As worries about mold grow, so do inspection requests

''It is so scary to think that you could blindly buy a home and be stuck with such a huge problem," said Kim Riel.

As it turned out, the home did have mold, with the biggest concentration in the attic. Despite assurances from the owners that the mold would be cleaned up with bleach, the walls repainted and new carpeting installed, the Riels decided not to buy the house. Today, they are building a new home because this way they are certain that it will be free of toxins.

''Before, I would have been OK with the owners' solution. But now, I am much more educated about mold and know that they need to do much more than that to get rid of it and to make it safe," she said.

Mold is hardly unique to Pepperell, especially after the wet spring and summer in the Boston area this year. But the extreme case on Shawnee Road has raised awareness among locals, leading to an increased number of mold inspections among potential home buyers.

Ursula Graf, a local real estate agent, said the lack of guidelines for dealing with mold is frustrating for the seller and the potential buyer. In many cases, it is leading to costly testing, she said.

Since the news of the Shawnee Road case, Graf has seen a spike in the number of buyers who are requesting mold inspections before purchasing, and a spike in the number of homes that are reported to contain mold.

''Mold is very hard to grasp. There is not more mold, just more awareness," Graf said. ''Some people get very sick from it, some don't. In all, it is very frustrating."

Jeffrey May, the author of ''My House is Killing Me," has been inspecting indoor spaces for mold since 1992 and has taken 16,000 samples. Based in Cambridge, he has seen a dramatic increase in inspection requests, but cautions that there is little consumer information about mold and no government regulations like those for lead, radon, or asbestos.

State Senator Robert O'Leary, a Barnstable Democrat, is trying to put together a task force to study the issue of mold in the Commonwealth. Separately, there is a bill before Congress that would establish mold standards and set parameters for financial assistance.''There is a definite increase in awareness about mold. A hundred years ago people did not believe that cigarette smoke caused cancer simply because people did not know about it. It is the same with mold," said May.

''Micro-organisms such as mold can make people unbelievably sick, to the point where everyone around them thinks that they are crazy," he said. ''And this is dangerous."

May, who has a master's degree in chemistry from Harvard University, said he encourages clients with mild mold problems in their home not to go to their insurance company, because they may become listed as high risk in a national insurance database and, in some cases, lose their homeowners insurance.

The mold problem at the Davis family's house on Shawnee Road is anything but small. Currently, black mold covers the roof, foundation, and almost every surface in the house.

It made Nancy Davis, 45, very sick with nose bleeds, wheezing, and eye irritation.

The family purchased the home a year ago for $240,000, but the mold forced them to abandon the home, their cars, and all of their possessions in the home.

The Davis family now lives two streets away in an apartment and is working to determine what to do with the Shawnee Road home.

Although the family's health is improving, they must pay both their $1,900-a-month mortgage and $1,000-a-month rent and are getting used to living without their belongings. Their homeowners insurance company denied responsibility and dropped their insurance after the mold was discovered.

In August, the Davises filed a lawsuit in Middlesex Superior Court against the previous homeowner, Michael Burke, real estate agents Louise Knight of RE/MAX Colonial in Groton, Rene Kelley of Century 21 in Maynard, and home inspector Thomas Herbst of Clayton Home Inspection.

According to Davis, the presale home inspection said there was evidence of a prior leak in the attic and some mold, but that it was satisfactory.

Bob Curley, the attorney for Herbst, said the lawsuit against his client was dismissed this month. Curley said he filed a motion for dismissal based on state regulations that clearly define the scope of home inspectors' responsibility. There is no requirement to inspect for mold, Curley said.

Burke could not be reached for comment. Knight and Kelley did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Gene Marckini, owner of Boston Environmental and Engineering Associates in Arlington, said homeowners are paying more attention to mold.

''People are much more aware of mold than they were in the past," said Marckini, who noted that last summer was the wettest summer in years and has contributed to the problem.

A leaky water pipe or roof left unattended can become a homeowner's worst nightmare. Marckini tells the story about his son, who was about to purchase a home that on the surface was pristine. When Marckini did a mold test, the readings came back very high.

Initially, the homeowner could not determine what could be causing the mold, but later remembered that there had been a water leak that occurred the year before while the family was on vacation. Although the homeowner had repainted and removed the carpet, mold grew on the underside of the plasterboard. In the end, the remediation cost almost $40,000.

''My business is up dramatically over the year before because more and more people are aware of mold and are having homes inspected presale," said Marckini, who is a chemical engineer. ''The problem now is that there are no standards from the government."

Susan Ware can be reached at ware@globe.com.