Couldn’t Sleep in Our Bedrooms

WITHIN TWO DAYS OF THE RAIN, our bathroom smelled terrible ─ like damp socks left in a duffle bag in the trunk of a car all summer.

My husband pulled sheetrock off the side of the shower wall, then discovered black mold. He removed more of the shower wall. The smell didn’t improve. We called our insurance agent for help.

My husband removed the entire shower. The musty smell remained.

We researched mold on the Internet ─ the 2002 Internet. We ordered an ozone generator to hopefully clean the air.

Still unable to breathe in our bedrooms, we moved four twin mattresses to the floor of the living room. We erected a plastic barrier across the bedroom hallway.

Within ten days of the big rain, we couldn’t sleep in our bedrooms.

Within ten days of the big rain, we’d lost one-third of our house to mold.

9-17-2002