Re: Preliminary tests for mold?

[Guest guest]

Judith, once you have gotten sick from mold, by all means, get out but you

also need to conserve your financial resources because many of the sickest

people rarely just get better by getting out of their moldy home and away

from their moldy stuff.

YOU STILL NEED TO DO THAT - but expect a long period of recuperation at

best, and at worst, you might not get better so much as just not get worse.

Brain injuries cause sensory deprivation and that causes more brain issues

later.

Also, once you have gotten really sick, even after you may have recovered

somewhat, you can easily get ill again from new exposures, even mild ones,

and they all impact you permanently.

Hopefully you can find the resources somewhere to deal with this. If you

prepare for the worst sometimes you are pleasantly surprised when things

work out better than expected but many people (like me) prepare for a milder

scenario and then are not prepared when it turns out worse than they had

expected.

By all means, get good testing done but if its your own home you might be

better served by spending that money on a complete repair and replacement of

anything that could have caused the water issues esp. replacement of any

moldy anything.

[Guest guest]

Hi, LiveSimply:

--- In , LiveSimply <quackadillian@...>

wrote:

>

> Judith, once you have gotten sick from mold, by all means, get out

but you

> also need to conserve your financial resources because many of the

sickest

> people rarely just get better by getting out of their moldy home

and away

> from their moldy stuff.

***Yes, this is already true for me because I have not been able to

work for 2.5 years. I thought it was Lyme, but now I suspect mold is

also in the picture, after finding that small leak. The leak looks

like it's not new.

>

> YOU STILL NEED TO DO THAT - but expect a long period of

recuperation at

> best, and at worst, you might not get better so much as just not

get worse.

> Brain injuries cause sensory deprivation and that causes more brain

issues

> later.

***Yes, Shoemaker makes this clear. Some people can't fully recover

with the means available currently. Some can, just by avoiding

mold. And many are in the middle.

>

> Also, once you have gotten really sick, even after you may have

recovered

> somewhat, you can easily get ill again from new exposures, even

mild ones,

> and they all impact you permanently.

>

***This is what happened to me. After the very bad mold exposure at

a job, about 8 years ago, I am now much more sensitive to mold

toxins.

> Hopefully you can find the resources somewhere to deal with this.

If you

> prepare for the worst sometimes you are pleasantly surprised when

things

> work out better than expected but many people (like me) prepare for

a milder

> scenario and then are not prepared when it turns out worse than

they had

> expected.

***I am in some sense expecting the worst. My problem is not having

the physical energy and mental clarity to move forward.

***I need to know what kind of testing to have now, or whether I

should just try to find a good mold remediation company right away.

Shoemaker's book refers to a pretty cheap method of tape sample

testing. Maybe I can send samples directly to the company.

>

> By all means, get good testing done but if its your own home you

might be

> better served by spending that money on a complete repair and

replacement of

> anything that could have caused the water issues esp. replacement

of any

> moldy anything.

>

>

***At least. I may need to replace the ducts and air handling

system. Ugh. I was thinking of selling anyway; this just makes the

process more expensive and harder. But doable, if I can figure what

to do and get some energy.

***Thanks. Still not sure what the first step or two should be. I

guess my main questions are: Test now, and what kind? And cross-

contamination if I use an RV to live in while all the brouhaha is

going on. Do I need to keep everything from the house out of the

RV? Does normal laundering remove mold spores and toxins?

Judith

[Guest guest]

Did you fix the leak?

[Guest guest]

--- In , LiveSimply <quackadillian@...>

wrote:

>

> Did you fix the leak?

>

No; just discovered it. I suspected possible mold problems for a long

time but didn't find any. Now I wonder if there is some hidden mold,

maybe inside the old ducts or behind the sink cabinet. I will fix it

very soon. I don't do anything fast these days, but I realize that

stopping the leak needs to be done ASAP.

Judith

[Guest guest]

>If the leak is under the sink-can you not see mold growing? Testing

often fails, for many reasons we have discussed. If you buy an RV, make

it your safe zone-take nothing in that is not new. Regular washing will

do nothing for mold toxin on clothes. I just bought an RV, an if new

with lots of plastic, it needs to off Gas for a couple of months before

a sensitive person can stay in it.

> ***Thanks. Still not sure whatthe first step or two should be.

guess my main questions are: Test now, and what kind? And cross-

> contamination if I use an RV to live in while all the brouhaha is

> going on. Do I need to keep everything from the house out of the

> RV? Does normal laundering remove mold spores and toxins?

>

> Judith

>

[Guest guest]

Hi, . No, I don't see any mold under the sink yet, and

temporarily I have a container there catching the very slow leak till

I can get it fixed. But at times, I smell a slight mustiness when

air is coming through the vents, and I found a little mold in one

cabinet next to the sink. I wonder if the water has gotten down

under the flooring or behind the sink cabinet because I do have

symptoms.

Are you saying that there is no good form of testing? I should just

go to remediation?

So mold toxins will not come out of clothes, bedding, etc. with

laundering? Is there any way to remove them? I bought a lot of new

bedding recently.

I assume that everything made of paper has to be tossed, although in

a Schaller book about remediation, he said that books can be

microwaved until hot for a certain amount of time, and then vacuumed

with a HEPA vacuum. But I think it might be difficult to vacuum a

book thoroughly enough--you'd have to do every page.

Is there a good source of information on all this--what can be

cleaned and what has to be tossed, how to avoid contaminating the RV

or other safe zone?

Good point about the outgassing. The RV I'm considering is a demo

model made two years ago, so has probably outgassed a lot by now. A

friend said that using an ozone generator in the RV for a few days

(and staying out of the RV) will help it outgas very fast. But I'm

concerned about the A/C and possible mold growth in there. I know

this list recommends maintenance and special filters for A/C to avoid

mold problems.

It's hard for me to do searches right now. I almost feel like taking

a blowtorch to the house. It would be a lot simpler. But not

practical. I'm paranoid about contaminating any RV I might get or

borrow--do you remove shoes before entering? If clothes can't be

decontaminated, then anything I wear into the RV will contaminate

it. Or my dogs would. Ugh.

I'm about ready to move to a dry tropical climate and live in a grass

hut. The natural competition and predators for toxic mold will keep

it in check.

Thanks.

Judith

--- In , " carondeen " <kdeanstudios@...>

wrote:

>

> >If the leak is under the sink-can you not see mold growing?

Testing

> often fails, for many reasons we have discussed. If you buy an RV,

make

> it your safe zone-take nothing in that is not new. Regular washing

will

> do nothing for mold toxin on clothes. I just bought an RV, an if

new

> with lots of plastic, it needs to off Gas for a couple of months

before

> a sensitive person can stay in it.

>

[Guest guest]

The mold test that Dr. Shoemaker recommends for his patients is the

ERMI, and the lab with whom he collaborates is Mycometrics at

http://www.mycometrics.com/. For more information, Shoemaker has co-

written an article about the ERMI test which is posted on the site at

http://www.mycometrics.com/articles/ERMI_Lin_Shoemaker.pdf

I also live in NC so please backchannel me if you want to.

Pam

--- In , " Judith " <howdeeeyall@...>

wrote:

> I'd like to get some tests done to see if I have toxic mold in the

> house. I called Dr. Shoemaker's office since the book said you can

> send tape samples through him to the lab, but it turns out that the

> offer is only for patients of his, and I live far away.

>

> What preliminary tests do people recommend, from which lab? I'm

> sorry if this has been discussed recently. I'm sleep deprived and

> have bad brain fog so it's hard to search the archives.

> Thanks.

> Judith in NC

>

[Guest guest]

If you are indeed a " moldie " you should benefit for getting out of your

house if it is a moldy environment. However, if you have post-Lyme

disease it may not help you to leave. I would highly recommend going to

see Dr. Shoemaker to sort out which genes are involved through his HLA

testing.

I think your own doctor can also order this test, and the Mold Warriors

book has information on how to interpret the results. The details of

ordering Shoemaker's tests are at:

http://www.moldwarriors.com/PDFs/NTordersheet.pdf. Information about

his protocol is at

http://www.chronicneurotoxins.com/info/diag_process.cfm.

When you get the results of the HLA test you will know if you are

genetically vulnerable to post-Lyme or mold (plus other info).

Sorry, but I don't know how much this test cost - but it was covered by

my insurance.

Pam

> If I were to borrow

> or get an RV and live in it while the house is remediated, would it

> contaminate the RV by bringing in bedding, clothes, etc.? Do mold

> spores wash out in the laundry? Would merely walking into the RV

> contaminate it from mold spores on my shoes, etc? Or on my dogs? I

> feel the need for a detoxification room at the entrance of the RV!

>

> I have the feeling I have to get out of here.

> Thanks.

> Judith in NC

>

[Guest guest]

From what I have read on this list, people have had varying success

with RVs and/or campers. and posted a year ago about camper

setups (for instance, read Message #43999). I seem to recall problems

with mold getting into the underlining, etc., even with brand new

models. You might want to search the archives for relevant posts before

investing in one.

Anyone have any recent info/advice about campers/RVs for Judith?

Good luck,

Pam in NC

> If I were to borrow

> or get an RV and live in it while the house is remediated, would it

> contaminate the RV by bringing in bedding, clothes, etc.?

> Thanks.

> Judith in NC

[Guest guest]

-How sick are you? this determines how much clean up you need-it just

does not sound like there is alot of mold in there. I would just

remediate. testing is costly, unreliable-and the mold will have to come

out anyway.

-- In , " Judith " <howdeeeyall@...> wrote:

>

> Hi, . No, I don't see any mold under the sink yet, and

> temporarily I have a container there catching the very slow leak till

> h