The problems at a Mills Street residence began with headaches. They were soon followed by sore throats and itchy eyes. Then one of its inhabitants began getting persistent nosebleeds.
The source, it turned out, was an uninvited houseguest: mold.
The mold emitted a distinct musty smell, and was visible in the grout of the kitchen and bathroom, around the edge of the bathroom ceiling, and oozing charcoal-gray patches all over the basement walls. Clothes left in the washer or dryer for several hours became moldy. The mold invaded the bathroom cabinet in such a fierce way that much of the metal framework corroded. If the basement door was left open, people on the second floor were disturbed by the smell.
But it took a visit from a building inspector to coerce the landlord into action.
""We called the landlord and requested that they fix the problem,"" said one of the affected inhabitants, who asked to remain anonymous. ""They basically did nothing in the house for weeks.""
""Mold spores are everywhere,"" Andrea Gargas, UW-Madison professor of botany, said. ""They need a food source, and most importantly, moisture, to grow.""
Gargas explained mold is ever-present in human dwellings, and not all molds are harmful. Some people do experience allergic reactions to mold, with the Mills Street household falling somewhere in the middle of the spectrum of severity. But dangerous molds, like the Stachybotrys mold that emits toxins that damage blood vessels in the lungs, are not as common in homes.
Moisture is the key. After killing it with bleach, the only sure-fire way to stop mold from returning is to keep the area dry. Older homes are often less insulated and therefore more drafty, which initially seems to make them a less likely candidate for mold. Yet often older homes are more prone to leaks, and once water is inside the walls and ceilings, it is very hard to dry out. New homes, while more effectively sealed and insulated, also often have better ventilation as housing code requirements now require it for health reasons.
Tom Atwood, a Madison building inspector, said that the Madison housing code requires bathrooms to have ventilation that forces the moist air outside. But, he clarified, some homes built approximately 15 years ago were constructed during a time period when using re-circulated air was allowed, which only spreads bathroom moisture around, rather than expelling it from the house. Similarly, in some cases a window in the bathroom is considered adequate ventilation, which leaves the homeowner at a loss for the cold winter months.
Cristina Urch, a UW-Madison fifth year student, lives in just such a home.
While her house meets the building code, it does not have adequate ventilation. In her bathroom there is a window in the shower, which is the sole source of ventilation.
Urch, whose bathroom walls and ceiling are continually growing mold despite vigorous scrubbing with bleach, said she did not bother to contact her landlord because she ""felt defeated—there isn't much they would do about it.""
In a previous apartment her landlord had informed her it was her responsibility to clean the mold.
Mold problems in homes are becoming such a nightmare that many insurance policies now include a ""mold disclaimer,"" allowing them to avoid footing the bill for any mold-related home issues. Lawyers that specialize in ""toxic mold litigation"" have appeared in cities around
the country.
For the Mills Street household, the mold problem was not properly managed until they called a building inspector regarding another issue with the home. During her visit the building inspector noted code violations and set a strict deadline of two weeks for the mold problem in the main living space to be addressed. The student renters are filing for rent abatement to force the landlord to take some money off the rent as it is his responsibility to fix deficiencies in the allowable timeframe.
The mold in the bathroom was ultimately removed by a professional cleaning company. ""I tried to kill [the mold] with bleach, but it persisted,"" the resident said. ""It was not until the basement was improved that our physical symptoms abated.""
