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Toxic Mold: Seeking Advice for Family Health Issues

In summary, it sounds like you all should get your house tested for Toxic Mold. If you have a CO sensor, you can also call your local fire department to check the levels. It's also important to take care of yourself and your family if you think you may have Mold.
jbachen
609
Does anyone on here have any experience with Toxic Mold in their house?

My entire family seems to be having strange health issues - fatigue, headaches, etc. and I would love to get the house tested, but I am almost afraid of what they might find out. I am also afraid that they might try to convince me to get something unnecessary done to get money out of me.

Does anyone have any advice for me? Thanks!
 
I'm going to watch this thread with great interest - I can't ever make the Jell-o come out of a mold, either.
 
jbachen said:
Does anyone on here have any experience with Toxic Mold in their house?

My entire family seems to be having strange health issues - fatigue, headaches, etc. and I would love to get the house tested, but I am almost afraid of what they might find out. I am also afraid that they might try to convince me to get something unnecessary done to get money out of me.

Does anyone have any advice for me? Thanks!

I definitely think you should get your house tested. I can't give you much more than that as I've never experienced this, but I think it's something that's really important to do - especialyl if everyone at home is sick.

Do they feel better when they leave the house?
 
No personal experience...will be interested in seeing too...However, if you suspect something out of the ordinary, by all means, PLEASE take care of yourself and family!Also, fatigue, headaches, etc., can be a sign of many things too...Do you have a CO sensor in your house? If not, call your local fire department and ask if they can come check the levels for you...Do you have reason to suspect you have mold in your house? Is it on the walls, in the basement?
 
janetupnorth said:
No personal experience...will be interested in seeing too...

However, if you suspect something out of the ordinary, by all means, PLEASE take care of yourself and family!

Also, fatigue, headaches, etc., can be a sign of many things too...

Do you have a CO sensor in your house? If not, call your local fire department and ask if they can come check the levels for you...

Do you have reason to suspect you have mold in your house? Is it on the walls, in the basement?

Good call on the CO Detector. It's state law that we have to have them here, so I didn't even think about that!
 
janetupnorth said:
No personal experience...will be interested in seeing too...However, if you suspect something out of the ordinary, by all means, PLEASE take care of yourself and family!Also, fatigue, headaches, etc., can be a sign of many things too...Do you have a CO sensor in your house? If not, call your local fire department and ask if they can come check the levels for you...Do you have reason to suspect you have mold in your house? Is it on the walls, in the basement?
Wow! Does that bring back some scary memories! 3 years ago, when DS was 9 months old, a guy from the Gas Company came to read some sort of special meter that you can only access from inside the house. I met him at the door, and said "Come on in, but be warned, we are all sick with something here". (Same symptoms you are all having!) Turns out, he was an Angel sent from God (I truly believe this!) He read the meter, and then he had a device to check the CO level - now, he didn't have to do that - but he said when I told him we were all sick, it set off some warning bells in his head - Our CO levels were so dangerously high, that he said to get myself and DS out of the house immediately, and to call DH and get some help here now! He then stood there and waited until I made the calls, and started getting ready to leave. Turns out there was something wrong with the furnace, and we had to have it replaced ~ because there was an infant in the house, the furnace company made us an "emergency" service call, and we had a new furnace that afternoon. But if it hadn't been for the man from the Gas Company........don't even want to go there!eta: We now have a CO sensor!
 
  • Thread starter
  • #7
Wow, Becky, that was a scary story! I am so glad your Angel helped you out!I should have mentioned that, though - it is also a state law here that we have a CO detector near the bedroom. We had bought one when the law was implemented, and it sat in the box until I started thinking about all of this, and then made DH install it. Now it is up, and reads 0. So that is not it... And, once I ruled out CO, the mold was the only other option I could come up with to check into.
 
jbachen said:
Wow, Becky, that was a scary story! I am so glad your Angel helped you out!

I should have mentioned that, though - it is also a state law here that we have a CO detector near the bedroom. We had bought one when the law was implemented, and it sat in the box until I started thinking about all of this, and then made DH install it. Now it is up, and reads 0. So that is not it...

And, once I ruled out CO, the mold was the only other option I could come up with to check into.

Good, check that then too! I hope you find the problem. Do you see mold in your house?

Also, take your sensor down near your furnace and try a few other places in your house just in case it is different in other areas.

If you get ANY readings that aren't zero, please call the fire dept to check because their sensors will be much more sensitive and accurate than the $40-$60 store bought ones.
 
  • Thread starter
  • #9
Oh, and the reason I suspect mold is just that we bought our house refurbished... it was in bad shape and the previous owner had passed, so a guy bought it with the intention of fixing it up and re-selling it. We figured people do that all the time and we were getting a good deal. However, the more we got to know the seller, the more we got the impression that it was his first time doing this, and it had turned out to be more trouble than he had originally thought it would be, and halfway through he was not paying as much attention to things as he did in the beginning. We don't have any real proof of any of this, there are just little things that made us think that way. So I am concerned that something he did half-way might have opened the door to the mold problem... It's all speculation.
 
  • #10
janetupnorth said:
Good, check that then too! I hope you find the problem. Do you see mold in your house?Also, take your sensor down near your furnace and try a few other places in your house just in case it is different in other areas.If you get ANY readings that aren't zero, please call the fire dept to check because their sensors will be much more sensitive and accurate than the $40-$60 store bought ones.
Yes - that is what the Gas Co. Angel did - he walked all over the house and got different readings (some 0 ) in different areas.....but some of the readings were way way high - and off the chart near the furnace! Bedrooms were the lowest readings in the house.And it never hurts to get mold levels checked ~ black mold can be dangerous to your health, and if nothing else, it will set your mind at ease.
 
  • #11
ChefBeckyD said:
Wow! Does that bring back some scary memories! 3 years ago, when DS was 9 months old, a guy from the Gas Company came to read some sort of special meter that you can only access from inside the house. I met him at the door, and said "Come on in, but be warned, we are all sick with something here". (Same symptoms you are all having!) Turns out, he was an Angel sent from God (I truly believe this!) He read the meter, and then he had a device to check the CO level - now, he didn't have to do that - but he said when I told him we were all sick, it set off some warning bells in his head - Our CO levels were so dangerously high, that he said to get myself and DS out of the house immediately, and to call DH and get some help here now! He then stood there and waited until I made the calls, and started getting ready to leave. Turns out there was something wrong with the furnace, and we had to have it replaced ~ because there was an infant in the house, the furnace company made us an "emergency" service call, and we had a new furnace that afternoon. But if it hadn't been for the man from the Gas Company........don't even want to go there!


eta: We now have a CO sensor!


Wow - you just sent shivers down my spine. YES, you had an angel at your door step!

Good luck with the mold issue; I don't have any advice to offer as fortunately, no mold here, but I hope you're able to find the cause to your health issues!
 
  • #12
I know I would be scared of what they "might" find, but mold is NOT something to mess around with. Can you ask at church or at a group...or email your friends and family to see if they have someone they can reccommend? I would be afraid of getting taken advantage of, too!

No matter what, it sounds like you should check into this further!

I pray that it is NOT mold, and maybe you are all fighting the flu and will get over it soon!
 
  • #13
I know here in our state if they find mold your house is off limits to you & your family until it is repaired & approved to be lived in again. I have a customer that was out of her house & in a motel for over 6mos. They had no say in it at all.
 
  • #14
A few years ago I started coughing and it lasted a year with no relief. the doctors treated me for everything under the sun. I then went to a ENT and he done a cat scan and I had to have sinus surgery. During this time I had noticed that my son who sleeps in the room by the central return vent was always stuffy, his nose would literally be caked in with dry snot and he sneezed all of the time and had red eyes. We thought allergies of course. But he had been like this his whole short life. We bought this house brand new 6 years ago. So didn't think about it being the house..
Well after my surgery, I was still getting sinus headaches, tired and so on. I got all of the skin and blood tests for allergies. Found out I was highly allergic to molds.. had to get rid of my antique books (musty spell means mold) my fish tank (when I cleaned it out my nose started bleeding) and was told to go to Wal-Mart and get a $10 mold test.
I figured I was wasting my time with the test because our house was new.
The test was very easy to do and within a few hours you could see something that looked like a spiderweb growing in the petri dish. Then 48 hours later there was obviously 3 different kinds of mold growing. None were black but were green and gray.
I went up under the house with a flashlight and all along the floor joists and the foundation blocks was a white powdery substance. I got a friend to come and look and it was a type of mold. Come to find out our duct work had a tear in it and the moisture was causing the mold to grow and it was all in our duct work and our central unit.
We had a mold cleaning person to come out and for $300 they cleaned out the duct work and the central unit and sprayed a germicide disinfectant into the return. My husband had already went under the house with straight clorox and a scrub brush and cleaned every inch under the house to get rid of it.
The return was next to my son's room and do you know that they next night he slept and woke up and did not have a stuffy nose. So I guess he is allergic to mold also.
Now we don't have any problems with sinus and sneezing.
The mold kits are at Wal-Mart in the plumbing section...
I am sure that you can get them anywhere but they say Home test kit for mold and it is a liquid bottle and a petri dish. You can even mail it in with the envelope provided and they will test the mold and see what kind it is.
I hope that this helps since it is soo long. But I was amazed that we had mold and how it made us feel.
 
Last edited:
  • Thread starter
  • #15
Hey crissy, did you have to have a spot with visible mold to test? Maybe I should send hubby down under the house, too...
 
  • #16
I have heard that a stong bleach and water solution sprayed onto the mold sopt will get rid of it for a while. When I was pregnat, I was living in an apartment that turned out to be filled with mold. We had it tested and moved out right away. I really think its worth it to have it tested. After all, its your health we are talking about.
 
  • #17
With this kit it test the air for mold. So you close all of your central unit vents in each room and then go to the room furtherest from the return and place the petri dish upside down on the vent for 10 minutes. Whatever is in the duct work blows into the dish and starts to grow.
I never seen mold inside the house but when I went under it you could see what looked like white powder on all of the joists and blocks. I was in shock...
 
  • #18
The house we rented in Oregon had black mold growing in both bedrooms. The only thing that kept it away for more than a week was pure bleach and water. However, it was something we had to keep up on. We also bought a dehumidifier and it helped a lot! We would have to empty it almost every day because the container would be full of water.

My husband has never had allergies, but he swore he was allergic to our house. He would be fine anywhere else, but both of us would sneeze constantly in the house. It wasn't fun. I would get it checked out. Even if they tell you of some treatment, to me, health is worth it!
 
  • #19
janetupnorth said:
No personal experience...will be interested in seeing too...

However, if you suspect something out of the ordinary, by all means, PLEASE take care of yourself and family!

Also, fatigue, headaches, etc., can be a sign of many things too...

Do you have a CO sensor in your house? If not, call your local fire department and ask if they can come check the levels for you...

Do you have reason to suspect you have mold in your house? Is it on the walls, in the basement?
That's the first thing I thought of!
 
  • #20
crissy11 said:
A few years ago I started coughing and it lasted a year with no relief. the doctors treated me for everything under the sun. I then went to a ENT and he done a cat scan and I had to have sinus surgery. During this time I had noticed that my son who sleeps in the room by the central return vent was always stuffy, his nose would literally be caked in with dry snot and he sneezed all of the time and had red eyes. We thought allergies of course. But he had been like this his whole short life. We bought this house brand new 6 years ago. So didn't think about it being the house..
Well after my surgery, I was still getting sinus headaches, tired and so on. I got all of the skin and blood tests for allergies. Found out I was highly allergic to molds.. had to get rid of my antique books (musty spell means mold) my fish tank (when I cleaned it out my nose started bleeding) and was told to go to Wal-Mart and get a $10 mold test.
I figured I was wasting my time with the test because our house was new.
The test was very easy to do and within a few hours you could see something that looked like a spiderweb growing in the petri dish. Then 48 hours later there was obviously 3 different kinds of mold growing. None were black but were green and gray.
I went up under the house with a flashlight and all along the floor joists and the foundation blocks was a white powdery substance. I got a friend to come and look and it was a type of mold. Come to find out our duct work had a tear in it and the moisture was causing the mold to grow and it was all in our duct work and our central unit.
We had a mold cleaning person to come out and for $300 they cleaned out the duct work and the central unit and sprayed a germicide disinfectant into the return. My husband had already went under the house with straight clorox and a scrub brush and cleaned every inch under the house to get rid of it.
The return was next to my son's room and do you know that they next night he slept and woke up and did not have a stuffy nose. So I guess he is allergic to mold also.
Now we don't have any problems with sinus and sneezing.
The mold kits are at Wal-Mart in the plumbing section...
I am sure that you can get them anywhere but they say Home test kit for mold and it is a liquid bottle and a petri dish. You can even mail it in with the envelope provided and they will test the mold and see what kind it is.
I hope that this helps since it is soo long. But I was amazed that we had mold and how it made us feel.

Great information!
 
  • #21
Wow! The more I read this thread, the more I think that I should get that mold test. I wouldn't say it's a huge problem around here, but my DS gets a little stuffy, me too, but I know DD is alergic to mold, along with grass, trees, and dog & cat dander. Maybe I should pick up one of those tests..... I'd do anything to help my poor baby stop itching and rubbing her eyes and nose!:(
 
  • #22
We had a CO scare a few years ago. We had a bought our house in Oct and it was the ifrst winter in the house. Since it is an older house that needed new windows, we were putting plastic on all them. My daughter (18 months old) was in bed for the night and hubby and I were putting plastic over all the windows in the basement. After we finished we were getting ready to watch tv. While we were watching tv, we were both getting really tired and he was complaining of a headache. I had one then too. The CO detector went off and we realized what was happening. I immediately went in and got my daughter out of bed. I grabbed a blanket and brought her out on the porch. We left the front door open and he opened the back door. Then he went into the basement and peeled off the plastic from all the windows. We waited on the front porch for awhile until the detector didn't go off anymore. My daughter was a bit confused why we were out on the front porch in the dark and cold. She was in good spirits but was happy to go back to bed when we could. Now we have a CO detector in the basement too, not just upstairs. That was a scare!No real mold stories, but it sounds like it it worth checking into.
Good luck!
 
  • #23
Keri...what caused the CO buildup? Did you guys figure it out and fix it?
 
  • #24
We think it had to do with covering the basement windows with the plastic. I guess there is some sort of ventilation there. Not really sure, but it faded away after we took the plastic off. The CO detector we have can come off the wall. So we were able to bring it into the basement after it stopped beeping upstairs. It took alot longer for it to stop beeping downstairs. When it finally cleared we came back inside. It never happened again after that.
 
  • #25
Be very careful about things like mold tests and such. As kaysedee said, once the government is involved, it's out of your hands and they won't stop until you're broke, and that doesn't stop them, either.

Its not unlike asbestos abatement and remember the poor lady in Maine, who was dumb enough to ask for help to clean up after a CFL bulb broke in her house. They sealed off her daughter's bedroom and they want 2 grand to clean it up.

Bleach does not solve the mold problem, because the spores are embedded in the wood framing. Bleach will kill the mold that has bloomed, but not the spores.
 
  • #26
While we are on PSAs...don't forget to change the batteries in your CO detectors and smoke detectors this weekend if you haven't recently......maybe I'll just start a thread on that...
 

1. What are the signs of toxic mold in a home?

Toxic mold can often be identified by its musty odor and visible black or green growth on walls, ceilings, or other surfaces. Other signs may include water stains, peeling paint or wallpaper, and a damp or humid feeling in the air.

2. Can toxic mold affect my family's health?

Yes, exposure to toxic mold can cause a variety of health issues including respiratory problems, allergies, headaches, and skin irritation. In severe cases, it can also lead to neurological problems or even death, especially in individuals with weakened immune systems.

3. How can I determine if my home has toxic mold?

If you suspect your home may have toxic mold, it is important to have it professionally tested. This involves taking air or surface samples to determine the presence and type of mold. You can also look for signs of mold growth or water damage in your home.

4. How can I get rid of toxic mold in my home?

The best way to remove toxic mold from your home is to hire a professional mold remediation company. They have the necessary equipment and expertise to safely remove the mold and prevent it from spreading. It is not recommended to attempt mold removal on your own, as it can be dangerous and result in further contamination.

5. How can I prevent toxic mold from growing in my home?

To prevent toxic mold from growing in your home, it is important to keep your home clean and dry. Fix any water leaks or moisture issues immediately, and regularly clean and inspect areas prone to mold growth such as bathrooms and basements. It is also beneficial to keep indoor humidity levels below 50% to discourage mold growth.

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