Mold and Indoor Air
Pollution FAQ's
[June 7, 2002]
Q.
I'm a currently
renting an apartment in an old house that was converted about 25 years ago
into 4 units. I moved in on December 1, 2001 and in early January came
down with a sinus infection. I usually get one maybe two sinus infections
per year because I suffer from seasonal sinusitus. I was treated for the
infection three separate times, first with amoxocilin, then with two of
the newer antibiotics, Tequin, and then Avelox (each treatment was for 14
days and there were 2-4 weeks between each treatment). On each occasion
the infection cleared up some (only completely with Tequin) then quickly
returned in a matter of days after finishing the full course of the drugs.
On the last visit to my ENT specialist he wanted to treat me again,
however I declined because I've heard that know using too many antibiotics
can be detrimental to one's immune system, so I'm holding off for now.
Each day I wake up with a headache and I feel nauseous for perhaps 30-45
minutes, and I'm sluggish and am always tired. This week the nauseous
feelings
have gone on for an hour or two after leaving the house in the mornings.
It seems also, as if I can never get enough sleep. Anyway, about 3 weeks
ago I saw something on television regarding molds in the home and it set
off an alarm. I remembered that when I first moved in the place in
December, the landlord mentioned that there had been a tenant in the
basement but a flood occurred in September 2001 and the tenant moved out.
Since he owns the home and makes repairs himself, the basement has
remained vacant because he hasn't had the time to complete the repairs to
make it livable (he also has a full time job). I have no way of accessing
the basement without the landlord's permission to prove that molds are
possibly present. However I have noticed that there is damp wood at the
back of the house, and it seems to have remained damp/wet for some time.
Isn't damp wood a possible sign of mold? I don't see any mold with my
own eyes, but is it also possible that mold is growing behind those pieces
of wood? My doctor said I must have the house inspected to determine if
molds do exist so he'll know how to treat me. I'm trying to come up with a
way to approach the landlord to suggest that mold is in the house and
recommend he look into it...I am not the owner of the property and cannot
prove it. I live on the first floor of the house, which is completely
elevated off of the ground (I must take stairs from the front porch and
back porch to get to the first floor). The house has no duct-work and has
radiated heat. There is an old window air conditioning unit that I've used
a few times in the past few weeks--the unit is on the back of the house
where the damp wood is. I'm tired of being physically tired on a daily
basis, feeling sickly and getting no relief.
A.
Serious, repetitive sinus problems are great evidence that you are living
in a mold infested place. The happening of the recent flood and the
continually damp wood are two physical signs to you that there is probably
a major health risk to you from big-time mold infestation. Your being
sluggish, always tired, etc. is possible evidence that you are being
attacked by the deadly toxic mold Stachybotrys. You or one of our
Certified Mold Inspectors should immediately test the air of the
various rooms of your apartment to determine if there are elevated levels
of dangerous molds in your breathing air inside the apartment. Follow the
mold testing suggestions provided at:
Mold Testing. After you have
taken the air mold tests, move out immediately to a safer place to live.
The mold air tests can be used by an attorney to pursue any legal claims
you may have against the landlord for injuring your health. Don't worry
about trying to persuade your landlord to take care of the mold
infestation problem. Most landlords won't spend the often considerable
funds necessary to do comprehensive testing and mold remediation. Although
landlords owe a duty to provide a healthy apartment to their tenants, in
the real world, they usually don't care until a tenant or former tenant's
attorney sues the landlord.
[April 22, 2002]
Q.
I believe I am
suffering from a mold related problem. I was living in an apartment in
which the air quality became so bad I could no longer breathe, had chronic
sinusitis, terrible lung congestion and, toward the end (before moving
out) was experiencing wooziness and short-term
memory problems. On the other hand, I have never been able to find visible
traces of mold. I did do a mold test, and colonies of penicillium and
aspergillus were found. At the time I had
thought that only 'stachybotrys' was dangerous. Anyway, I moved into a new
apartment, taking my furniture with me. Within a week the new place
developed a sickly sweet smell (similar to the smell present in the old
apartment) and I am no longer able to live in it. Again, I do not see
visible traces of mold, but all who enter the apartment note a sweetish
smell (some say it smells like a perfumey air-freshener). If I spend any
time at all in the apartment I begin to get sick; sinus, lung
congestion, dry mouth and throat and (scariest of all) wooziness and
mental fuzziness. Do you have any idea what I may be suffering from? Can
mold spores from my furniture, entering a clean apartment (with new,
clean, carpeting) create problems despite the absence of any significant
moisture in so short a time? What might be causing the sickly sweet
smell? And most important:
What should I do? (I am staying at a friends house and -- frighteningly
--before understanding the depths of the problem brought some clothes from
my apartment into their house. Are they now at risk?
A.
Taking your
mold-contaminated personal possessions to the second apartment may have
cross-contaminated the second apartment. You can also have transported
mold spores on your body and clothing to your friends' house. You need to
disinfect all of your personal possessions in the precise ways explained
in our book Do it yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Remediation, &
Testing Guide, available online on the home page of
Mold Inspector. After
disinfecting your personal possessions you can mold test them to make sure
that they are free of mold-contamination. Another possibility is that the
second apartment is also mold-contaminated unrelated to your moving your
possessions to it. Because more than half of the apartments and homes in
the U.S.A. have a serious mold problem, it is very possible that you moved
from one mold hell to another. You should have your body tested for mold
to find out if you have molds growing in your body.
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