Houston-area residents now worried about mold after having burst pipes due to winter storm

HOUSTON - The lingering effects of the winter storm is now causing people to worry about mold.

Christian Little, who lives in League City with his girlfriend and six kids, are currently juggling life while trying to fix their home.

Little tells FOX 26, new problems are arising daily.

"This isn’t ok. This isn’t livable, we are now starting to have more and more issues," said Little.

Little says that a broken pipe left three inches of water on the floor. There is mold along the wall in the cabinets, but he’s concerned there’s more.

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"I’m assuming there is mold at least three feet up the drywall around the whole house," said Little.

Little told FOX 26 they’ve tried to clean the mold, but it keeps coming back.

Michael Rubino, a mold remediation expert tells us, mold is much like at plant, it has roots. 

And to get to the root of the problem, it must be fully removed.

"They actually have to remove the drywall unfortunately, clean it and remove the roots that are growing in the wood structure behind the drywall," said Rubino.

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A big and expensive project that Rubio says insurance companies don’t like paying for.

Rubino says insurance can be tricky when it comes to mold because insurance companies typically cover $10,000 to $20,000 and many are not insured for mold.

He says the silver lining is that the water damage happened first, and everyone has water damage coverage up to a policy limit.

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If mold is left to grow and fester, it could cause long term health effects like chronic migraines, respiratory infections that could lead to death, and lingering cold symptoms.

Rubino says one in four people are sensitive to mold and suspects one of those family members may have a sensitivity to mold.