A "weird dripping noise" has turned into a year-long nightmare for a Melbourne family whose rental property has been overrun by black mould.
It was only a week after Joe and Amber Powell moved into their two-bedroom unit in Footscray with their two young kids that they noticed a leak in their bathroom "eating away at the drywall".
It has since become a full-blown infestation, getting so bad they need to hand-clean each week and have been unable to sleep in the main bedroom.
READ MORE: Mould and rental rights: What to do when you find mould in your home
Do you have a story about the rental crisis? Contact the reporter at allanah.sciberras@nine.com.au
"There is mould on the skirting boards, walls, in the kitchen and on the ceiling ... it's on every other part of our apartment, every window in the bathroom and the kids' window, everywhere," Joe told 9news.com.au.
"It's a safety issue."
The "devastated" couple have been going back and forth with their property manager to get the issue fixed but an "oversight" led to the repairs being delayed.
They've been looking for another place to call home for six months, and while the real estate will allow them to break their lease, vacancy rates are at an all-time low and rents are skyrocketing.
To make matters worse, they've just been hit with a rental increase.
"We just signed on for another year, because we didn't want to go month-to-month," he said.
"We were worried they would raise the rent again if we didn't sign on for another 12 months."
Dangerous infestation on 'every part of home'
Joe reported the leak to the real estate and a plumber was sent over, who said he'd been called out to the unit for the same issue a year earlier.
Since then, multiple tradies have come through the home but there's been no resolution for the family, who fear for the health and safety of their kids.
"One said they would have to cut the entire wall out. We are trying to get this fixed," he said.
"All the ceilings have cracked, there is a crack in the ceiling in my children's room."
They are even concerned about the structural integrity of the unit, particularly since new neighbours moved in upstairs.
"We can hear everything and we are worried the ceiling will fall through," Joe said.
Mould can cause health implications for some people who inhale the spores.
They can suffer from flu-like symptoms and asthma irritation, while some health experts believe mould exposure is linked to more severe illnesses like chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CRIS).
This can cause "debilitating symptoms" like fatigue, brain fog, pneumonia, extreme weight loss and deep lung infections.
A banking executive told nine.com.au he lost all of the hair on his body, developed facial paralysis, underwent spinal surgery and narrowly avoided suffering a heart attack after being unknowingly exposed to mould in a Sydney rental.
A 2018 parliamentary inquiry into mould and bio-toxin-related illnesses called for more research into the links.
Outside health risks, the couple's belongings have been damaged as the mould spread throughout the house, some of which they've received reimbursements for.
To combat the spreading fungus, they've had to buy three dehumidifiers to improve ventilation.
"They are about $120 each and we have had to buy three of them now," he said.
"That's also while trying to afford to re-buy things for our living room.
"We can't handle it."
The stressed parents said they were even told to keep the air conditioner on to reduce the problem.
"We aren't made of money, we can't keep the air con on all the time," he said.
"That won't even fix the problem."
In fact, Melbourne microbiologist Dr Cameron Jones said this is one of the worst things you can do.
"By running the system, it's just going to spread the issue everywhere. What would start out as a localised problem, could become a whole home problem," he told 9news.com.au.
"This advice would be concerning."
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'Human error' to blame for delays
The delay in repairing the damage done to the Powells' family home has been put down to "human error".
Linage Property Management managing director Ben Lindblom said the original job order was accidentally closed last year.
"We have a system in place for jobs in our office and around June last year the job was marked as complete, which was a mistake," Lindblom told 9news.com.au.
The real estate said it had been working with the family to have plumbers and mould cleaners tend to the rental to "quickly rectify the issue".
"The plumbers have been in contact with the tenants earlier this week," senior portfolio manager Kavinda Kudage Don said.
He said the agency was not aware the family had already purchased dehumidifiers and was in discussions with the owner about buying some recommended by mould cleaners.
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