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fogging

Help! We Just Uncovered a LOT of Hidden Mold in Our Home!

by Catherine 12:37 am

How to Stop Mold and Mycotoxin Cross-Contamination Once Mold Has Been Exposed and/or Disturbed

Recently, I recieved the following email from a reader who found herself in the middle of a mold and mycotoxin cross-contamination nightmare after starting on demo for a home renovation:

Dear Catherine,

Thank you for your time and willingness to share your expertise. We are just getting started on this mold journey…Here is what was behind my vanity where I wash my face and brush my teeth. It is perhaps why my eyes have burned since January! Sadly, we didn’t really know and just had regular contractors doing the demo. No serious containment. I’m now trying to figure out the next step. Any advice on what we do from here? Also, did you consider hiring a company like SERVPRO to help with the cleaning process?

Before I share my answer, I need to tell you where I stand on any kind of indoor demo without containment, especially if you are mold sensitive–I DON’T THINK YOU SHOULD TAKE THAT KIND OF CHANCE WITH YOUR HEALTH. Setting up containment is not that time consuming, not that expensive, and not difficult enough to not do it, in my opinion. Because my family is mold sensitized and we have already been taken out by a significant toxic mold exposure in our home, I am NOT willing to take chances these days. When it comes to work being done on our home that requires demo and opening up walls, ceilings, or ripping out building materials, we always set up proper containment around the area where we are doing the work before we begin. It is a non-negotiable precaution for us these days.

12:37 am 0 comment

How Understanding Mold Micro-Particulates Can Make Your Remediation Attempts More Successful

by Catherine 10:41 pm

Sometimes, It’s The Things You CANNOT See That Matter The Most to Your Health

You may have read the title and freaked out a little. Mold micro-particulates? Are you kidding? Something else to worry about when it comes to my home and my health?!!!!

Believe me, I get it. If you are already having to deal with mold in your home and with trying to either get your mind around the task of remediating it yourself, or getting your finances set up to have it professionally remediated, the absolute last thing you want to have to worry about is a tinier form of contaminant that you must take into consideration. You are probably wondering, “Will it ever end?”

Well, I am here to tell you that the existence of micro-particulates as they relate to molds and bio-contaminants are not something to be afraid of, but, rather, something that you NEED to properly understand. This is, because, if you understand micro-particulates, aka the mold that you cannot see, you will be looking at your home and what is ailing it through the lens of a toxicologist, fully aware of the mechanisms that all of the many microscopic organisms also living in your home employ to hide, disperse, and stay alive, so that they can again flourish and multiply. With this new perspective your mold remediation attempts will be made much more successful, because you will not be ignoring these highly-allergenic and inflammatory hangers-on that are often missed and keep mold sufferers sick and reacting, even when the source of the mold has been removed.

Ok, so let’s get started by first defining exactly what micro-particulates are and how they differ from what we understand about your average mold spore and properly cleaning up a “sick” or water-damaged home.

10:41 pm 4 comments

Healthy Home Mold Prevention Wellness

HVAC Gimmicks vs. HVAC Mold Solutions—What Really Works and What Just Costs a Lot

by Catherine 12:01 am

The Post Your HVAC Contractor Doesn’t Want You to Read…

Are you trying to improve air quality in your home? Have you had an HVAC professional out to assess your current systems and to give you recommendations on possible HVAC mold solutions, add-ons, and enhancements? I’ll bet if you have, you are more confused now about what you should do than before they came. Am I right?

The reason I ask is because I get so many reader questions about various recommended HVAC “extras” and “solutions.” Many seem like viable proposals, but come with hefty price tags and not much explanation.

Fortunately for me, but unfortunately for those in HVAC sales, I have gained a crazy amount of knowledge in this area from personal exposure and experience during our mold nightmare and from experts in the fields of building science, indoor air quality, and environmental hygiene. When the mold issues in my home forced us to rip out and replace our entire HVAC system, ductwork, attic insulation, and ventilation systems, I threw myself into learning everything I could about our options and all of the possible solutions out there for our unique situation. Then, through working alongside the experts I mentioned and their technicians to make our home safe and livable again, I learned how to sort through the things that were worth the time and money and the things that just looked shiny and cool, but produced no significant home-health improvement for the expense. I guess you can say that I was given a peek behind the curtain of HVAC solutions from the perspective of a mold and indoor air quality expert.

Well, today, I am going to try to spread that knowledge. I will first list common HVAC recommendations that, in my opinion and experience, aren’t worth the money. Then, I will list HVAC and indoor air quality upgrades that I can whole-heartedly endorse. I will provide explanations and my experience with each, so that you can go into the conversation with as much inside knowledge as possible, especially if your main concern is mold.

12:01 am 3 comments

Cleaning Tips Mold Prevention Personal Stories Products Q & A's

Packing and Leaving a Moldy Home: What to Remediate, What to Discard, and How to Cope

by Catherine 12:23 am

When faced with leaving a toxic home, the idea of having to sort through your things before you embark upon your “new” life can be overwhelming. If you are also very sick, the tasks, even simple ones, can pile up, leading to anxiety, depression, and sometimes more illness.

I can definitely empathize. I lived this scenario. I was faced with leaving our home, all of our things, memories and personal items, even though I KNEW it was for the best. At that time, my husband was unwilling to concede. The mold just made me much sicker than it made him, so my body didn’t give me a choice. I took one bin of photos, scrapbooks and toiletries and our children and moved in with my sister for a few months.

My husband stayed behind and attempted to come to terms with what we were facing. Those were very hard times. I believe we both had to experience a grieving process before moving forward. Some of the emotional trauma that incurred still remains. I have made the choice for my sanity to move forward and live in the present and in thankfulness for my reclaimed health, rather than in the past dwelling on what I could have done differently.

If you are experiencing this, I am sure you have come up against conflicting advice in “expert” opinions about remediation, and what you can safely save and clean for mold and what you must discard. It felt “almost impossible” to know where to begin. For example, we all have many possessions that we love and have sentimental value, but we also don’t want to further risk our health by trying to save things that could make us sick or that could contaminate a new, safe environment.

The questions remain:

Who should you listen to?

Should you cut your losses no matter what or try to “clean” things for mold?

12:23 am 36 comments

Cleaning Tips Healthy Home Mold Prevention Products

Has a Mold Entered Your Home? 10 DIY Mold Remediation Steps To Avert Disaster

by Catherine 7:56 pm

When everyone in your home is mold sensitive, like in our home, you quickly develop some effective DIY mold remediation steps for when someone brings something moldy into the home. We have also had instances when there was a suspected item or piece of furniture that seemed to be causing reactions. I ALWAYS remove and see if I can treat the item first, but I still have to fully remediate the room where it was placed, so that I can be sure the spores don’t spread further, or, worse yet, get into our HVAC system and go all over our home. For this purpose, I have created what I have termed my 10 DIY Mold Remediation Steps that I want to share with you today.

I also thought this holiday weekend would be a great time to post this, because many of you will be having house guests or might be staying in a hotel or with family or friends. Anytime others are coming into our homes and bringing their things or themselves and their clothing, or we have slept outside of our homes in a different environment and are returning home, the risk of contamination is there. This may sound extreme, but I assure you, it is VERY real and VERY serious when you are talking about mold with the mold-sensitive or immunocompromised.

You may ask, “How much can one mold-contaminated item actually affect my health?”

A LOT. If you need proof, I have a little story to share:

7:56 pm 2 comments