Mold is forcing Gov. Kathleen Blanco and first gentleman Raymond "Coach" Blanco to make other living arrangements this summer.
 
The Blancos will vacate the Governor's Mansion after the legislative session so construction workers can clean the air ducts and replace the heating and air-conditioning units.
 
They'll live in a rented house in Baton Rouge for two months until the $525,300 project is completed, state Facility Planning and Control Director Jerry Jones said Wednesday.
The black mold detected in the ductwork at the 42-year-old mansion isn't deadly but still needs to be removed, he said.
 
Blanco's predecessor, Gov. Mike Foster, resisted recommendations to have the work done when he lived at the mansion. Instead, he put filters over the vents when they started spewing black soot.
 
During a visit to his former abode Tuesday night, Foster pulled Coach Blanco aside and offered a possible alternative to a two-month project.
 
Foster said he found on the Internet a new method of using ozone to destroy anything living in the ducts within two days.
 
"I told Coach I wouldn't let anybody bully me out of there without looking into that," Foster said Wednesday.
 
Foster said the state's method seems to be the "old-fashioned, expensive way."
Despite his advice, Gov. Blanco said Wednesday morning that she was "pretty sure" about moving out for two months to have the work done.
 
Jones said cleaning the ducts isn't a simple process because getting to some of them requires breaking through plaster.
 
Construction workers will replace some of the ducts, install access panels to be able to get to the them in the future, seal storage areas in the attic, remove asbestos and update the air conditioning and heating to improve temperature control, he said.
 
The ductwork in the mansion dates to 1963, when the building was built, he said.
The mold gives the state an overdue opportunity to modernize the mansion, he said.
Jones said the discovery of the mold isn't an unusual occurrence.
 
"Mold is naturally occurring throughout the environment," he said. "Every building that ever existed, especially in Louisiana, has mold in it."
 
The governor isn't alone in encountering housing headaches while holding an elected office.
 
President Truman moved out of the White House after his daughter's piano sank through the dining room ceiling, indicating serious structure issues. It was nearly four years before he was able to move back.
 

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