Hidden mold may be making you sick


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PROVO — How would you like to live in a place with mold growing on the floors and walls? Some couples in Provo lived with it for months, without knowing it, and it made them sick. So they called the KSL Investigators, not to inspect the mold, but to find out if the apartment owners were keeping it a secret.

It has to be one of the "least fun" things to do in life. Packing, lifting, squeezing, hauling...up and down three flights of stairs. But less than two months after moving in, newlyweds Brian and Carissa Barzee moved out.

They say green, black, and brown mold was growing throughout their apartment — in the carpet, around the windows and underneath the air conditioning unit. And as bad as it may look, the Barzees say what it has been doing to their health is much, much worse.

"There were points when I really thought I was going to die," said Carissa Barzee. "Two times where I felt like I was suffocating."

The Barzees complained of symptoms often associated with the common cold or allergies, like runny nose, congestion, shortness of breath, headaches and fatigue. It turns out the Barzees weren't the only ones suffering. After posting their problem on Facebook, it appears the tiny spores were wreaking havoc with others in the same Provo apartment complex.

Three other couples showed KSL Investigators the exact same issues — condensation on window panes, mold growing around windows and under air conditioning units, and sponginess in the walls.

The other couples were also dealing with similar health problems, not to mention missed work, medical bills and for one couple still in school, their future was put on bed rest.

"He failed an entire semester because he was so sick," said Erika McDonald, referring to her husband.

So all of these couples did the obvious thing and went to apartment management, and that's when things got tricky.

Dave and Shelley Freeman are the owners of Cambridge Court. They say in the case of the Barzees, they had no idea it was infested with mold.

"We didn't know about it until they told us," said Dave Freeman.

The owners put the Barzees up in a hotel for one night, disinfected the apartment and considered the problem solved. But as soon as the Barzees stepped back inside, the symptoms started showing up again.

"That's something that humans are not meant to breathe in," said Brian Barzee.


There were points when I really thought I was going to die.Two times where I felt like I was suffocating,

–Carissa Barzee, victim of dangerous mold growth


So, both parties got the apartment tested for things like cladosporium, aspergillosis, penicillium and smuts. The result was this, thousands of mold spores per cubic meter inside that apartment, with some of the highest numbers showing stachybotrys, also known as black mold. It sounds bad and at least one scientist says it's certainly not good.

"When we see hundreds in the air, per cubic meter of air, it's a problem," said Gene Cole.

Cole is an environmental health sciences professor at BYU and said stachybotrys can be the cause of respiratory and neurological problems. He did an assessment of the Barzee's apartment and found the air conditioning unit, windows and carpet were all likely sources of contamination.

"There's a problem and it may not be just in that one area where a photo was able to be taken, but again, it could be in hidden areas," said Cole.

If that is the case, clean-up would not be cheap. It would involve replacing walls, windows, carpet and anything contaminated with mold. And from the looks of it, there's not just one contaminated apartment.

The owners told KSL "there are a hundred other reasons why they (the Barzees) could have been sick," and that they believe the mold problem is being made into a bigger issue than it actually is.

The owners say they've had what they call "mildew problems" since the apartments were built in the early 90s. The bathroom ventilation fans don't work so they installed ventilation systems in the kitchen to help rid the apartments of moisture. The owners say before anyone commits to living at Cambridge Court, they are clearly warned that mold could be a problem.

"We've told them that this is a potential issue before they even sign the lease." said Shelley Freeman.

"It's part of the tour of the property," Dave Freeman told KSL.

But all four couples with moldy apartments say that's not the case, claiming the first time they ever heard of potential issues was from a small card, in the apartment packet, after they moved in. The card makes it clear that renters are responsible to "open windows and run the exhaust fan" for at least an hour a day, when they shower, wash dishes or boil water. But even when that is done, residents say the mold is still showing up.

Newlyweds, Brian and Carissa Barzee had to wear health masks around their apartment after getting sick. The Barzees complained of symptoms often associated with the common cold or allergies, like runny nose, congestion, shortness of breath, headaches and fatigue. (KSL TV).
Newlyweds, Brian and Carissa Barzee had to wear health masks around their apartment after getting sick. The Barzees complained of symptoms often associated with the common cold or allergies, like runny nose, congestion, shortness of breath, headaches and fatigue. (KSL TV).

"That shouldn't be too much to ask for," said McDonald. "Healthy, safe living conditions should be a given, not a request, not a luxury."

KSL Investigators dug [into Utah housing law](<http://jobs.utah.gov/housing/wap/documents/Attachment06-UtahFitPremisesActlandlordresponsibilities.pdf >) where it does show the apartment owner is the one responsible for the health and safety of the renter, stating the home needs to be safe, sanitary and fit for human occupancy.

The renters KSL spoke with say there is nothing safe or sanitary about the fuzzy growth in their apartments. However, health experts say a high mold count inside of a tiny apartment doesn't necessarily scream danger.

"Those numbers are really difficult to interpret because there's been no federal standard or really any kind of standard set as far as what's a safe level of mold spores and what's an unsafe level of mold spores," said Sam Marsden with the Utah County Health Department.

With no specific standards in place, legally, mold growing inside a home or apartment may be considered perfectly fine.

And while Cambridge Court owners are adamant that the safety of their residents and condition of their apartments are important, the Barzees are equally adamant that they spent the first two months of their married lives living in a giant petri dish.

"That's what we've been breathing," said Brian Barzee. "That's what we've been sleeping in. That's what made us sick. Who know if there's long-term effects associated with that."

The Barzees are now in a financial dispute with Cambridge Court, partially over renting a place they say made them sick. All the residents KSL spoke with have either moved apartments or moved out of the complex altogether.

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