Even Clean Homes Have Mold -- Could your house make you sick?

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Even Clean Homes Have Mold -- Could your house make you sick?

BellaOnline

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art50936.asp

No matter how diligent you are about cleaning or conscientious you

are about home repairs, mold can be growing in your home. Even new

homes can have mold. In fact, many newer homes have more problems

with mold than older ones because these houses are tighter, creating

just the right environments for mold to grow.

In short, newer homes have less ventilation, especially in areas

where it's most needed, such as bathrooms and laundry rooms. There

are also fewer air leaks – and that causes less air penetration and

exchange. Oddly, whil newer homes are easier on the utility bills,

older homes with their leakier construction, are actually better for

us.

What mold does

Some people don't even know when they have a mold problem. But, over

time they may begin to be frequently ill with problems ranging from

coughing to rashes to upset stomach and even mental difficulties.

Others may see mold in the house, yet suffer no ill effects. Each

person's reaction to mold will be different. I know this firsthand.

I live in a three year old house and noticed that after a couple of

years, I kept getting sick with colds, sinus infections, and

overwhelming fatigue when I sat in my media room. My husband's

sciatic nerve would bother him to the point he could not sit in this

room because of the pain it caused him. Eventually, I began to have

serious allergic reactions, breathing problems, and increasingly

difficult to treat infections.

But, because I work out of the house, I never noticed anything

unusual about my home until I left it for two days and returned.

Upon walking into my media room, I noticed a putrid smell and got on

my hands and knees to try to " sniff out " the carpet, thinking the

cat had had an accident. It was then I discovered the back half of

the room, covered by an area rug and large sofa, was completely wet.

It flashed back to my mind that this room had water standing in it

after a big rain storm while it was under construction and before

the carpet was put in. I also recalled that there had been a single

loose brick I had asked the builder to repair before moving in.

Immediately, we pulled up the carpeting and saw it: mold. It was on

the carpet, the floor, the wall, and behind the wallboard.

We called the builder and he sent in a crew to bleach the entire

area, replace the carpet, the damaged wallboard and insulation. This

was a serious problem that had sent me to the hospital about three

times in six months and was getting worse. As part of a test to be

certain where the water was coming from, the builder sprayed water

next to the loose brick and we watched in horror as the water

created a mini-lake in the room.

For three years this room would fill up with water when it rained,

dry up, and the mold would grow. It was no wonder we were all sick,

especially me. The worst part was when my heart began beating very

irregularly sending me to the emergency room and then to the

intensive care unit to regulate my heart. So, you see, mold can

create more than just a runny nose and it should be taken quite

seriously.

It just might be the house

If you find that you or someone in your household is having

unexplained illnesses, allergies, rashes, and respiratory problems,

it could be your home. Do a thorough search of every room, crawling

on your hands and knees if you have to and feel the carpeting, feel

the walls for damp or soft spots, check the air vents, and look

around windows to see if water could be penetrating, and give an

extra thorough look around basements, bathrooms, and sinks.

Mold remediation is for professionals

If you do find mold, the EPA recommends that homeowners do not try

to attempt to clean the area themselves if the mold covers more than

a three foot by three foot area. And they're right. Call a

professional cleaning service to come to your house because mold

spores are serious business and need to be treated that way. This is

one cleaning job that is better left to professionals.

For more information about molds in the home, these sites offer some

useful information:

US EPA Mold Basics Webpage

Is Hidden Mold at Home Making You Sick, ABC News report

National Association of Homebuilders mold tips for homeowners

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE, PUBLICATION OR WEBSITE? You

can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Weber is the publisher of the Everydayclean.com Cleaning Calendar --

the calendar that puts you in control of your housekeeping by making

it faster and you more efficient. It's the cleaning system that lets

you have a clean house AND a life! Find out more

at " Everydayclean.com "

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