Getting mold out of a Broken Arrow home

Mold spores are in the air continually, both inside and out. When mold spores land on a damp spot inside the house they begin to grow. <br/><br/>Undetected mold can grow into a damaging and expensive

Tuesday, June 22nd 2004, 10:26 am

By: News On 6

Mold spores are in the air continually, both inside and out. When mold spores land on a damp spot inside the house they begin to grow.

Undetected mold can grow into a damaging and expensive problem. News on 6 reporter Rick Wells visited a Broken Arrow couple who knows that first hand. Roseanne Sanchez has an unwanted house guest who's moved into her new home in the Eagle Creek Addition in Wagoner County. It's mold.

She and her husband have lived here just four weeks; it was just the place to start their family. But so much mold in a relatively new home caught them by surprise. "This is not what I'd expect from a home built five years ago by Meadow Homes."

Unexpected perhaps but there it is and the guy they hired to get rid of it. Ted Newville with NuCon Services says mold like this is caused by moisture. "The water coming in, it's weeping in through the bricks and mortar." He says there's no moisture barrier under those bricks so moisture can get in and mold grows wherever there's moisture. "This will all come out. Anything mold is on will come out."

They'll build a containment area around the contaminated walls; they will work inside the containment area to eradicate the mold. The Sanchez's hope this is the end and not the beginning. "That is the thought that is so terrifying, that maybe this whole first floor would have to be re-built from the outside in."

It's not like they didn't look, they had all the usual inspections. Later they noticed some discoloration in the wall paper, it was mold underneath. They contacted the builder, hoping he would take a look. He declined, said he wanted their concerns in writing, which they provided.

They've got their first child due in a couple of weeks, so they hired a mold remediator. Next time she says. â€œI'll also get a mold inspection." Good advice apparently.

The News on 6 contacted the builder; he said the Sanchez's are the third owners of this home in five years. He said the mold could result from poor home maintenance by the previous owners.

The repairs will cost in excess of $3,000 and will take about a week.