Belfast mum and daughter sleeping on blow up mattress in living room due to mould issue
A mum and daughter in Belfast have been forced to sleep on a blow up mattress in their living room due to extensive mould in their home.
Arlene Hickey, from the North of the city, said she's at her wit's end after dealing with the ongoing issue for over a year. It began with a leak in her bathroom, where a gap in the tiles around her bath led to water going into the walls and ceiling.
Over time, this has led to mould forming in areas of the home, such as Arlene's bedroom which shares a wall with the bathroom. It has resulted in white mould forming on the carpets and floorboards, with the family attending hospital numerous times in the past few months for respiratory issues.
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A number of contractors, when visiting the home on previous attempts to fix the issue, said the bathroom would need to be replaced and the walls repaired to get to the root of the issue.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Arlene said: "It started off in my bathroom where the ceiling is. It started coming away and the water was going down the side of it when we were getting a shower.
"A contractor who came out said between the tiles and bath there's such a huge gap they had to use three bottles of sealant, and we'd need more or less the bath pulled out to get the walls repaired.
"The ceiling came away again and now it's going into the bath down the side and because my bedroom wall is against the bathroom wall, it's now got into my bedroom to the floorboards, to the carpet. The carpet has this white fur on it now with the mould.
"There's mould on the walls too, the exterior wall, because I live in the end house. It's not just happening in the bathroom."
Arlene said she believes the mould issue is now causing health issues for herself and her children. It's impacting other areas too, as the mould issue in the bedroom means she has to sleep downstairs on a blow up bed with her daughter.
"Three or four times in the past four or five months myself and my daughter have went to hospital with respiratory problems. My chest is now inflamed and doctors told me it's just one of those things I'm going to have to deal with. But I definitely think it's down to breathing all that in," Arlene said.
"It's just one thing after the other, you can't be living like that. My daughter and I are in the living room sleeping on a blow up bed. It's giving me anxiety every night, blowing the bed up, getting into it, taking it back down, then going about your daily business.
"My son's rooms aren't affected so they're able to stay in their own bedrooms. But I've had to close my bedroom door and lock it because I don't know what's coming out of the room, you don't want to take any risks.
"It's really getting to me. I'm in the depths of depression every time I walk in, because the bedroom is sitting there that I can't use. So basically three of my kids are restricted to one room at the minute, it's a nightmare."
When contractors have called out on previous occasions, Arlene said the issue was just given a temporary fix. She said her family need this issue to be resolved once and for all.
She explained: "They said someone will be able to fix a leak on Wednesday - but it's not a leak they're coming to fix. This is going to be a cowboy situation where they're going to come in, put a bit of plaster over, and hope for the best.
"When I ask for someone to come out, they say they will, but nobody ever comes out. But if I owe them 20p, they'd stalk the life out of me, you know?
"A contractor came out to inspect it last week and he said he was horrified. He said we need a new bathroom put in, and the floors need to be pulled up. But then he went off and I've heard nothing back."
A spokesperson for the North Belfast Housing Association, who manage the property, said: "The last recorded report from the tenant relating to dampness was in March 2023 and a series of remedial works were undertaken. Since then we have received only one repair request relating to a gas boiler defect until the tenant contacted the association on the 29th March to report dampness in the property.
"Our maintenance officer visited the property on the 29th March and during the inspection it was evident that the seal around the bath had broken down for some time. Water was getting in behind the bath over a prolonged period causing extensive dampness and damage to the floor, stud wall and adjoining bedroom. The carpet and floor in the adjoining bedroom were also damaged due to water penetrating over a prolonged period.
"It was also noted that a high-level bracket for the shower head was not installed by the association. This enables people to stand in the bath and shower which has contributed to the water ingress between the tiles and bath.
"Due to the damage to the floor and stud wall, we plan to remove the bath and tiles. We will also take the opportunity to replace the entire bathroom suite and bathroom flooring.
"We encourage tenants to report defects to the association as early as possible as this will provide an opportunity to address issues before more serious damage is caused. We are committed to working with the tenant to resolve this issue."
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