SPECIAL REPORT, DAY 2: Mold, illness can linger after residence flooding

BY SHARON ROZNIK • THE REPORTER • JUNE 8, 2009

A lingering illness has plagued Carol Burgess.

It started last October with allergy-like symptoms and seemed to get worse as time went on.

A victim of last year's flood, Burgess said she has spent $8,000 so far trying to eliminate an elusive health hazard in her home.

"I could sense something was going on, like the air was different. There was a slight smell, but I couldn't place it," she said.

Mold, visible as a fuzzy growth or discoloration on surfaces, can easily hide away in cracks and crevices. It has a musty, earthy odor, said Fond du Lac County Health Officer Diane Cappozzo, and can hang around as long as there is moisture available.

Even a year after the flood.

The 72-year-old Burgess lives on Russell Street and recalled doing a thorough, post-flood cleaning of her basement after draining the 4 feet of water that had accumulated.

"I had my whole family helping. They came in and bleached everything. We had fans going, and we ripped out the shower in the basement and all the paneling around it," she said.

When a severe cough wouldn't let up, she had the new furnace checked twice, had all of the ductwork in the home professionally cleaned, along with all the furniture and carpeting, and hired another company to administer an air purifier treatment.
"When none of that worked, they told me to go to an allergist. He didn't find anything," Burgess said.

Then she recalled that when her brother in Mount Calvary had water in his basement, he called in an environmental company that specializes in mold remediation.

"This guy came out the end of last year, and he found mold in my attic. He sprayed, and he guaranteed that the mold was all gone, but I didn't get any better," Burgess said.

Her illness became so debilitating that she moved out of her home and in with her daughter for two months. In the meantime, another mold specialist came out, pulled all the insulation out of the attic and sprayed again.

"After all this, I could still sense and smell that something was going on," she said.
One day, Burgess's son was over looking around. He moved some ceiling tile in the basement, and there it was: ugly, black mold that had continued to grow.

Burgess speculates that the moisture was being transferred through the house through a vent in the downstairs bathroom. Once the heat in the house was turned on, it helped the prolific spore reproduce.

Now, more professionals are coming to tear the basement ceiling out and attack the mold with a power washer.

Cappozzo said people sensitive to mold spores may experience wheezing, difficulty breathing, nasal and sinus congestion, burning and watering eyes, dry cough, sore throat, shortness of breath or skin irritation.

"Right now, my son is taking everything movable out of the basement and into the garage. It's been a long ordeal, and I hope to God this is it," Burgess said.

(source article)