'It just keeps coming back'

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'It just keeps coming back'

January 29,2007

KELLEY CHAMBERS

ville Daily News - ville,NC

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Whitehead never thought her home would be considered a health

hazard. The house she and her husband bought off Haws Run

Road seemed safe enough.

But in no time, her children began to have trouble breathing. The

foundation started to crumble. Cracks appeared above the widows.

Then she saw the mold, lots of it.

The Whiteheads' 2-year-old daughter and 8-month-old son experience

ongoing breathing problems. Trey was placed on a respirator as a

result of the mold, while daughter Kaydence takes medication every

day for her coughing.

" I don't know how long the mold has been here, but it's thick and

has been growing for a while, " said Whitehead. " Every time I

clean it, it just keeps coming back. "

Today, the Whiteheads realize they live, in part, in a flood plain,

which helps account for some of the problems they have now. The 19-

year-old mom is wondering how much longer her family can stand to

live there.

" It's been like hell, " she said. " If I knew it was going to be like

this, I never would have bought it. "

To on, director of environmental health for Onslow

County, it's a familiar story. Mold is a common complaint for many

in the county. And while certain categories of mold can carry

effects for those exposed to it for extended periods of time, there

is little his department can do.

" We get quite a number of calls concerning mold, " on

said. " However, we are, by no stretch of the imagination, experts on

mold and don't have any regulatory authority in the area of dealing

with mold issues. "

on normally directs calls to Peggie Garner at North Carolina

ative Extension Service in Onslow County. Garner makes

referrals and works with North Carolina State University in mold

identification and remediation. Most of all, she helps residents get

a handle on mold by helping them minimize moisture in their homes.

" It may be they have a lot of humidity in house, so they use a

dehumidifier, " Garner said. " A lot of people, even though they have

a fan in the bathroom, don't know the importance of the fan is to

draw moisture out. "

The first step in addressing mold growth is identifying and

correcting it at the source, according to the North Carolina

Department of Public Health.

Cleaning visible moldy areas with bleach and water or industrial

cleaners may get rid of it for a while, but unless the origin is

located and eliminated, mold will come back.

A breeding ground

Crawford knows how stubborn mold can be. She lives at Town

Center Apartments in ville, and dampness under her kitchen

sink has become a breeding ground for mold spores, as have the

cabinets under her bathroom sink, along the tub, under her shower

tiles, and on many of her baseboards and window frames.

" I know everything under there is going to have to be thrown away, "

Crawford said, looking into her kitchen cabinet. " I've had to throw

away food over this. There aren't too many places it isn't there. "

She's cleaned. Her landlord has cleaned. By all appearances, the

mold goes away every time. Almost as soon as they finish, it's back.

" I wash this stuff all the time. It's horrible, it really is, "

Crawford said. " It's caused me some severe (health) problems, but

they don't seem to care. "

Crawford's neighbor, Latarsha Terrell, changed apartments after the

one she was living in became so infested with mold it began to take

a health toll on her family, which includes her husband and 2-year-

old daughter, Ja'ziah. Now that the family is in a mold-free

apartment at Town Center, Ja'ziah's asthma has improved.

" It started in the closet then started trailing from that bedroom to

the closet in the other bedroom; you could smell it, " Terrell

said. " This place if fine, but when it rains really bad, the front

door leaks (in) water. "

Jackie Michaliga, the regional manager for Town Center Apartments,

said the company tries to stay in tune with the concerns of

residents. While mold is something they know about, identifying why

it happens is often a problem. Sometimes, Michaliga said, the tenant

is responsible for it.

" There's two types of mold: mold and mildew due to poor house

cleaning practices or (mold) due to moistness, " Michaliga said. " If

we have a complaint either way, we always go and assess it. It's

something we're really aggressive on. "

A water problem

Most molds require only moisture to multiply, said Romie Herring, an

industrial hygiene consulting supervisor for the North Carolina

Department of Public Health.

Specializing in epidemiology, or the study of communicable diseases,

Herring said although mold and mildew can stem from bad cleaning

habits, spores more typically thrive when time, temperature and

moisture join forces.

" Even with poor housekeeping, if no moisture is there, then no

mold, " Herring said. " It takes time, usually 24 to 48 hours of

staying wet for mold to grow. You won't have mold without having a

water problem. "

Herring said he receives numerous calls from homeowners and renters

with mold problems looking for a solution. But with no specialized

state legislation regulating such instances, Herring said, local

building inspectors may be the only way to get help. The extent of

the mold must be severe enough to question the structure's integrity

for authorities to intervene.

Currently, Town Center has no open requests for services dealing

with mold problems, said Michaliga, who ensured Terrell's

problematic apartment had been taken care of properly.

" Our residents are our No. 1 priority, " Michaliga said.

As for the Whiteheads, a flood adjuster recently assessed the damage

at their home, which resulted in the need for a new air-conditioning

system, new drywall and siding from the ground up to 4 feet, as well

as new carpet in all the rooms.

The total cost to save the home: $45,000.

For now, the only thing the Whiteheads can do is pray for a dry

season until they can get their footing on an already unstable

situation. Sandbags barricade the back door into the garage and help

preserve an already crumbling foundation.

hopes they can get some help from the Federal Emergency

Management Agency. It bought the lot next to them when the house

that once sat there suffered similar flood damage.

" It floods almost every time it rains, " said. " I'm terrified

for a hurricane to blow in here. "

Contact staff writer Kelley Chambers at kchambers@... or

353-1171, ext. 235.