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Shocking pictures show Aberdeen mum’s battle with mould after children become ‘constantly unwell’

The mum of two says people have told her they can smell the mould in their hair and on their clothes when they leave her house.

Stacey Adams is worried her two children Lilly- Grace and Mason are unwell because of the mould and damp in their council home.
Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson.
Stacey Adams is worried her two children Lilly- Grace and Mason are unwell because of the mould and damp in their council home. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson.

A mum says her two young children are constantly at the doctors since they moved into their damp and mouldy Aberdeen City Council home last year.

Stacey Adams had just given birth to her youngest daughter when she viewed the social housing home in Bridge of Don.

She says she was not in the “right state of mind” when viewing the property, and did not think too much about the walls being covered in backing paper at the time.

She moved into the property on January 19 with her three-year-old son and newborn daughter and spent some time renovating their new family home.

Single mum, Miss Adams says she spent around £2,000 decorating the two-bedroom house and there were no real issues in the summer months.

But when the weather turned and winter started approaching, the mum-of-two realised the house was damp and mouldy.

She says they have all been “constantly unwell” while living in the damp home, and her mental health has been severely affected by their living conditions.

According to Miss Adams, her friends and family say they can smell the mould in their hair and on their clothes when they go home after visiting her.

The 36-year-old was even too embarrassed to host a first birthday party for her daughter.

Aberdeen City Council says they are “liaising” with the tenant, but she claims they “ignore” her despite her best efforts to cooperate with them.

Miss Adams has hung condensation bags on her windows to try to absorb the damp coming in. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson.

Mould grows on pillows and heating constantly on

The back door leaks, meaning that water pools into the house and she finds they are often left standing in puddles and the window seals also leak.

The flooring is so wet that it bounces when walked upon and the walls are covered in mould.

Miss Adams shared pictures with the Press & Journal showing the mould had even completely covered the car seat of one of her young kids.

The car seat grew mould after it was taken into the family home. Image: Stacey Adams.

She has noticed spores growing on her bed slats and even on her pillows.

Since moving in just over a year ago, both her young kids are constantly unwell and she is worried the damp home is making them sick.

She claims she has had letters sent from her doctor to the housing allocations team at the council.

Miss Adams says she is also always coughing and suffers from headaches since moving in.

She said: “I’ve tried my best, I’ve tried to make it a home and I’ve spent so much money on it, but nothing I do helps. It’s the house.

“I’ve had mould on a car seat, on my pillows, on the bed slats, on the ceiling in the room where my daughter sleeps.

“She’s constantly not well and in the doctor’s, she’s even been referred to a paediatrician.

“I’ve got a rug in the living room and it’s constantly cold and damp, I turn my heater on for an hour, an hour and a half, and it’s freezing again.

“I’m spending more money on heating the house just to keep my babies warm.”

The leaking door lets water through into the living room, water droplets can be seen on the door and the mum of two tries to block the water with towels.Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson.

‘Just ignoring me’

On February 3, a contractor visited the home to deal with the mould problem.

Using a machine he sprayed the walls, however, he told the mum of two the mould would keep coming back.

According to Miss Adams, the contractor said the problem isn’t on the wall, it is in the wall and they will need to knock it down.

Miss Adams in her bedroom where mould is already starting to come back on the ceiling and at the top of the walls even after it has been sprayed by a contractor. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

He advised her to talk to her housing officer to try organise a move.

She said: “I know I’ve seen worse cases, but this is really damaging my mental health, especially when the contractors can’t fix the problem.

“They [the housing officers] think spraying the mould is going to get rid of it, but it won’t.

“They’re just ignoring me, I’m constantly emailing them and they’re not getting back to me and I just don’t know what to do.

“I need out of here for the sake of my babies and my mental health – I can’t stay in a house like this.”

An Aberdeen City Council spokesman commented: “We are liaising directly with our tenant.”


Shelter Scotland has advice for anyone with mould and damp in their home on their website.

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