Watch CBS News

Mold Takes Over South Park Family's Home

SOUTH PARK (KDKA) -- A local family says they've been fighting for four years to get mold removed from their rental home that is owned by Allegheny County.

Now they say they're being evicted because they wanted it to be cleaned up to a higher standard than what was offered.

They say the management company refused to bring in a cleaning company that specialized in mold removal. When they refused the help, they got an eviction notice, even though they say they paid their rent.

The Hinerman family says at first they tried to take care of mold in their South Park home by themselves.

"You know my wife has always come down and cleaned the mold from the walls and it would reappear like within a month to two months," Joseph Hinerman said. "She would come down and clean it and it would just keep reappearing."

The problem got much worse and they had to call in the Allegheny County Health Department. They say test results showed several toxic types of mold in the home and it's everywhere.

Hinerman says they asked for help from the county and the management company.

"And they said it's not their problem," he said.

Hinerman says his wife, Claire, 13-year-old son, Lance, and 5-year-old daughter, Clarissa, all have serious health problems. He suspects they are at least worsened by the mold.

Then there's the emotional toll.

"And you know, it's really hard on the children and what's even harder is we've been here for four years," Claire Reaghard said. "This is our home."

The family has been living in a hotel for the last two months and would just walk away from the situation except that most of t heir belongings, including furniture and mattresses, are covered with mold and they can't use them unless they're cleaned which may not even be possible.

They say they've been told they'd have to pay for anything themselves.

"But when you don't have the money, I mean we've lost everything, and the county and the real estate company could care less and they treat us like we're trash," Reaghard said. "And I'm sorry, we're not."

RELATED LINKS
More Local News
More Reports By Jon Greiner
Allegheny County Official Website

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.