Thursday, February 18, 2010

Mold or mildew?

"Water-induced mildew," the overly confident and tall in stature Housing Facilities Manager said to the frumpy housewife mother of six small children. 
"Mold," she said, standing her ground.
"Well," grinned the weasel, "the PR side of me doesn't say mold."

The top picture (so you get an idea of true-size) goes up to about three feet.  That is a ruined wedding dress you see there.  I'm going to get more up-close shots when I find my face mask.
So I ask you my readers, knowing full well you can't see it and smell it in person,

Tomato or Tomahto?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Definitely MOLD. Tomato.

Have they started cleaning it yet??

Nikki said...

They are coming at 1 p.m. Pacific Standard Time to "clean it with bleach, open up the wall, and have a look," and then they'll "proceed from there."

This is my master bedroom closet and wall. I'm horrified that my babies have been sleeping in that room the whole time too breathing in that nastiness. I feel the unquenchable urge to throw EVERYTHING in my closet in the trash.

The Chapman's said...

Hey Nikki, how you doing besides dealing with incompetent facility managers? Here's a little info I pulled from the web:

"Mold often looks fuzzy or slimy, depending on the type. It can also appear in many different colors. On a wall or ceiling, some types of mold may appear to be irregularly shaped spots of black or gray.

Some molds have toxins called mycotoxins that may cause an allergic reaction or other illness in some people. Symptoms of a mold allergy may include headaches, asthma, and coughing. Irritation of the eyes and throat may also occur as a result of breathing mold toxins.

Even though that's basic knowledge, sometimes it helps to get really technical with some people. Hope this gets taken care of quickly for your family's sake!

Lisa said...

Whether it is mold or mildew, it is NOT something anyone would like to live with! I kind of, sort of, a little bit, hope they determine it as mold and say "Oh, you poor, poor things! Let us give you a new big house!" and move you out of there pronto. Knock on wood, right?

Leslie said...

That is so horrid! And how sad that it ruined your wedding dress. Maybe you can try taking it to a specialty cleaners and see if they can help out.

Good luck with the smarmy maintenance people. I'd be so upset.

Melessa Gregg said...

Mold. Definitely. Ugh. I know you don't know me and that you like your privacy, but is there any place I can send a link to this post that might help your argument? I was only an active military spouse for a year and we lived in our own home because we knew it would only be a year-long deployment/activation. So, I don't know the ins and outs of getting things done in the military, BUT I know a lot about the frustrations of a military wife trying to get something done. Just click on my information and let me know if there's anyone or any agency I can complain to on your behalf. I'm sure you've done enough already, I'm just a mom of several children myself, have a baby close to your twins' age, and this is hitting close to home for me.

Lafianza.doula said...

either way it ain't good! I'd be cleaning it with bleach (and I'm SO not a bleach person - I don't even own a bottle) and washing any clothing in that closet.

perhaps, if money allows, you could invest in a air purifier for what room for the time being.

(I hope they allow you to switch houses though!)

Tubbs Family said...

First of all, you are absolutley right: This is can make people sick. You might needs a drs note to get anywhere with housing AND it won't hurt (except your pocketbook) to get an outside expert's report. I bet this is so fustrating!! We hear more and more about mold allergies and induced sicknesses. I hope everything works out for you. If I was there I'd give them a piece of my mind too! Don't give up, you're stronger than them :-)