A young pregnant Thurso mum with asthma and a disabled daughter is pleading with her social housing provider to sort out the chronic dampness in her flat.
Nicole Gunn (22) is a single-parent living with her two-year-old daughter Amelia at her Cairn Housing Association (CHA) flat on Janet Street.
She says she is at her wit’s end with the property provider to get the worsening damp mould issue sorted.
Nicole Gunn is a single parent mum and has a disabled daughter called Amelia. Nicole has pleaded with her housing provider to sort out the damp issues at her flat in Thurso. Picture: DGSNicole’s daughter Amelia is aged two and registered as disabled. She recently had a seizure. Picture: DGS
“Since the mould’s got worse, I’ve had to go back to the doctor to get a review and get more inhalers,” said Nicole.
“I’ve been here just over four years but it’s got really bad over the last few months with the cold weather and the mould seems to be growing. Cairn Housing came to look at it last month and didn’t say much about it. I’ve been trying to redecorate the bedroom but there’s not much point as the mould will wreck it.”
Nicole thinks the dampness and mould have affected her disabled daughter, Amelia. Picture: DGSThe pregnant mum shows the asthma medication she uses. She says her condition has worsened recently due to the damp issue. Picture: DGS
Nicole pointed out how her daughter Amelia is registered as disabled and wears special implants as she is profoundly deaf. “About a month-and-a-half ago she had a seizure but they don’t really know what caused it. She was unconscious for over an hour,” added the distraught mum.
She says that the housing provider paid visits to try and fix the ongoing issues but the mould would eventually reappear after a few months. “They basically said it was my fault for not ventilating and heating the place properly. My heaters are on all day and night and the windows are open for half-an-hour every day which I’ve been told to do.”
When the John O’Groat Journal visited, the flat was very warm and it appeared that measures had been taken by the young mum to combat the mould.
A damp area in the bedroom corner. The house was warm and appeared well ventilated when we visited. Picture: DGSNicole uses a light on her smartphone to help show the water trickling down the stairway wall. Picture: DGS
Nicole showed an area on the stairway leading to her flat where water could be seen dripping down a large expanse of the wall. She shared a picture on her phone of a friend holding a specialist moisture meter against the wall with a 58 per cent reading on the display – a reading of more than 20-24 per cent in plaster indicates the likelihood of some free water and anything over 27 per cent is considered high and needing immediate treatment.
A friend tested the wall on the stairwell with a specialist meter and came back with a reading of 58 which is considered very high for moisture content. The general rule is that any moisture reading over 16 per cent is considered damp and needs attention. Picture: DGS
“I’m pregnant and asthmatic, have a daughter with additional needs and been told it’s basically my problem and I need to sort it out. I’ve been told by some amount of people that have problems with Cairn Housing and mould. But it’s just getting to the point where I’m sick of having it and it’s getting worse and will continue to get worse if nothing is done.
“When my daughter burnt her hand on the heater they admitted fault and were quick to sort the problem then.”
Nicole said the smoke alarm on the stairway was “going off for an hour straight” and then intermittently. She called CHA and an electrician came out and told her the dampness was affecting it so he moved the alarm to the top of the stairs.
“He said it’s dangerous and the dampness needs sorted but he’s gonna do a report and try get them to sort the dampness as it’s not good for the electrics.”
Moisture and damp mould can be clearly seen on the ceiling. The smoke alarm has now been moved as it was going off due to the dampness. Picture: DGS
Matthew Reiss, councillor for Thurso and Northwest Caithness, knew about the issue and said: “I have tried to assist Nicole by speaking with the maintenance officer from Cairn, who was very helpful. Hopefully, a solution can be found for her.”
The housing provider was contacted and a CHA spokesperson said: “Cairn takes reports of damp, mould, and condensation very seriously.
“Our housing and maintenance teams have been in regular contact with Ms Gunn over several weeks to offer practical advice and support as well as investigate the cause of the issues she’s experiencing. This contact will continue with a joint visit from our housing and maintenance managers.
Nicole Gunn at the stairway leading to her flat. Water can be seen dripping down the wall on the left. Picture: DGSNicole Gunn and her daughter Amelia in their Cairn Housing Association flat in Thurso. Picture: DGS
“Given there are young children in the household, we are investigating a move to alternative accommodation while the property is fully assessed.
“Along with our energy advice partner, Changeworks, our in-house benefits advice service has been referred to Ms Gunn, to ensure that she is receiving the financial support she is entitled to.
“At Cairn, we are committed to maintaining safe, warm, healthy homes for all of our tenants, and we encourage anyone with concerns about damp, mould, or condensation to get in touch so that we can help.”
Nicole has seen positive moves after we contacted CHA and within a couple of days, the social housing provider had put the wheels in motion to find a solution to the issue.
Mouldy patches on the ceiling. Picture: DGSDamp mould beside a radiator in the bedroom. Picture: DGS
The young mum was given a dehumidifier and she says that a builder is coming out to check the roof. “No one has mentioned anything about moving me somewhere while they do something.
“They have been pretty good since the fire alarms have gone off, given me £30 for my electric, given me a dehumidifier, put in two things for ventilation for the stairs and they’re putting a new heater in tomorrow in the stairs.”
When asked if she felt the newspaper had helped with the longstanding issues, Nicole replied, “100 per cent”.
Nicole said she was glad she contacted the paper about the issue. Picture; DGS
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