How Things Went from Bad to Worse: A Client’s Story

We performed a mold assessment for a family whose home experienced significant water intrusion in November of 2015. Our clients were in the process of having their roof replaced when a fast-moving storm came in just after their old roof had been torn off. The roofing company installed tarps on the unfinished areas of the roof, but the high winds blew them off, subjecting the home to a significant amount of water intrusion. The water ran down the ceiling beams, into the walls and saturated their floors, furniture, electronics and other personal items. The roofing contractor wanted to avoid a claim on his business insurance policy, so he told the homeowners that he knew how to dry out the house and he would take care of it. He brought in a heater and a couple of fans and instructed our clients to turn up the heat in their home. Our client trusted that the roofing contractor indeed knew how to dry out their home properly and they followed his instructions hoping the dry out would be successful.
Unfortunately, not only was the dry out unsuccessful, but the newly installed roof leaked a couple of months after installation, causing water intrusion for the second time. At that point, our client filed a claim with their insurance company to try to get the situation handled properly. During this time, the family had multiple unexplained health issues that they now believe were most likely due to microbial conditions that occurred after the water intrusions. Their daughter started to get sick frequently and experienced sinus issues, nose bleeds, burning and itching eyes, headaches, and burning throat conditions. She also was told to use a nebulizer due to her asthmatic condition. Her mother was perplexed by this because her daughter has had asthma for several years that had been controlled up until this time and she had never needed to use a nebulizer. Other family members also started experiencing unusual symptoms during this time.

After filing their insurance claim, the insurance company sent out a water restoration company to dry out the home. Our clients were told that the home was now dry and everything was fine. Our clients were highly concerned because the suspected that the walls were not adequately dry and they were not confident that the roof issues had been permanently corrected. So, they brought in a water restoration company and a different roofing contractor for an unbiased opinion. It was determined that there were still wet building materials within the home and they suspected an even bigger problem, hidden mold growth within the walls and under flooring materials. This is where Mold Inspection Sciences came in.

After a full assessment and laboratory testing, we confirmed that the Living Room wall was still actively wet, mold growth was present in multiple areas within the home and ambient air testing of the lower level showed elevated airborne mold spore counts when compared to the outside control sample. Sadly, after following up with our client, she stated “my husband came down with a headache that was so intense he could not move, his throat and eyes burned, he felt sick and very tired, then he started to have problems remembering what was just said to him – he got extreme brain fog”.

At this time, our clients are still working to come to a resolution with their insurance company, but for now, they have had to leave their home until proper mold remediation can be performed.

Mold Inspection Sciences was honored to help this family and we sincerely hope that their health improves and they are able to be back into their home very soon.

by Craig Cooper, Mold Inspection Sciences