Public menace Flooded homes plagued by major mold issues

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Public menace

Flooded homes plagued by major mold issues

Times Record News - Wichita Falls,TX*

By Hines/Times Record News

July 14, 2007

http://www.timesrecordnews.com/trn/local_news/article/0,1891,TRN_5784

_5629073,00.html

The city of Wichita Falls has set up a hotline to deal with building

questions. It is 761-8852

Mold made it hard for Virginia to breathe, but it was the

condition of her childhood home that took her breath away Friday.

The self-described " senior citizen " now living in East Texas got her

first glimpse of the home on Woods Street that morning.

" I was devastated, " she said, standing on a porch with water-logged,

discolored belongings clumped about like an ill-conceived yard sale.

It didn't help that mold had grown on just about every surface, from

pictures once owned by her mother to knickknacks now coated with pea-

green film. Behind a white breathing mask, demonstrated the

mold's effects on her allergies with a brief chuckle and coarse

snort.

" We knew there would be mold, " she said. " We just didn't know it

would be this bad. "

Mold has become a major worry for home and business owners. Just

about every home affected by recent flooding has mold, said Bobby

Teague, building and code administrator for the city. He has looked

at 20-25 homes and found mold in all of them.

" It's a big problem. It's prevalent in every house already, " he

said. " The houses that haven't been opened to dry out - (mold) is

everywhere. "

's precautions made sense in light of the potential hazards

posed by the fungi.

The Wichita Falls-Wichita County Public Health District has already

distributed information packets about the need to rid homes of mold.

After two days, mold can grow without being visible. Children and

the elderly are being encouraged to stay away from cleanup areas.

One mold in particular, Stachybotrys chartarum or " black mold, "

grows well in material such as straw, paper and fiber board. It can

produce toxins, and some folks who are sensitive to molds can fall

victim to nasal stuffiness, eye irritation or skin irritation. Some

people may have more severe reactions, according to the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention.

Already, more than a dozen houses in the Tanglewood addition of West

Wichita Falls have been found with mold problems. Four homes near

Lucy Park were affected, and 80 homes on the east side of the city

have been found with mold.

" The whole spectrum, from a few little spots to the whole thing just

covered, " Teague said of what he'd seen.

Precautions were already being taken on the east side of Wichita

Falls.

Ralph is the unit commander for the disaster response team

from the Paramount Baptist Church in Amarillo. He said the real

problems come once the mold dries and becomes airborne. Mold hasn't

been much of an issue healthwise, yet.

" We have some very good masks, " he said.

Reporter Hines can be reached at (940) 720-3456 or by e-mail

at HinesM(at)TimesRecordNews.com.