Michael Rubino describes meeting a woman after Hurricane Sandy who developed severe joint pain she attributed to mold and bacteria in her home. Lab tests confirmed elevated levels, and her story illustrates how water damage can create hidden health hazards that require proper testing and remediation.
Chapters
first woman's house that I walked in, I'll never really forget this story. It was a woman, probably about 65, reminded me a lot of my grandmother at the time. At the time I was in my, you know, early to mid-20s. And as I sit at the kitchen counter, I noticed she had a walker, I noticed she had a cane. And, you know, she just started kind of telling me about all these things she's experiencing, particularly joint pain, which was something that she really never had experienced before Hurricane Sandy happened. She swore to me it was the house. This was the first time for me that this thought ever crossed my mind. Our homes can make us sick. What do you mean by that? She gave me two reports. One was a laboratory report showing levels of mold and bacteria in her home at that time, and the other was a report of a, you know, big box chain company that had supposedly remediated her house, and it was the actual scope of work.