We started

out

> > with:

> >

> > 1- Nasal congestion

> > 2- Thick phlegm

> > 3- Coughing

> > 4-Headaches

> >

> > My husband, myself, our 5 yr old, and our now 18 month old have

all

> > had this. My husband finally had to go to the hospital and they

told

> > him he had a respitory infection. Then our boys were so sick, we

> > finally took them to the ER. The oldest had a respitory

infection.

> > The middle one was said to have a sinus infection.

> >

> > I'm the only one who hasn't seen a doctor. I was pregnant up

until

> > the end of November....my ob/gyn said it was just a cold and

that I

> > didn't need to be seen and even if I was seen, I couldn't take

any

> > medication other than tylenol.

> >

> > I had our baby Nov. 21st (he is 7 wks). He seemed to

have " caught "

> > whatever we had shortly after being brought home. We had to take

him

> > to the ER last night because his breathing is so labored and he

is

> > hardly eating (can't breath with the bottle in his mouth).

> >

> > The past week, I've been getting extremely dizzy. The other

night I

> > actually fell over because of it...luckily I was not carrying

the

> > baby.

> >

> > Tonight, our oldest boy was brushing his teeth and his nose

started

> > bleeding for no reason whatsoever.

> >

> > Does this sound like we could have a mold problem in the

apartment

> > (is this the type of mold that causes health problems?)?

> >

> > 1- The windows always have water running down them and it

collects

> > in the window sill. Regular household mold is always growing in

the

> > sills. I clean it with Clorox spray and it's back w/in 2-3 days.

> > It's not just a spot or two, it covers the entire sill and up

the

> > sides. Could the water be leaking into the walls also?

> >

> > 2- We have mold growing in some of the cabinets below the sink.

> >

> > 3- The wall behind the toilet is puckering out from water damage

and

> > it looks like the bathroom walls have been re-done like there

was

> > water damage.

> >

> > 4- The central air unit is in the boys room...right after we

moved

> > in, the relief drain backed up and leaked all over the floor. It

> > soaked the floor in the closet and about 5 feet into the room

> > itself. Our landlord came and fixed the leak and said to leave

the

> > closet doors open so the floor would dry. There was so much

water

> > that when you stepped on the carpet, water would actually squirt

up

> > in the air. He didn't do anything to try to get rid of some of

the

> > water. Well, ever since then, white mold has been growing on the

> > surface of the carpet. I've tried to get rid of it and I think I

> > finally did, but what is underneath the carpet that we can't see?

> >

> > Do you think this is why we are all sick?

> >

>

>

>

>

>