Mold: Once it gets in your home, it's hard to remove

[Guest guest]

Mold: Once it gets in your home, it's hard to remove

By Barbara Boxleitner

Special to news-press.com

Originally posted on November 16, 2006

The News-Press - Fort Myers,FL

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

AID=/20061116/RE/611160312/1076

Pamela and Jacques Castelain of Naples have lost a chunk of their

life savings on a home because of an uninvited guest: mold.

The couple also has suffered ongoing illnesses, had numerous pets

die, abandoned the residence and received two mold remediations.

" This was supposed to be a retirement dream home, " Pamela Castelain

said about their 3,700-square-foot pool villa, which is clear of

mold but unlivable because of renovations since remediation. " It's

been a nightmare.

" It has taken me away from my business, " said the former owner and

real estate broker of Castelain International. " It's destroyed our

finances. It's destroyed our entire lifelong work. The house has

been a disaster for us. "

Indeed, the Castelains are among the Southwest Floridians whose

residences have been overcome by mold, which experts said develops

and spreads because of moisture intrusion and produces allergens,

irritants and toxic substances.

" It's a year-round event, " said Irv Kraut, president and senior

environmental inspector at the Estero-based Clean Air Inspections

and former consultant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Kraut said Clean Air Inspections, which diagnoses mold, conducts 10

to 15 inspections a week, mainly in Lee and Collier counties. He

said the five Clean Air inspectors, all of whom have science

degrees, rely on infrared thermography, visual observation and test

samples of the air and surfaces during an environmental assessment

of a residence's interior. Cost ranges from $1,200 to $2,400, with

the latter including DNA testing necessary when occupants have

serious medical issues.

Clean Air Inspections has completed multiple assessments of the

Castelains' four-bedroom, 31/2-bathroom home, constructed in

1998. " If Irv and the mold cleanup companies hadn't stepped in when

they did, we would probably be dead, " Pamela Castelain said.

She said her husband was healthy when they occupied the new home.

Since then he has endured multiple surgeries, including eye and nose

procedures to treat and remove mold, and temporarily lost his memory

and ability to walk. Though they vacated the property in July 2005,

she is in treatment for mold in her ears and is partially deaf in

one ear. Eight pet birds and their dog died.

Minimal mold damage is considered to be under 10 square feet, said

Byron Whittamore, project manager of Fireservice Disaster Kleenup in

Fort Myers. Maximum damage requires containment — the creation of a

temporary structure such as plastic covering — and mold removal by

HEPA vacuums. Remediation for a 2,000-square-foot residence usually

takes one or two weeks but sometimes longer, he said.

Kraut said inspectors are busiest when it is the rainy season and

when winter residents return to their Southwest Florida homes.

" A large percentage of people, they're absent, " Kraut

said. " Nobody's really watching their house, and they're counting on

their thermostats to work correctly. "

Often people who are gone during the summer set the temperature

inside the residence too high, instead of at the 75 degrees Kraut

recommends, because they are trying to save on their electricity

bill. The higher temperature results in high humidity, not the

desired 30 percent to 50 percent the EPA suggests, and mold

develops. When the humidity is too high, Whittamore said mold

surfaces on kitchen utensils and leather belts, hats and shoes.

The source of moisture intrusion varies, experts say. For example,

Fred Sylvester, owner of Accredited Building Consultants in Fort

Myers, said it can occur from faulty painting, roofing, siding and

air conditioning and window installation.

Naples condo owner Denney said improper installation of the

air conditioning unit at his Fort Myers Beach condo rental resulted

in a mold outbreak. He and his roommate had to leave the premises

for a month while the entire two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit was

cleaned. The HEPA vacuum cleanup cost more than $40,000, he said.

" We got three of the worst (mold) strains you could have, " said

Denney, whose experience led him to have a mold team inspect his

Naples home purchase beforehand. " It messed up my vision. I have

ringing of the ears. "

Pamela Castelain said faulty plumbing and a punctured refrigeration

line were the culprits at their home, even though she said their

home was inspected more than seven times by professionals in

assorted construction fields before and after occupancy. A second,

more recent bout of mold occurred because of an air-conditioning

problem.

Such mold episodes are becoming disturbingly common, according to

experts.

" Other than hurricane-related damage, most of it is due to

construction defects. There should not be water intrusion. It is a

big problem, " said attorney Mishael, who has a practice near

Miami. He has handled mold litigation cases throughout Florida since

1996 and said they typically last at least two years and more likely

four or five.

" You have a lot of builders trying to build homes as fast as they

can, and they're trying to cut corners, " Mishael said. " Everybody's

trying to make a buck on this housing curve, and you're seeing

houses slapped together faster than ever. "

Mold outbreaks in newer construction are not uncommon. Fort Myers

residents Mimi and Goderski have scheduled Clean Air to inspect

their three-bedroom, two-bathroom pool home built in 2000 because

Mimi Goderski suspects mold is present in the master bedroom and

kitchen. They have been removing what appears to be mold from walls

in the master bedroom, she said, and they detect an odor from the

kitchen cupboards.

Mimi Goderski is confined to a wheelchair because of multiple

sclerosis and has an existing pulmonary condition. " I have severe

breathing problems. But the breathing problems have become worse, "

she said.

Sylvester said today's construction designs do not always include

the necessary details to prevent mold growth, noting that most of

the mold problems he sees are in high-end development. " We

frequently don't see architects doing the design work, " he said. " We

see draftsmen. A lot of them aren't up on the details, and/or the

clients don't want to pay for the construction details. "

" I think you find less problems with spec homes than with massive

developments, " Mishael said. Yet the high inventory in today's

housing market means newly built spec homes sit unattended for

lengthy periods, susceptible to water intrusion before occupancy.

Meantime, real estate agents said they rarely encounter homes with

mold. Schneider-Christians of Century 21 Sunbelt Realty Inc.

in Cape Coral said that about three years ago he handled a

waterfront home that had mold after water seeped through a bedroom

windowsill and into the carpeting and behind the baseboard. " It was

minor, " he said. " It was easy to fix. "

Joan Tucke of Keller Realty in Fort Myers serves the Fort

Myers Beach area, where Whittamore said structures are prone to mold

because of saltwater corrosion around windows. Tucke has had two

recent cases, one a downstairs apartment with water build-up along

the baseboard. She has a pending sale on a canal home that was

tested and found to have moisture in a wall, with a potential for

mold growth. She said the new owners are planning to correct the

problem, adding, " A lot of properties are sold as is. "

Building and mold experts recommend that home seekers ask builders

about construction details and ask owners of existing properties

about mold history. A mold and/or other inspection of the property

is advisable.

" We got three of the worst (mold) strains you could have, " said

Denney, whose experience led him to have a mold team inspect his

Naples home purchase beforehand. " It messed up my vision. I have

ringing of the ears. "

Pamela Castelain said faulty plumbing and a punctured refrigeration

line were the culprits at their home, even though she said their

home was inspected more than seven times by professionals in

assorted construction fields before and after occupancy. A second,

more recent bout of mold occurred because of an air-conditioning

problem.

Such mold episodes are becoming disturbingly common, according to

experts.

" Other than hurricane-related damage, most of it is due to

construction defects. There should not be water intrusion. It is a

big problem, " said attorney Mishael, who has a practice near

Miami. He has handled mold litigation cases throughout Florida since

1996 and said they typically last at least two years and more likely

four or five.

" You have a lot of builders trying to build homes as fast as they

can, and they're trying to cut corners, " Mishael said. " Everybody's

trying to make a buck on this housing curve, and you're seeing

houses slapped together faster than ever. "

Mold outbreaks in newer construction are not uncommon. Fort Myers

residents Mimi and Goderski have scheduled Clean Air to inspect

their three-bedroom, two-bathroom pool home built in 2000 because

Mimi Goderski suspects mold is present in the master bedroom and

kitchen. They have been removing what appears to be mold from walls

in the master bedroom, she said, and they detect an odor from the

kitchen cupboards.

Mimi Goderski is confined to a wheelchair because of multiple

sclerosis and has an existing pulmonary condition. " I have severe

breathing problems. But the breathing problems have become worse, "

she said.

Sylvester said today's construction designs do not always include

the necessary details to prevent mold growth, noting that most of

the mold problems he sees are in high-end development. " We

frequently don't see architects doing the design work, " he said. " We

see draftsmen. A lot of them aren't up on the details, and/or the

clients don't want to pay for the construction details. "

" I think you find less problems with spec homes than with massive

developments, " Mishael said. Yet the high inventory in today's

housing market means newly built spec homes sit unattended for

lengthy periods, susceptible to water intrusion before occupancy.

Meantime, real estate agents said they rarely encounter homes with

mold. Schneider-Christians of Century 21 Sunbelt Realty Inc.

in Cape Coral said that about three years ago he handled a

waterfront home that had mold after water seeped through a bedroom

windowsill and into the carpeting and behind the baseboard. " It was

minor, " he said. " It was easy to fix. "

Joan Tucke of Keller Realty in Fort Myers serves the Fort

Myers Beach area, where Whittamore said structures are prone to mold

because of saltwater corrosion around windows. Tucke has had two

recent cases, one a downstairs apartment with water build-up along

the baseboard. She has a pending sale on a canal home that was

tested and found to have moisture in a wall, with a potential for

mold growth. She said the new owners are planning to correct the

problem, adding, " A lot of properties are sold as is. "

Building and mold experts recommend that home seekers ask builders

about construction details and ask owners of existing properties

about mold history. A mold and/or other inspection of the property

is advisable.