By the time the Campos family knew they had a problem, the living room floor had buckled and the damage was done.
Water leaked from plumbing and spread between the floor and subfloor in about two-thirds of their east Fort Worth home. Mold was rampant.
Now, one year later, the Campos family is struggling to return.
First-time homebuyers Alex and Jefte Campos moved into the Handley neighborhood with their son and daughter, Eamon and Maeve, in September 2021. Their daughter, Addi, was born in April 2023.
The Campos family hasn’t been able to return to their Handley home because of mold. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)
Last summer, the couple noticed the living room floor had a bulge. Further exploration revealed a leak beneath a toilet that they now suspect was oozing water undetected for years.
Jefte went into the crawl space beneath the house and discovered the mold growth on the subfloor. A professional test revealed the problem was extensive.
“It was like mold just sneezed across your entire house,” Jefte said the restoration professional told him.
Their Realtor helped the Campos family connect with charity funds to help with remediation. But the funds did not cover everything needed to make the family’s home livable again.
The house is mold free, but it has no flooring or toilets. The walls are stripped down to the studs in some places.
Eamon Campos, left, and father Jefte Campos pick up items off the floor on June 26, 2025, in Fort Worth. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)
The Camposes have home insurance, but it does not cover the repairs or mold removal. Home insurance typically covers water damage for sudden events but not for damage resulting from a plumbing leak, according to U.S. News & World Report.
The family’s finances are limited as they face medical bills and gas for the drive to Fort Worth from Glen Rose, where they are currently living with Jefte’s parents.
Maeve, now 4, has Hashimoto’s disease and Grave’s disease, which are autoimmune-related conditions. She frequently meets with specialists. Eamon receives autism therapy.
Living with mold has negatively impacted everyone’s health, the parents say.
Mold exposure can cause a stuffy nose, sore throat, coughing, wheezing, a skin rash and lung infections and, in severe cases, shortness of breath and fever, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The family’s health insurance does not cover mold tests, so they paid $300 out of pocket to get Maeve tested, who was the most ill. The test revealed she had extremely high levels of the mold toxin Ochratoxin A in her body.
The rest of the family has not been tested due to the expense.
Jefte said they have asked contractors to estimate the cost of returning their home to normal, and they have received price tags of $40,000 to $60,000. They have considered selling the home, foreclosure, loans and bankruptcy.
“We love the house,” Jefte said. “The kids love the house still, and we would hate to go to the full extent of having to foreclose on it.”
“But also the thing is,” Alex added, “even if we did, our mortgage is so low that we couldn’t afford to rent with the prices that are renting in DFW now. It would be at least $400 more than what our mortgage is, and we’re already super strapped.”
Alex and Jefte said they would do the work on the home themselves, but materials are too expensive.
Hydradry Inc., the restoration company paid by the charity fund to do remediation work on the home, donated a marble countertop for their kitchen.
The Camposes are not the only ones to have their lives upended by mold, said Emily Rachal, a founder of the nonprofit foundation Malachi’s Message.
The foundation, created by Rachal and a friend after they each experienced mold exposure, provides resources and support for those going through similar situations.
“It’s kind of a silent epidemic going on,” Rachal said. “A lot of people don’t talk about mold in their house and what they’re going through. It’s almost as if they feel like they can’t, or they’re ashamed as if they caused the problem.”
The complications are not well understood, Rachal said, leaving families who experience it feeling isolated.
Jefte echoed this sentiment.
“People kind of just shrug it aside,” Jefte said. “They don’t take it seriously. They don’t consider it the health factor that it is, and it’s hard to be the ones losing the home while they’re the ones saying, ‘Ah, you’ll be fine.’”
What to do when you discover your home has mold
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, it is important to act fast once you discover mold in your home. Mold causes damage to the surfaces on which it grows, and that damage will increase over time.
How to clean mold:
- Find the source of the moisture and eliminate it. Dry everything completely.
- Clean the mold off surfaces using detergent and water, then dry them completely.
- Throw away porous or absorbent materials — the holes and crevices in these materials may prevent you from removing all mold.
If the problem is extensive, you may want to consult a remediation professional.
Even amid their current challenges, Alex is thinking of ways to help others after her family has come out the other side.
“Once we’re through this and kind of have this figured out, I feel almost called to figure out how to help other people,” she said.
McKinnon Rice is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at mckinnon.rice@fortworthreport.org.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
Related
Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.
Republish This Story
Republishing is free for noncommercial entities. Commercial entities are prohibited without a licensing agreement. Contact us for details.