MARYSVILLE, Wash. - For years, a local family couldn't figure out why they were so sick - until they learned the mold in their rental house was off the charts.

They moved out and others moved in, but the new tenants were never told of the potential danger.

"Every since we moved in, nothing in our lives was the same," said renter Becky Woeppel.

For more than six years, Woeppel's family called a rental house in Snohomish County home. Had she and her family lived there any longer, Woeppel believes they might have died.

"I would have never guessed that my house could have made me sick," said Woeppel.

One year after moving into house, the family developed strange illnesses. Her son started having crippling stomach pain and her daughter severe intestinal problems.

"I went to the doctor, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid," said Becky. "My husband would come home and it was all he could do to come up the stairs and sit down."

Was it all bad luck or coincidence? At about the same time, the Woeppels noticed staining on the ceiling and spots of mold. After searching online, they found their symptoms matched those of mold exposure. Woeppel called mold inspector Tom Keck.

"Almost everybody who calls me for an inspection is exhibiting some sort of health issue," said Keck.

Keck found that a leaky roof caused mold to grow in the attic insulation. He took air samples and sent them to a lab in Oregon for analysis.

The findings were disturbing. Lab manager Matt Visser wrote, "This home is suffering from a major mold infestation… the concentration... in the attic over the dining room is simply enormous."

"We've got two of the three deadliest types of mold in that house," said Woeppel.

Woeppel said she passed the findings on to the property manager of the home, Century 21 North Homes Realty, and then moved out.

KING

Tom Keck found that a leaky roof caused mold to grow in the attic insulation.

"This was biological warfare above my head," said Woeppel.

Within a few weeks, Woeppel was shocked to see the home up for rent. While the roof was replaced as they moved out, she was certain the mold had not been cleaned up.

"Don't put another family in that house," said Woeppel. "Don't do that. That's wrong. That's outrageous."

When KING 5 went to the home, there were two families living there with young children. They say that the property manager told them nothing of the mold.

So we asked Tom Keck to come back and re-inspect the home. In the attic, he found the same moldy insulation he saw before.

"In order to do responsible remediation, all of that insulation would have been removed and replaced, and it hasn't been," said Keck.

He also took another air sample and sent it to the same lab. Once again they found mold in the attic, this time in lower quantities, but still.

"The levels of contamination in the attic were five times what are considered to be acceptable levels," he said.

When given the results of the re-test, the new tenants were fuming.

"I don't want to be here. I want to move out right away, 'cause there's no way I'd put my daughter's life in danger like this," said Jessica Kellar, tenant.

Perhaps the scariest part of this story is that this could happen to anyone. There is no law requiring property managers or landlords to disclose current or past mold infestations. And what's more, there's not even a federal standard saying how much mold is too much.

"It's a complicated phenomenon in terms of trying to really get a handle on how you identify the mold," said Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle.

Kohl-Welles is very familiar with the mold issue. Two sessions ago she helped pass a bill requiring landlords to give tenants a pamphlet from the state health department which outlines the dangers of mold, but she says there needs to be more.

"That there be some notification that it's there, and even better would be that it has to be dealt with, so that new tenants that come in are not exposed to the mold that is found," said Kohl-Welles.

When asked about the mold, Century 21 North Homes Realty said they had cleaned it up, but refused to provide any proof. When asked why they didn't mention the mold infestation to the new renters, a man claiming to be the office manager told KING 5, "We follow the laws."

Becky Woeppel says that's the problem. Current laws are not enough. She says it's time for change.

"My family suffered and no other family should have to go through that," said Woeppel.

The Woeppel family tried to get help from their local and state health department as well as Snohomish County and the state attorney general's office. But none of those agencies will intervene in matters of private residence indoor air quality.