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Mold Forces
Eldersburg, Maryland, Family Out Into Streets
by Roosevelt Leftwich
 August
17, 2009. The Koerner's first found mold three years ago and thought it
had been abated. But a few months ago it came back... Forcing them out
into the streets.
It looks like a nice house. But it had a terrible secret inside.
Four months after they moved in four years ago everyone started to get
sick. Mold was growing in the basement.
'Sealed the room off everything got thrown out threw the windows had the
room cleaned we found foundation cracks all kinds of stuff and had to move
out of the home for nine weeks.' Homeowner Julie Koerner says.
So after spending 30 thousand dollars to fix the leaks and cleaning the
house themselves they thought the issues were settled.
Until a few months ago when everyone started to get sick again. The mold
had come back... this time it was all over the house.
The dominant mold was Cladosporium which in high quantities can cause
respiratory problems. The levels in the family's home was more than four
times over the accepted limit.
'The bottom two floors we took them down to bare concrete so my husband
did everything we could to clean it up in the bottom two floors but by the
time we found it in the kitchen or in the upstairs we had to give up.'
Koerner says.
The problems with the house has drained their savings and put them in
horrible debt.
And that has meant the family of six spends it's nights sleeping in the
family van.
They're church is helping them with a hotel but they need more, they need
a home.
'I couldn't get anybody from the health department to come out and either
test the air and find out for sure what was going on do something.'
Koerner says.
Carroll county officials say there is little that they can do.
There are no state guidelines about mold in the home....they can only
require landlords to fix things like leaks.....but it's the home owners
responsibility to take care of problems.
The mold has eaten through the walls, their savings and peace of
mind...stuck with a home that they can't use.
The family is getting some help from their church.
If you would like to help you can contact Saint Joseph Catholic Church in
Eldersburg at (443) 920-9191.
Copyright 2009 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved.
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