A disabled pensioner said she’s so grateful to be back home after her mould-ridden home had a £120,000 transformation by volunteers.
Pat, 70, was forced to move out of her Swindon bungalow shortly before Christmas after developing a chronic illness as a consequence of the black mould that covered the walls and furnishings.
The home was cleaned and renovated with help from about 150 locals and over 70 businesses.
“It’s absolutely amazing what they’ve done for me,” she said.
“I’d like to thank them all from the bottom of my heart, and I am so, so grateful to them all.”
Additionally, Pat had an “awful” and “scary” rat infestation in her home.
“I would bang the radiator in the hallway and hope that they would run so I could make a cup of tea,” she said.
“It was black, smelly, and disgusting. You’d have to watch where you walk because there was water leaking.”
She added, “It just got worse and worse and worse.”
Although Janet Reynolds, a 44-year-old friend of Pat’s, had been helping her with weekly shopping, she had not been inside Pat’s home since the outbreak and was oblivious to how awful things had gotten.
Pat finally decided to approach Ms. Reynolds for assistance.
“I was absolutely mortified,” Ms Reynolds said.
“I could not believe anyone was living like that. It was the most shocking thing I’ve ever seen.
“The whole house from top to bottom was covered in thick black mould. I could hardly breathe.
“I was in here for barely thirty seconds, and I had to get out the house because it was unbearable.”
Ms Reynolds told Pat she had to get out of the house because it was not safe and put her up in her own home for two months while a crew of local volunteers and tradespeople moved in.
Ms Reynolds said she worked her day job while looking after Pat and worked on the house until 23:00 or midnight “to try and get the work done”.
“It was very tiring and testing at times, but it was worth it,” she said.
“I couldn’t walk away knowing that someone was living like this.”
She added “the only option” was to help her friend.
The makeover was coordinated by Emerald Damp Specialists’ Brendan O’Neill, project manager, who estimated the project’s value at approximately £120,000.
He remembered receiving the call from Ms Reynolds.
“I came out that evening, and wow. This house was uninhabitable. It was dangerous,” he said.
“She managed to live in this for two years; I couldn’t come in here for 10 minutes.
“It was just mould in the air and mould on everything.”
He said he could smell the mould from outside the house, and “you could see the black spoors in the air” inside.
Mr O’Neill would not let Pat re-enter the house.
His employer gave him permission to work on the house at Pat’s expense.
“We felt like it was something we needed to do,” he said.
According to Mr O’Neill, 154 workers completed the house with help from 70–80 businesses.
“What more could you ask for? There is a community here that will actually do some real good.”
Pat said that walking back in, she felt “excited and nervous.”
“It was mixed emotions. I wanted to come home but was scared as well.”
She said she loves “the beautiful shower” and the “lovely” working central heating.
“Hot water—that was my saddest part of life—no hot water,” she added.
Pat mentioned that she was excited to have her friends around for tea.
“They can call in and see me on their way home from work, which is wonderful. Make my life normal again,” she said.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 