House of Mold

February 02, 2001 By Carolyn Mungo

We hear a lot about the bad air here in Houston. But, most of us automatically think of the air outside. The problem has families fearing for their lives and insurance companies bracing for an epidemic. It is perhaps the one thing homeowners fear the most ó a natural disaster. Within hours, insurance companies dispatch catastrophe teams, because claims can climb to astronomical proportions.

Catastrophe teams were on standby in south Texas because homeowners claims are reaching disaster-like levels. There are several hundred new claims each week. And, the number keeps climbing. So where's the disaster? The answer is household mold ó potentially toxic household mold.

Homeowner Alda Brunson has to put on a respirator to go inside a home that she abandoned eight months ago. That's when an inspector found stachybotros a strain of mold known to be toxic. Even with protection, Brunson and her daughter only spend a few minutes in their house. Everywhere they turn, there are reminders of just how quickly they had to leave. Yet, for Brunson, there was no other option. She said the house is poisonous. With the back door open, Brunson took off her respirator and explained what was going on with her daughter: She was going into anaphylactic shock periodically, and then it became more frequent." She spent a year trying to figure out what was wrong, went from doctor to doctor, but no answers Brunson recalled, She was getting sicker and sicker right before our eyes. She was on antibiotics all the time ó steroids ó she could barely stay awake during the day.

Dr. Andrew Campbell, a nationally recognized expert in toxicology and neurology, sees patients with breathing problems, headaches, and sometimes braing damage: "The most devastating thing I see in some patients is they'll say, You know, doc, thanks for helping me. I thought I was going crazy they cry." Once a toxic mold is found, Dr. Campbell said getting out is just the first step: Get rid of the clothes that are in that house. Don't go back in and get them. Don't go back and get that furniture, that couch, all the drapes, all those kinds of things. Leave them there." In cleanup, workers wear protective suits, tear out insulation, dry wall, carpets, tile contractors essentially guts the place.

There are only six remediation companies in town. Some say there will 60 by next fall.

Chris Martin represents major insurance companies in Texas on the topic of mold. He claims that too many companies are playing on fear that less than one half of one percent of molds is actually toxic. Martin said, "It is very important to remember that there are more than 22,000 types of mold and fungus that occur naturally in the environment" A humid climate and an increased awareness of mold are creating a crisis for insurance companies in Texas. Martin said, "But there are other clauses in the policy that lead some people to believe that certain types of plumbing leaks or certain types of water damage might be an exception."

Yet, the Brunson family can only look at pictures of their home, knowing they may never be able to go back. The mold in their house came from a questionable construction method. Insurance has denied their claim. So, they sit in a home, blocks away and half the size. While the home they're still paying on sits empty. Brunson said, it's a life choice: When you find out that your house is actually endangering the life of your child, you just have to move you just have to pick up and move."