Damp flat is causing ill health
September 3, 2010
A Dundee mum claims that due to poor damp proofing, her damp flat is causing ill health to her two-year-old son as a result of mould laden damp patches in her council flat.
Stacey McGinnis, who has lived in the damp flat with husband Christopher for seven years, said her son has been given antibiotics seven times for chest infections and colds and has an inhaler - all due to the damp flat problems in the McLean Street property.
Stacey commented, "On seven occasions he has been given antibiotics to clear chest infections and they have even been trying him on an inhaler. They do not think he is asthmatic but they are trying to get to the bottom of it".
Tiles come off damp flat walls
Stacey went onto say: "all the tiles have fallen off the wall and we are now back to the actual bare bricks. I can't have a shower because the bath is swimming with bits of tiles and grit and has been for 12 weeks, and even the plasterboard has come off. It's just concrete.
"Nothing seems to be getting fixed properly. They have put false walls up but the damp is obviously still behind there. It's just continuous, continuous, all the time."
Good news about damp flat
Thankfully, there seems some light at the end of the tunnel. The good news for Stacey is that hopefully her damp flat will soon be fixed shortly. A council spokesman said, "the leak in the bathroom has now been fixed and a housing officer will discuss the wider damp flat situation with them".
The Rotter's thoughts on the damp flat
Les Meikle, aka The Rotter and managing director of Wise Property Care commented: "damp is by far and away the most frequent problem encountered in homes in Scotland and it saddens me to hear Stacey's son suffering the ill effects of the damp flat.
"It is well documented about the relationship between damp problems and ill health where cold, damp and mouldy conditions in the home can exacerbate or even precipitate various symptoms and illness such as respiratory and cardiovascular disease, asthma, arthritis, etc"
"At Wise Property Care, we would like to offer our help with identifying the source of the problem in the damp flat and we will make efforts to contact Dundee Council and help them solve the damp problem".
Help and advice for damp flat problems
Sometimes it can be difficult to identify the particular damp problem you may have. Often it can be more than one damp problem. For help and advice, check out the damp proofing section on the Wise Property Care website where you can find a breakdown of the different damp problems, some handy property care videos relating to the damp issues, treatment recommendations and some handy tips and advice to help deal with the damp issue.