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cold fogging

Mold Testing: KNOWING is Half the Battle

by Catherine 3:40 pm

Don’t Let Mold-Testing Fears Prevent You From Having a Healthier Home

I get it. Mold testing can be scary. Well, actually, I get that the testing itself is not the scary part. The results or the potential results and what they could possibly mean for your living situation, the well-being of your family—both emotionally and financially, and the future of your health are what’s scary. But, today I want to reassure you that fears of the unknown or worst-case scenarios should NOT deter you from testing and from continuing to test your home for mold. This is because when mold and your health are concerned, ignorance can be far from bliss. The continual exposure to mold can eventually take such a toll on your body that your symptoms will no longer allow you to ignore it and you’ll be forced to act. For mold-sensitive children, the effects could last a lifetime. To help you avoid such situations, I want to explain, with a real-world example from a reader, exactly how testing for mold and continually knowing what is going on in your home in terms of mold can be extremely helpful and beneficial to your peace of mind and health.

Do any of the following scenarios sound like you?

You are finally to the point when your health symptoms make you suspect mold in your home or indoor environment, and you want to test.
You have obvious high indoor humidity, musty odors, visible mold growth, or had a known leak, a wicked storm, or a water incident that lead you to want to test your home for elevated levels of mold spores or growth.
This isn’t your first rodeo, as they say, and you have done some remediation work yourself or had your home professionally remediated and are re-testing to make sure that all of the work to eliminate the mold is working.

Whatever the case, you decide to mold test your home, and await the results. This waiting time is when all of the “what ifs” start invading your mind: What if the tests come back showing that my house is moldy? Is it safe to stay in? Will I have to leave my home and all my things? What if I can’t afford to fix the problem? What if I have to leave my home? Where would I/we go? What if the “the fix” attempted doesn’t work?

3:40 pm 2 comments

Healthy Home Mold Prevention Mold Remediation Personal Stories Q & A's Wellness

Reader Q & A: We are Reacting to EVERYTHING—Is it Mold Cross Contamination or Our Environment in General?

by Catherine 3:57 pm

When You Seem to be Sick Outside as Much as Inside….

My ultimate goal with this blog is to attempt to make this whole “mold thing” simpler. The concept of mold cross contamination happens to be one of the more confusing and debated pieces of the mold puzzle. I am going to try to tackle some of the difficult to understand, confusing, and conflicting information on that topic today and to break it down and present it to you in a way that makes some sense. In doing so, I hope each of you will feel empowered to use some of the tools and protocols I write about (that actually work, might I add) to take control of your situations and environments, so that you can get better and get on with your lives. That is also the main reason why I like sharing reader Q & A’s so much. I believe that by sharing some of my one-on-one correspondence, I can help others who have the same or similar questions–if there is one thing I’ve learned, it is that many people have questions, but very few actually take the time to ask.

That being said, not all personal advice is universally viable, because each of us is unique and should tweak and omit things according to what works best for our lives and bodies. Overall, though, I believe our goals are the same and hinge on adopting a “new normal” that

1) works to attain and keep wellness, and

2) doesn’t create fear or anxiety in the process.

To achieve those goals, you have to

1) learn as much information as possible about mold and why it makes you sick, and

2) learn as much information as possible about products and treatments that work for mold-related illness.

There is no magic cure, obviously, but there are some things that have, over time, proven to be more efficacious than others. That is where today’s reader Q & A comes in. It is a discussion that starts with a question about cross contamination, but that spans much more than that. It gets into the topic of cumulative body burden from previous mold exposures, how much your surroundings and outdoor environment matter to your recovery, and how using what you already know about your body’s reaction to mold helps you to make informed choices about your future.

To bring you up to speed with exactly what this reader is dealing with, I will share some portions of her email:

3:57 pm 0 comment

Healthy Home Mold Prevention Mold Remediation Personal Stories

DIY Preventative Mold Remediation for Minor Leaks and Water Intrusions

by Catherine 10:48 pm

Stopping Mold Growth BEFORE it Starts is the Key to the Long-term Health of Your Home

My personal battle to keep mold out of our home seems never-ending. Preventative mold remediation and maintenance is a huge part of that. The unfortunate curse of homeownership is that the minute I feel like I have solved one issue, another arises to take its place. I guess the challenges are good for the blog, because I am always learning new things and always figuring out more effective ways to improve our home’s health and indoor air quality (IAQ). The more I learn, the more I also want to share that knowledge with you, because there are definite DIY ways in which you can act immediately to take control and manage any potential mold situation. Knowing these DIY mitigation skills will also build your confidence during recovery, because your sense of security will grow with the realization that even an event that feels like a crisis, can be handled and doesn’t have to lead to a relapse into poor health.

A little background for you on our most recent water intrusion issue:

A few weeks ago, visible water markings appeared on our den ceiling after a storm. Just seeing the tell-tale water discoloration sent me into a bit of a tailspin. If there is one thing I have learned about water intrusion, it is that the sooner you find the source and stop it, the less likely you are to have mold growth. We DEFINITELY didn’t want to chance mold growth. Thus, remediation and proactive mold prevention efforts began immediately.

First order of business:

Where is the water coming in and why?

10:48 pm 0 comment

Cleaning Tips Products

Test for and Clean for Mold With This Exclusive Home and Clothes Product Bundle!

by Catherine 2:56 pm

I have something special for you today!

MicroBalance Health Products is partnering with me on this post to bring my readers incredible savings on a cleaning for mold “Home and Clothes bundle” of some of their testing and environmental products.

I am really excited about this, because these are products I trust and use EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. Seriously, they are game changers in the fight to protect your living environments from mold.

The products featured in the exclusive bundle are the Sanitizer fogger, a bottle of EC3 Mold Solution Concentrate for use in the fogger and/or mixed with distilled water per bottle instructions as a treatment spray to fight mold on hard surfaces, upholstered furniture, pets, dry clean only clothing, etc., a bottle of EC3 Laundry Additive (one of my favorite products), and a 6 pack of the EC3 Mold Screening Test plates. Purchased separately, this bundle would cost $450, but is being offered to MoldFreeLiving.com readers for a total of $349.99, plus free shipping. This is a lot of bang for the buck!

2:56 pm 0 comment

Cleaning Tips Healthy Home Mold Prevention Q & A's

DIY Mold Removal For “Dry Clean-ONLY” Clothing

by Catherine 4:58 pm

Lately, I have been experimenting with techniques to remove mold and mold spores from “dry clean only” clothing items. These items of clothing are often the more expensive pieces—dress slacks, cocktail dresses, wool coats, blouses, suits, etc.—so, it is only natural that people are less willing to part with them, even when they have been exposed to mold. Now that I practice a form of mold avoidance, where I clean my home and my things regularly for mold to prevent exposure and maintain health, I needed a way to clean these clothing items without damaging them. I will say, though, that when my family went through getting out of the toxic home that made us all so sick, we basically threw out everything and started over. I did not want anything from that toxic home in my life anymore.

It has been my personal experience that when your body takes a prolonged hit, especially from a particularly toxic mold, like Stachybotrys chartarum, the “things” in your life that also took a hit can continue affecting your health, even when cleaned and even when in a clean environment. It is almost as if your threshold to that particular mold is non-existent. (Note: Toxic load is a known phenomena, either through a big exposure or a gradual one. There HERE is a chart that describes it.) In my experience, I just reacted immediately and on a large scale. Thus, it was not worth it to me to chance it. That being said, the clothing items I am talking about here are ones that are exposed to mold in everyday life, or during travel, or in the store before you even bring them home.

Just as I was getting into my research and experimentation, I got a serendipitous email from the same reader who wrote in about cleaning some chairs for mold a few months back. She is a naturopath by profession and knows a lot about mold illness, so she is obviously ahead of the curve when it comes to knowledge and awareness of environmental toxins. As you will see in her email, she recognizes her susceptibility to mold reactions, and lessens her exposure by thinking ahead and testing items before bringing them into her home.

4:58 pm 7 comments