Moving--decontamination questions and advice on finding a new place

[Guest guest]

I'm moving out of my place and pretty much chucking everything, but

I've read it's okay to keep things that can go in the dishwasher.

Does anyone here think otherwise? And I was wondering about

ceramics--like mugs, etc. Are they considered porous? Should I only

take things that are glass?

Also I was wondering about appliances--like the base of my food

processor. Can I wipe it down? Or should I chuck it.

In terms of moving, do people have advice on what to check for in an

apartment. I'm looking for obvious things like water damage, stains,

mold growth. I've heard slab foundations aren't as good. But I was

wondering, if you see black on the insulation around air ducts, does

that automatically mean its mold? Or can it be something else. Most

places I'm looking seem to have some kind of marks around the ducting

or vents.

Also, what are people's opinions on air conditioning systems? I live

in CA and have a choice of being in a milder climate (where I don't

need A/C), but being closer to water, or going someplace warmer and

drier, but requiring A/C in summer. I was worried about condensation

in the system.

Thanks a lot for any advice!

[Guest guest]

when i was moving out of the moldy residence, it was transporting the

clothes (from the closet) that put me in a horrible tailspin

afterwards. so in retrospect, i think mold spores can attach to

household items that are organic--i'm thinking fabric, wood....and not

so much metal, glass. if your ceramic mugs have that clear-coat

finish, it should be okay.

consider buying a new bed (mattress & box spring) for your new place.

ideally, re-wash all of your clothes before bringing them into your

new residence.

be sure to test the A/C & heater while you're viewing any prospective

residences. if you don't have any ill-effects while the unit is on or

after, then you'll likely be okay when you're living there.

>

> I'm moving out of my place and pretty much chucking everything, but

> I've read it's okay to keep things that can go in the dishwasher.

> Does anyone here think otherwise? And I was wondering about

> ceramics--like mugs, etc. Are they considered porous? Should I only

> take things that are glass?

>

> Also I was wondering about appliances--like the base of my food

> processor. Can I wipe it down? Or should I chuck it.

>

> In terms of moving, do people have advice on what to check for in an

> apartment. I'm looking for obvious things like water damage, stains,

> mold growth. I've heard slab foundations aren't as good. But I was

> wondering, if you see black on the insulation around air ducts, does

> that automatically mean its mold? Or can it be something else. Most

> places I'm looking seem to have some kind of marks around the ducting

> or vents.

>

> Also, what are people's opinions on air conditioning systems? I live

> in CA and have a choice of being in a milder climate (where I don't

> need A/C), but being closer to water, or going someplace warmer and

> drier, but requiring A/C in summer. I was worried about condensation

> in the system.

>

> Thanks a lot for any advice!

>

[Guest guest]

It's been my experience that some moldy clothes are VERY hard to clean. It

varies from one kind of clothes to another.

I threw a lot of my clothes out at the beginning, but not being able to

afford to replace all of my clothes since I was unemployed, I kept some of

them.

What I found out was that if an item of clothing is contaminated with mold,

it may take ten or twenty washings or more to get to the point where it

doesn't smell like mold when it gets warm (say, like when you wear it) The

smell goes away, but very slowly. When some of those clothes are in a drawer

and I open the drawer, sometimes I still get a subtle whiff of moldy smell.

And its been a long time, and they have been washed many, many times. Its

VERY hard to get that out. When I first got out, I was so sick all the time

that I didn't realize that even that little bit might end up making me sick

again, but as I got better, I realized that sometimes those little exposures

would make me slightly ill again. They don't anymore, but they did..

Keep that in mind..

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the information, . I'm not bringing any of my clothes.

Good to know dishwasher things were okay. And that's a good tip

about turning on the a/c. It seems hard to tell about rentals.

You're not given much time to look at them, and it's a competitive

renter's market around here.

Thank you, too, Livesimply. Interesting about things out-gassing in

warmer weather. Did you find that your belongs seemed fine when you

were really sick (smell-wise and whatnot), but as you got better you

could tell if there was something wrong with it?

Thanks again.

[Guest guest]

I still am sick but I have recovered enough to know when something is

setting it off better now than when

I was just sick all the time. Also, at that time my sense of smell was

completely shot and now I can smell

some things a little, depending on how strong they are.

Why do I still smell this faint residual smell on things sometimes? My sense

of smell is better at smelling mold than

anything else I can think of, maybe because my brain sees that as the most

important thing to watch out for?

For example, I go into tea/coffee and chocolate stores just hoping to smell

something,

but usually I have to stick my nose right up into things to smell them. And

I often get them wrong.

....

Does that make sense?

I'd be curious if other people on here have gone through the same

situation...

On 6/30/07, ff_dc <ff_dc@...> wrote:

> Thank you, too, Livesimply. Interesting about things out-gassing in

> warmer weather. Did you find that your belongs seemed fine when you

> were really sick (smell-wise and whatnot), but as you got better you

> could tell if there was something wrong with it?

>

> Thanks again.

>

>

>