Mold destroys man's house - and health

ORLANDO, Fla. --

When he moved into his lakefront dream house, Ronald Brooke was hale and hearty. One year later, he was a sick man.

"My castle ended up being a house of horrors," said Brooke, 65, founder of Brooke Enterprises, a money-management company in Orlando, Fla.

He bought the two-story house near the University of Central Florida for $245,000 in June 1997. His nightmare experience began that December, when storm water cascaded through the roof into the family room. Soon afterward, leaks were found in the upstairs shower, around several windows and behind the front and rear gutters. Brooke had the roof repaired and the rotted windowsills replaced. But a fertile breeding ground for mold had been created in the damp, dark spaces behind the walls.

Several months later, Brooke started having trouble breathing and concentrating. "I was writing a letter one time and couldn't remember how to spell why - W-H-Y," he said.

In the summer of 1999, he had two episodes of vertigo and often could not walk unassisted. His doctors blamed stress. His friends urged him to build a pool, lie out in the sun and relax.

Before starting pool construction, he decided to remodel the back porch. The pillars, he discovered, were riddled with rot, so he had the whole house inspected. Extensive water and termite damage was found, but the inspector's report made no mention of mold.

His health problems persisted. During the next three years, he worked mostly from his home office, doing a little woodworking in his garage when he felt up to it. In 2003 a pulmonary specialist determined mold was causing most of his ailments.

"The doctor told me to move; my house was killing me," he said.

Another inspection discovered moderate levels of mold throughout the house. Ironically, the concentration was highest in the two places Brooke spent most of his time: his office and his garage.

That summer, the house was condemned. To demolish the structure and rebuild would be prohibitively expensive, Brooke learned. Instead, he plans to tear out everything but the concrete slab and wood frame. The new walls will be built of closed-cell foam, which will encapsulate any remaining mold on the timbers. The new air-conditioning equipment will include an electronic air-filtration system to remove mold from the air.

After he moved out of the house, Brooke's health slowly improved, although his lungs remain congested and he suffers occasional memory lapses.

"At age 50, I was hunting in Alaska, chasing mountain sheep and goats across really rough terrain. I was a hot-shot businessman," he said. "But since age 54, I haven't been able to draw a clear breath or walk a straight line. I will never be truly healthy again - and the main reason is mold."

What is mold?

Mold is a fungus. It reproduces through tiny spores, which can remain suspended in the air for a long time.

When inhaled, the spores can trigger a variety of respiratory-health problems.

When conditions in a home are warm, damp and still, the spores settle and start to grow.

The mold dissolves and ingests organic matter such as fiberboard, drywall, carpet backing, paper, wood and cloth. On exposed surfaces, mold may be seen or smelled, but often it is hidden and difficult to detect. Once entrenched, mold is a challenge to eliminate.

Health problems

About 15 million Americans are allergic to mold. The most common reactions are flulike symptoms and asthma.

Those with chronic lung or immune problems are at risk for more serious reactions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Although indoor mold is not a major health hazard to most people, it can cause irritation of eyes, skin and throat, said Vincent Hsu, an infectious-disease specialist at Florida Hospital in Orlando. Reactions will be more severe in asthma sufferers and people with a sensitivity to mold.

There are no specific tests to determine whether an ailment is mold-induced, he said. If symptoms are aggravated when you're around mold, but diminish when you're not, then mold is the likely cause.

Cleanup

Eliminating a sizable mold infestation is a job for professionals. Ordinary household cleaners will not solve the problem. Using a fan to dry the mold will simply spread the spores, said Maureen Shoren, a certified mold remediator with Advanced Restoration & Design in Orlando, Fla.

The cleanup process includes the following steps, she said:

Remediation experts wearing protective suits and masks erect containment barriers made from sheets of plastic around the contaminated area to prevent the spores from spreading.

Baseboards and drywall are removed to check for the source of leaks.

Contaminated material is cut out, bagged inside the containment section, then removed and destroyed.

The area is treated with an antimicrobial product, then dried and sealed with Zinsser mold- and mildew-proof sealant.

To remove airborne spores, an air-scrubber machine with three different HEPA filters is operated in the space for three days.

A mold-clearance test is conducted 24 hours after the air scrubber is removed. To pass the test, levels of mold inside the decontaminated room must be lower than in outside-air samples.

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