THAT NIGHT I REVIEWED OUR TESTING REPORT and remediation plan. Wayne and I were extremely concerned with the report.

Not because we had toxic mold, we already knew that.

LESS THAN ONE MONTH AFTER THE RAIN, our insurance adjuster said we needed to evacuate immediately; our house was unsafe for human habitation.

Professional test results revealed that our house was contaminated with toxic mold.

I ASSUMED THE MOLD problem would disappear once the offending shower was gone. The terrible odor would disappear and Wayne and I would be able to concentrate again. Life would return to normal.

But it didn’t.

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.

TWENTY-TWO YEARS AGO TODAY, I knew nothing about toxic mold.

All I knew was that toxic mold was bad.

I thought mold only happened to people who didn’t maintain their homes ─