What I saw in Birmingham flat where silent threat has 'chased out' single mum

The 36-year-old city mum said she and her teen daughter have been 'chased out' and return only to their home to sleep at night

It is the alarmingly common issue that can besiege homes and cause untold misery for everyone living inside. Mould is often described as a "silent threat" due to how it can go undetected for long periods of time.

BirminghamLive reports regularly on the effects of damp and mould on those in city housing, which can produce allergens and health issues as well as practical issues like housing insecurity. So when we were contacted by a single mum saying the mould in her rented home was so bad it had forced her to flee, we wanted to see how it was affecting her everyday life.

The full-time finance worker, 36, moved into the flat in 2015 on the new-build estate in Longbridge., which was constructed in the shadow of the former MG Rover plant. The residential block is modern and sleek looking on the outside, giving nothing away as to the conditions on the inside.

READ MORE: Birmingham mum forced to flee after moving to estate for fresh start says 'we were chased out'

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"It's a hot, humid and damp flat," the city mum, who has asked to remain anonymous due to safety reasons, told us at her kitchen table. "We are using hot buckets of bleach. I can't clean it without spreading it but if you leave it it just feels dirty. My daughter had a lot of time off school last year.

"Because I am on the ground floor the structure of the building itself is not good, you feel like the mould will grow back." The ground floor flat is run by Platform Housing Group, which is one of the largest housing associations in the Midlands.

A Platform Housing spokesperson told BirminghamLive the company was in contact with the mum to try to fix the issue as soon as possible. The property is fitted with extractor fans, but we noticed a lack of ventilation opportunities.

Look through our photo story below to see more pictures from inside the house:

Inside Birmingham house where mould has caused health problems for family

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Visiting on a chilly weekday, the minute we walked into the ground floor home, coats and jackets were off and it felt like we were walking through treacle. There are two windows in the kitchen and in each bedroom and the bathroom, which the tenant keeps open as well as using the fans, but we found dark growths and mould festering in concealed places like skirting boards as well as in corners of the room and on windowsills.

The worst affected room was the bathroom, where mould had got into shampoo bottles, climbed up the shower curtain, which the resident replaces every month. The hot stifling conditions had also caused rust to engulf the bathroom shelving, leaving the exasperated mum at a loss of how to keep things looking presentable.

As a result of the mould getting worse, the desperate mum and daughter have been forced to spend the majority of their time at a family member's flat, returning just to sleep. In damp-infested homes, spores will normally travel through the air and spread quietly throughout the property, which can cause health issues.

The full-time finance worker and parent to a 14-year-old girl told us her normally healthy daughter had a large chunk of time off school last year.

The mum herself has also experienced a number of health issues, including digestive and breathing problems as well as headaches, anxiety and depression. Mould thrives in damp, humid environments and that is exactly the conditions we experienced when we visited.

The resident said she tracks her health issues to the damp and spores in the house: "We went to stay at my mum's and felt instantly better. Apparently other flats on this estate have the same issue." The busy mum explained she moved to the flat for a "fresh start" after living in Birmingham city centre for years but said the situation had left her "depressed."

We have reported extensively on the effects of damp and mould on Birmingham residents living in rented or social housing. Not only can damp cause health issues but it can cause practical problems for families like disruption to jobs and housing insecurity.

You can read on our report into the scandalous reality of life for those facing housing and cost-of-living issues in our child poverty report, here.

BirminghamLive sent pictures and videos from inside the home to Platform Housing. Chief operations officer Marion Duffy said: “We are sorry to hear of our customer’s concerns and we continue to try and contact her. Once we do we will work directly with her to help solve the issues in her home.”