Intro - I'm sick and I think my house is too.

[Guest guest]

Hello,

I bought my home almost two years ago and have been sick since. When

I bought it the first thing I did was gut the downstairs. The house

is nearly 100 years old, and was FULL of coal dust from the original

coal furnace. Initially I thought I was sick from breathing in so

much dust for a month straight.

I moved into the house January, 2002. I have had a 'cold' since

then. The mucus in my throat is often foul tasting and thick.

Sometimes it is just there with no taste at all, but most of the

time it is a horrible taste in the back of my mouth. It goes away

when I am out of the house for about 48 hours. I know the house is

what is making me sick, I just don't know what to do about it.

The basement is damp, even with a dehumidifier running and vented

windows open. We had a MAJOR sewer backup last month, and now have a

bad fly problem as well with no obvious source. (Please don't tell

me to find the maggots, we have gone over every inch of the

basement - we have flies but have been unable to find ANY maggots)

There is one area of my basement floor that does not have cement on

it - it is dirt. The walls are damp, but there are no puddles - same

with the floor. The cement is often dark in color and moist, but

not 'wet'. I do not have a sump pump, the house was not built with

one. There is an open pipe to the main house drain, but I can not

plug it, as every plug I have put in has literally blown off because

of back pressure. The previous owner filled the down spout drains

with concrete which I have been unable to remove - so the pipe has

to stay open until I solve that problem.

I recently had foam insulation applied to my rim joists in the

basement and cellulous blown into the walls, so the air exchange in

the house is WAY down. This is good for heating and cooling (I don't

have AC) but has not changed my symptoms at all.

I found out AFTER I bought the house that there had been a water

leak from the bathroom upstairs of well over ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND

GALLONS of water in a three month period in the winter. This can be

verified though the water usage bills from the year before I bought

the house.

I do not want to move, and wouldn't feel right about selling knowing

I am sick because of the house. What can I do to heal myself - and

my house?

Thanks,