Mold caused manufacturer mistake

[Michelle]

We purchased our 2003 Fuqua Modular home in April 2004, on a permanant foundation and nicely landscaped yard. The home is beautiful and looks like a stick house. Three days ago I smelled mold in my 5 year old son's room. I then decided to go under the house and found that water had been leaking for quite some time because all of the installation was sagging very low. I called the Seller we purchased from and he had someone check the problem. They preceeded to say the manufacturer made a mistake in the plumbing or something. He said we had to call this guy to call another ........guy and so on to get this MAJOR problem taken care of. I am very concerned about the mold and how it has affected my family. Which I know it has. A lot of symptoms of mold infestation we have had. We did not have a clue about the major leak going on for 7 months and still going on because it has not been taken care of yet. Should I have the house tested for mold? I do not know where to go from here. All Fuqua has been informed but it seems weird that there has not been any action taken. Especially regarding the health issues.
Any Advice Appreciated.

[RSchmitt]

If you bought the home from a private party, they should be helping you to contact the dealer that sold the home. This dealer should contact Fuqua and let them know the problem. Plumbing leaks need immediate attention, if it is a factory problem and they do not have a service person available they will authorize the dealer to fix it (or have a local plumber fix it.) Fuqua has two plants, one in Missouri and one in Oregon. If you don't get a call back within 24 hours call the factory directly- you can get their phone nos. off their websites.

However, the setup crew should have leak tested all plumbing at the time of installation and any factory problems should have been found and corrected at that time, so I don't think that the factory can be held liable for any damage after the fact (mold, etc.). Since you have only been in the home for 6 months, I doubt you have any mold problems that can't be mitigated with a thorough cleaning and airing out.

It sounds like this is a "two trip" fix. One to fix plumbing and remove wet insulation. Also, set up a fan to air out under the house for a few days. Then once dry, reinstall insulation and repair the belly wrap. In the yellow pages there are disaster clean up services that specialize in drying out and killing/ removing mold.

The good thing is that Fuqua is a good company that stands behind their products. Good luck.

[Michelle]

Well...the problem with the water leak was fixed, but there was mold behind the walls in my son's room, bathroom, and went through the drywall to the kitchen. We currently have moved out. Fuqua is taking care of the situation. The indoor airborne test did not pass twice, so now they have moved everything out of the house and pulled up the carpets and padding. We have not been able to live in our home for a month. I actually dont believe it was a manufactures mistake, i believe it could been the construction crew putting it up.