I have been sick for 5 weeks and my baby has been sick for over 1 week. We thought I had a cold and passed it on to Juliana, not realizing our house was infested by mold.
Moisture is dripping from several spots on the ceiling, nourishing large patches of black fungus. Behind my husband’s office door is spot about 1 foot wide by 2 feet high. The wall is so waterlogged that his door no longer closes. Our bedroom only had water spots – but the mold swiftly started growing there too. It is also on the ceiling in the hallway, under the kitchen sink and around every window.
My husband’s parents agreed that the mold was not a health concern. His father said he knows people living in similar conditions and they are fine. His mother said that it was probably just in my head because I desperately want to leave Normandy and move to the south.
While she is correct about moving, it does not explain why the medicine the doctor prescribed a week ago had no affect on our daughter. In fact, she is coughing is more frequently and forcefully now. My family and friends reacted much differently – telling us to get out now. His sister, who is also plagued with allergies, agrees we must get out asap. Her allergies flared up when she came over this past weekend.
My allergies affected me when we moved in this house in June, but I am used that – especially since I am allergic to things like dust, pollen and certain grasses. It started getting worse in September when my eyes became unbearably itchy. I have never had itchy eyes before. This continued until our trip to Florida in November. During our three-week trip to Florida, I was finally feeling healthy. I woke up at 7am with my mother and even did a light run/walk (she wanted to run, I wanted to walk – she kicked my bum). In Normandy, I wake up past 10am (1pm if I am lucky) and am dead before having a cup of coffee.
Also during the trip to Florida, my husband came down with bronchitis. It was strange because he is never sick. He also never had anything like this before. I found out later that he was susceptible to bronchitis because of longterm exposure to mold.
We decided to go to the doctor armed with photographs of the interior of our house. Our doctor said to get out now. He is not 100 percent sure that this is the reason Juliana, or daughter, is sick, as it could be a virus. However, since I am allergic to mold, there is a good chance she is as well. He prescribed a breathing tub to administer her medicine from an inhaler to help her breathe.
Over a week ago, we showed the landlord the mold throughout the house – before we were thinking it was affecting our health. He said it was nothing and it happens every year. My husband went back to him after figuring out it is affecting our health and the landlord said that we could leave if we want since he cannot afford to fix the problem. Later, he told my husband that he is installing a mechanical ventilation system. I would consider staying but he still says he is not going to clean the mold.
This house is a gite and is normally only rented out on a short-term basis. I have a feeling that he will clean the mold on the surface so that it is not noticeable and continue renting it out with this problem. The ventilation system will ensure that new mold does not pop out, so the problem will be well hidden. My husband’s uncle has the same system and said that it will take at least a month for it to make a noticeable difference and it will not dry out the interior part of the wall or get rid of the mold – professionals need to do this. The ventilation system should have been installed before there was a problem, like in his house, not after there is a problem.
I am sure there is some action we could take against this landlord since he knew about this problem and let us live here – especially knowing a pregnant woman was moving in. We do not want to pay to stay in a hotel and hope that it gets reimbursed later by winning a court battle against this guy. It is just easier to stay at his mom’s for a couple weeks and then move to a new house. Even though, he is threatening to withhold 50 euros of our deposit because he claims there is a little tear in his wallpaper somewhere. We will give him our medical bills from living here that are not reimbursable if he wants to play that game!
We were planning to move to Provence on May 1st, so it now looks like the date has been pushed up to February 1st. While it is sad that we will be leaving his family sooner rather than later, I am excited about starting this new adventure soon. I am also relieved to know that soon my daughter and I will be able to breathe regularly again.
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Michelle says
Poor you and poor baby girl 🙁
Your family and doctor are right, you should move as quickly as possible, you can never know what will be the long-term consequences of such bad air on your baby’s breathing !
Hope you both get better very soon (:
French Mamma says
I wish we would have realized this sooner. I hate seeing my little girl like this. Thank You!
Shirley MORGAN says
I have the same problem now with my French landlady, I live in the Sarthe, near Le Mans, my breathing is badly affected, I keep having reflux because of coughing! I am 68 and have an autoimmune condition, Hashimotos, , as well as Primary Biliary Cirrhosis. I was ok when I moved to this house in March 2014.
It was all newly decorated when I viewed it! I could see some problems with damp wooden window frames in s small extension and tiny bits of black on the newly painted artex walls in a small extension. My land,day also had a ventilator installed, a small electric one suitable for a bathroom. It was installed low down on the wall – not high up as the installation instructions show it should be. The mold has returned badly over the months especially with all the rain we have had!
Ceiling above the fron door that was a pristine white when I moved here, now has evidence of water staining from rain ingress under the eaves. Same with a small white plastic ventilator grill in ceiling of upstairs toilet, the grill has dislodged. It is an older cottage 60+ yrs that has been badly renovated! There is a bulge in the roof under the slate tiles! In the recent high winds and rain,,2 tiles slipped – the roofer who came told me there is a lot of condensation in the roof space under the tiles!
The landlady has been told about the bad conditions here many times – the kitchen wall paper started peeling open at the joints within a few weeks of my arrival. Same with paper under the Windows in the sejour/cuisine and mould can be seen. I paid the Huissier to make a Constat.,he agrees the accommodation is not suit suitable for habitation. The landlady refused to meet with the Huissier saying she does not have time! She has not complied with his demand she responds to the Constat within 15 days of receipt, with proposals for remedial works on the damp and mold to be commenced within 3 months.
I am fortunate I have an English Social Worker who works for the Department. She has made an appointment and will come with me to see an Avocat who I hope speaks English also – and asked for a date to be reserved for a Tribunal on 29 March! I am gathering evidence in English from English and American websites, because my French is not fluent but have just seen your post about your experience.
It’s evidence in French I need about the effects on health and respiratory problems from mold and damp conditions. If I can supply this in French, it should help with my case against my landlady. It is not only mold, but other things, like no proper insulation on the walls underneath wall paper. I hope you don’t mind if I ask if you have any written or online website information you still have, that will help me when you did your research? Yes I have my health records and now want the doctor to get me tested for Mycotoxins! I don’t have a lot of money in the bank, but sufficient to get me to the Tribunal I hope.
One thing I have discovered in my research is that mo,d permeates clothing and all fabrics – so of course my furnishings and clothes are affected. I sleep and live downstairs and with my other problems have not been in a position to arrange another move. My contract has 13 months to go to end of the 3 years. I am determined that I am going to hold her my Landlady liable – but being aware of how slowly administrative things work in France – I am some what late trying to amass evidence in Frnch that will hold up in Court. I know I have the Constat – my Soc .worker has even emailed a copy of it to the Legal head of the DDT here in Sarthe – unfortunately her attitude is yes, it’s bad but NOT insalubrious! So I hope you understand why I now contact you. February 2015!
Diane says
Mold is a very frequent problem in the western part of france. i’ve been living in Brittany for 5 yrs and moved out a lot because of that problem. Whatever the landlord says, it does affect your health. I have asthma and believe me it only got worse with the mold. The problem is you cannot avoid it unless you live in a very modern house with a nice ventilation/heating system, which is rare in that part of France housing beeing super old…I moved to Alsace last summer where the climate is more dry and there is no mold problem here.
My landlors always hid the mold with painting and said it was my fault i didnt ventilate enough when in fact the ventilation system in the buidling was out of service causing me serious health issues. it is only when I threatened to sue them that they agreed on fixing the ventilation but it didnt change a lot.
I don’t wanna be pessimistic but I don’t see any issue to this apart moving out. especially if you develop allergies and your baby is exposed to that shes more likely to develop allergies and more serious issues like asthma later on.
Good Luck with that!
ps. Im french and I am doing the reverse of you in March, marrying an american and moving to California, so Ill probably have a lot of questions about the having a baby in the US issue when that happens! haha
French Mamma says
It is great to know I am not the only one around here sensitive to mold. We were debating to find another place to rent nearby until April, but my doctor said that I will most likely have the same problem. He suggested that we go ahead and move to the south. It was funny, my husband asked him if I paid him off (since I have been wanting to leave since the day we arrived, hahaha). Congrats on your upcoming wedding! Keep me updated 🙂
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/ I am impressed with the effort you have so obviously put into this content. I am also impressed with your point of view on this topic, especially since you have made your points so clear.
chickster says
Diane, I used to live in California (Monterey area and San Diego) and might be able to help if you have any questions.
Diane says
Thank you chickster for your kind word, it is always nice to get some tips from people who have lived there! Ill keep you updated, right now Im wondering how in the world im gonna deal with the US immigration and my adjustment of status for the greencard..argh! so much paperwork coming up!! But i can’t wait to be back in the bay area i love it so much over there!
French mama im sure you ll be better in provence, I love Brittany and Normandy but that mold problem is really such an issue.. Provence is sunny, dry, calm..and you can really enjoy the nature out there! Its a great place to raise children!
Shirley MORGAN says
Landlords and landladies should NOT in this day and age be allowed to cause health problems with their tenants. It is not good enough to say – it happens! We live in the 21st Century now not the 15th! I am English and feel I am being discriminated against – my Landlad? chased me down after I advertised in le Bon Coin for a 2 bed house with small garden or terrace. It was manna from heaven to her that I was English. That I may be but I am not stupid – I didn’t realise she had decorated over a load of problems thT would take weeks and months to manifest again. I have quite a lot of knowledge from when I was living and working in the UK about house conditions and how easy it is to rectify them before they get too bad. Unfortunately for me this house and my health both have.
chickster says
Black mold is no joke and I’m glad you’re getting yourself and your family out of there as fast as possible! I’m sure you’ll find loads of other expats and Americans in Provence, because if they don’t move to Paris they move to the south of France. Hopefully that will help fill some of the void of being far from family.
Sara says
I was googling this issue and this was the first thing to pop up. I’m an American married to a French man and I’m a mom of two under two living on the Côte d’Azur. The mold in my apartment is spreading. My husband says its normal for this area and its no big deal And he won’t bring it up to the agency we are renting from because he thinks they will blame it on us for supposedly not ventilating the apartment. When I brought it up to his mother she said just clean it with bleach. I don’t know why they think that solves the problem when it grows back within 2 weeks!
Anyway, my 2 month baby has been coughing a little and my toddler keeps holding her eyes as if she has headaches. I’m trying to convince my husband to move to a town further inland as opposed to living in an apartment 10 minutes from the sea where it is super humid.
My question for you is did you take your furniture with you? If I can convince my husband to move I’m scared I’d be dragging along the mold if we were to take the furniture.
As I am writing this I noticed the date on the article… I understand if you don’t reply. haha
Shirley MORGAN says
I open windows and back door every day I can, as long as it’s not raining – of course that is what makes damp ingress into the house worse. There is no internal ventilation system in the house, wooden window frames – metal shutters! Yes it’s winter so it lets the heat out I have to spend my days and nights here, have worse health problems – so have spent a fortune on heating fuel. Most of the other houses in the village all have new plastic double glazing units and wind down or eclectic shutters. At night I even sleep with window open a little I front of the closed metal shutter, but of course a lot of heT still goes out and cold comes in.
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