Family's mould nightmare: 'I'm scared I will wake up and he won't be breathing' (From Borehamwood Times)
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Borehamwood mum believes asthma and respiratory tract infections due to mouldy flat
10:42am Wednesday 24th October 2012 in News By Anna Slater
Miss Lankston, pictured with Terry, Alice and Annie, ventilates her bedroom daily
Mouldy walls and damp ceilings have left a ten-month-old baby with severe breathing troubles, his mum has claimed.
Chelsie Lankston, of Thirsk Road, Borehamwood, said Terry is plagued with constant respiratory tract infections and has just been diagnosed with asthma.
The 24-year-old, who first spotted the mould in her house when she moved in four years ago, said the doctors “cannot rule out” the possibility that bad living conditions are to blame.
The mum-of-three and her boyfriend, Daniel Mason, have asked their housing association, Affinity Sutton, to treat the mould - but despite following advice to ventilate the rooms, the problem has not gone away.
She said: “I am scared I will wake up one day and he will not be breathing. It terrifies me. I can rarely sleep because I am worried about him. It feels like the housing association is waiting for him to end up in hospital before they do anything.
“All they did was tell us what temperature to keep the room and to ventilate it - we have been doing that. They put a vent up too, which broke.
“The mould is everywhere – on our walls, mattress and cupboards. Curtains and bed sheets regularly go mouldy so we have to replace them. It is so disgusting. I am very house-proud and cannot stand dirt or mess so I clean the mould weekly, but it keeps coming back. I am exhausted.
“It is driving me crazy and I am at the end of my tether. It really is a living nightmare.”
Miss Lankston and her boyfriend were devastated when they found the mould had also ruined four-year-old Annie and six-year-old Alice's teddy bears and baby clothes.
After the couple found a rat in their double bed last year, they spent a few months sleeping on the floor in their living room.
They are now forced to empty their bedroom daily in an attempt to try and avoid the mould from returning, but say nothing is working.
Mr Mason, who works as a truck driver, added: “When we moved in here four years ago, I was diagnosed with asthma.
“I have since had problems with dry eyes. They are red and raw and feel like there is grit in them. The eye hospital said it is probably due to the mould.
“We really want the housing association to clear it before it gets worse.”
The Borehamwood Times is awaiting comment from Affinity Sutton.
mr.taxpayer says...
11:01am Wed 24 Oct 12
We got the usual 'open the windows' advice from Ridgehill which to be fair only helps to stop mold growing in the first place but does nothing once it's there.
What we ended up doing was buying a dehumidifier from Argos (we got the £150 delongi one) and running it in each room of the house overnight for about a week each room. - We managed to colelct about 2 or 3 litres a night, and eventually the mold went after bleaching all the walls.
Since then we've had no more problems, but I wouldn't expect Affinity sutton to do anything to quickly, they're about as much use as a chocolate teapot.