RE: Re: B. - Toxic House Question

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You go girl! As usual, you are an amazing wealth of information!!! Just wanted to mention that when we had our A/C and heater replaced 3 years ago I got quotes from several companies. In the end we went with Town and Country in Rosenberg because they were reasonable and because after they bid the job, they then agreed to replace ALL the attic ductwork at no extra cost to us. We noticed a big difference in the air quality once that was done.> To: Texas_Thyroid_Groups > Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:20:39 +0000> Subject: Re: B. - Toxic House Question> > Hi Grace,> > Yep - even if the mildew smell goes away after a while, it's still > there - for some reason your olfactory nerves compensate somehow.> > I'll go ahead an answer because it can be very, very difficult to > find good information on this topic. Part of that is because the > business around mold problems in homes is based on fear and there > are alot of folks taking advantage of this. There are state rules > about this, but you have to remember that Texas laws aren't > particularly protective of home owners. There is however legislation > that does govern how these supposed mold remediation folks do > business:> http://www.nfsa.org/departments/regional/regionaldirector/TXmold.doc> BUT, it is really hard to sort through all the facts in this area > (per some of the details below). > > I will also note that the law firms that worked for years to protect > the tobacco industry are now supporting the folks that have lawsuits > filed against them for the mold damages (to the buildings and to the > occupants) - i.e., this area is as controversial as the decades long > debate as to whether tobacco had negative health impacts. Dr. S is > obviously on the side of the folks impacted by mold and does appear > as an expert witness, however, last year the state of MD was > challenging that. One of the primary reasons why I still use him as > a doctor is so that I can get his support if/when I need it in this > area, primarily in terms of protecting my children. > > Here's a good overview on all the potential health impacts of mold:> http://www.mold-survivor.com/assoc.illness.html> > There is a very basic test kit that you can buy at Lowe's or Home > Depot for about $15 each. You'll need more than one, unless you have > visible mold. The kits have the directions, but basically the kit is > a round little, flat dish with some gooey stuff inside. If you have > visible mold, you can just put that on the surface of the goo. If > you have no visible mold, then they usually recommend you put two of > the dishes in rooms where you spend the most time - the bedroom and > living room for most folks (or for you, the room where you feel the > worst). You leave the kits for like a day as they will collect > the "stuff" that's in the air - and it's the toxins produced by the > mold that does the worst damage, not the mold spores themselves. > Although, you could also or either be allergic to the mold. You can > then send these test kits off to be analyzed - the info is included > with the test kit. That costs about $30. I did this for our one > bathroom where the A/C had dripped (the pipe that's supposed to > carry the condensation outside was clogged) into a bathroom (IMHO, > it's a really bad idea to put the A/C units in the attic, but they > do it to save space). Under the baseboard in the bathroom, growing > on the wallpaper, I found a small (1 inch sq) of mold. That test to > be Aspergillus, which does produce some bad toxins. Most folks homes > will have some sorts of molds (at least 3) that primarily trigger > allergic reactions. But, again statistically 2/3 homes in Texas have > mold issues - my theory is that it's because we run our A/C so much > and with the rains we get that are sometimes horizontal - if you > have any building defects, it is very likely for water to enter in > the home without you knowing it for a very, very long time. That > happened with our roof (two nail holes) let in water over time and > by the time it had done enough damage that it was coming inside, our > rafters were full of black mold. Also, they build new homes so > quickly that many, many homes have defects - you can google and find > many, many stories about this. And, per my note earlier, mold is > typically excluded from most insurance policies and there is a time > limit in terms of remediation for water damage (and that doesn't > consider the impacts of mold). > > There is also a test that is more expensive (around $300), but far > more accurate - it tests for the DNA for the molds, rather than > actually needing the toxins or the mold spores even there:> http://www.mycometrics.com/ (You want the ERMI test kit)> This one is often used before and after remediation. For this test > (you also need two, but I think the basic test includes the two - > this is something I still need to do for my toxic house as we have > yet to remediate it), you get an attachment for inside your vaccuum > cleaner, so the stuff goes into this rather than the bag. You then > vaccuum 6 sq ft in the two rooms and send in the sample. > > The only problem with these tests is there really are no standards > in terms of "safe" levels of molds. For the little dish tests, they > recommend putting one outside and if the inside levels are much > higher than the outside, the you likely have an issue. > > And, perhaps a bigger problem (and why it is better to do these > tests on your own rather than pay a so-called professional - there > are very few of these in the DFW area) is that if you do find mold, > you are required to disclose this information if you ever sell your > house. But, if you plan to remediate, then you can show proof that > you've dealt with the problem. I've been warned that anytime there's > a just remodeled home for sale one should be wary that they may have > had water damage and thus mold issues - unless water is totally > removed within about 24 hours, the potential for mold growth is very > high and mold loves the typical wall board and especially wallpaper. > We rebuilt the master bath in the home that I'm currently living in > from the outside brick in - i.e., entirely replacing some studs, all > the wallboard - with the cement wallboard which should always be > used behind tile or where there are pipes in the walls, but rarely > is. > > The only thing we did not do was to replace all the air ducts in the > A/C and that's next on my list as I think that might still be > bugging us, which relates to the HEPA filters (I have a half dozen > of the ones you can get at target/home depot) and then a > professional model one that filters toxins, VOCs and just about > anything - 99.997% of the stuff. > > Certain types of HEPA filters will trap some of the mold toxins and > that is certainly better than doing nothing at all. I managed to > live in my toxic house for over a year by spending most of my time > in one room with a HEPA filter. And, the whole house one can be very > useful - having a UV lite on there will also kill some of the toxins > (it's about one of the only ways to kill the toxins btw). > > One of the biggest issues with the toxins is that the will saturate > any permeable surface - that's why I have no curtains in my house > nor do I have any carpet. Removing carpet will help alot. HOWEVER, > removing anything that could be contaminated will increase the level > of airborne toxins, thus you really shouldn't be in the house when > that's done and it needs to be done by someone that's knowledgeable > and that can be hard to come by. I can recommend some good books > (authored by Jeff May) that explain this stuff. There is actually an > expert, Jeff May, that lurks on the sickbuilding Yahoo group. > However, I don't recommend folks join that group unless you do it > with a web only interface as that group is often a big pity party (I > personally think all those folks have undermedicated thyroids!) > > Also, do not use an Ionizer while any living creature is in the > home. Those are considered very bad by the experts as they actually > will break open the mold spores and cause an incredible outpouring > of toxins. Yes, they kill the spores in the end, but the by product > does more harm than good. > > For me personally, the doctor considers any level of mold toxins a > problem because over time (with more exposures), your (innate) > immune system becomes more and more sensitive and the reaction > happens sooner, likely because the hypothalamus is already damaged. > So, I am on a maintenance dose of the cholestyramine since it is > virtually impossible to avoid mold (e.g., there is a mold issue in > Terminal D at DFW - yes the new terminal! - I am like a canary in > terms of detecting mold!). I even react to people that have mold in > their homes because their clothes are saturated - I get a pulsation > at the base of my skull on the left side. Dr. Shoemaker believes > that anyone that has chemical sensitivies likely has had mold > exposure. If you look at a diagram of the brain, this is likely the > cerebellum reacting and there is research showing that there are > alot of toxins that impact the cerebellum. There is also > an "interface" between the cerebellum and the hypothalamus. And, > there is research showing that the hypothalamus is the part of the > brain that is most impacted by toxins. > > This also relates to the gluten issue. Research shows that there's a > substance called zonulin in fairly high levels in folks with > reactions to the gluten. This zonulin is what keeps the junctors in > the intestines open far longer than is necessary to get nutrients > into the blood system, etc. This is why folks end up with all these > proteins in the blood that shouldn't be (e.g., gluten, casein, > etc.), thus the immune reactions to all these foreign proteins. It > turns out that zonulin also opens up the blood-brain barrier, thus > the toxins - from food and any other circulating toxin like heavy > metals and any toxins that one breaths in (e.g., mold, etc.) - are > impacting the brain. And, there have been brain scans to show this > to be the case - e.g., Dr. Amen who runs brain scanning clinics has > shown the difference between a brain before and after a gluten-free > diet. And, of course, it's the same toxins that are damaging and > interfering with the thyroid. Also, they have found the same types > of cancer cells in the brains of folks that have had intestinal > cancer due to gluten (that is the biggest health risk due to > gluten). > > Again, way more info than you wanted, but my guess is that this > might well apply to others in the group, in particular due to the > impact on the hypothalamus and our discussion yesterday on how that > can impact the thyroid and also just based on the stats for mold in > Texas buildings - Texas tops the list (although there are debates as > to how that list is created... ). > > Be well,> B. > > > >> > Hi ,> > > > Thank you for being such a wealth of information! I'm sorry to > ask yet another question, but I'm not sure where to look for the > answer to this one. Maybe you can just point me in the right > direction.> > > > I just returned from a week away from my house. At first entry > and for a few hours after, the mildew smell was very strong to me. > It eventually went away as I got used to it, but I know it is still > there. I am now noticing that I feel much worse than I did while I > was away visiting a drier climate. Where do I go from here as far > as testing in my house or identifying if there is, in fact, > something affecting me or my family. We know there are rooms that > bother all of us (coughing, etc.), but I don't know what to do about > it.> > > > We have a couple of hepa filters and even a Trane Clean Effects > whole house filter, but it's not enough.> > > > Thanks so much,> > Grace> >> > > > ------------------------------------> >