Re: Mother of 3, can't afford to escape mold conditions

[Guest guest]

#1 You need to reduce the humidity wherever the mold is. If that is

inside of the walls, say because of leaks or flooding, the important

issue is to cut off the water. Fix a leaky roof, replace or fix leaky

plumbing, dry out a leaky basement. If the mold is coming from a base

board, that implicates the inside of the walls. Is there any flooding

anywhere (basement, etc?) or leaks you know about?

Do you have a kitchen and bathroom fan or use windows for ventilation

when cooking and or showering? (source control) You should both open a

window and use fan (at the same time) if there is mold inside of

walls whenever you cook or shower..

If you generate humidity (even just breathing does this) you need to

ventilate appropriately. Leave windows cracked open to let the

moisture out if you don't have the appropriate vent fans. (actually,

if you have vent fans, you especially need to open windows to provide

makeup air otherwise the fans operation will suck mold into your

apartment from inside the walls)

Some apartment buildings have so much mold inside the walls that

nothing works. Those buildings are really hopeless and should be

condemmed. But that is not very helpful to the people forced to pay to

live in them, and it does not help find new housing either.

In may mold situations, the building itself is the problem because of

a combination of years of leaks and lack of insulation inside of

walls. Those buildings should probably be replaced. Alternatively,

they could be gutted and insulated and the windows updated.

Indicators are when the mold seems to originate inside of the walls,

grows out from cracks, etc. These buildings can kill people.

It may take a few weeks to find another place to live. You may be able

to seal off the walls with large sheets of plastic and duct tape. Make

sure that you have powered ventilation at all times, that draws its

air from a safe, outdoor source, (an upwind window out in the clear)

There are instructions on the net for fighting against bioterrorism.

Use Google to find them.

There are systems that provide both exhaust and make up air at the

same time.. they are called heat recovery ventilators or energy

recovery ventilators. If you own your house, installing one can help

make your air fresher. (Everyone, not just those with mold problems,

can benefit from this) Having an HRV or ERV - which contain heat

exchangers, can make the air fresher without losing too much warm or

cold air. You should look for a unit that is highly cleanable so you

can take it with you when you leave.

Whirlpool makes a cheap one (around $350) that installs a lot like a

vent fan that might be suitable for mild climates and smaller

apartments.

I hear that at one time window or wall mounted HRVs were available.

They may still be. Check out HVI.org, esp. the list of manufacturers

looking for a small one.

#2 The less time you spend in that building the better. is it possible

to send your children to live with relatives while you look for

another place to live?

#3 Some buildings may be hopeless. If your building is, the sooner you

accept that you need to get out the better. Accept that all of your

belongings may be contaminated. What is increasingly looking like the

best solution is to simply throw out everything you can and keep the

rest in a big sealed box and don't touch it for years until you are

well. I didn't do this, I couldn't afford to. Not many people can but

its the best option, in retrospect.

Even cars can become contaminated if they are parked in a moldy area.

On Nov 6, 2007 11:47 PM, shes_tiki <shes_tiki@...> wrote:

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> I am a mother of 3 that can't afford to move from my home and my kids

> and I lived in a mold infested home for 5 years before this home we

> live in now. We have been in this house now for 3 years. Within this 8

> years of our past, my kids and I have developed asthma and chronic

> sinus and skin allergies. I work from home so I am always experiencing

> fogged-head problems, sinus, abdominal pain, headaches every week,

> stomach problems, nausea, skin problems, depression, short term memory

> loss, and total confusion. I can actually see the black mode coming

> from the base board and windows, behind the toilet and around the

> bathtub. The only thing I have done is spray it with bleach but it

> comes back within a couple of weeks. OOOOOH and the smell is

> overwhelming. Can someone please tell me what I can do until I can

> afford to move....

>

> sick-daily

>

>

[Guest guest]

Bleach can damage your lungs. You should avoid the bleach and instead,

remove the mold by removing moldy sheetrock and replacing it. The wood

inside the wall can be scrubbed with wire brushes and soap and water,

then dried out thoroughly, then new sheetrock put on.

You shouldn't do this. Pros using PPE (N-100 masks and gloves, at the

very least) should.. they need to seal off the room they are working

in and slightly pressurize the rest of the house or put a fan in the

room they are working in's window BLOWING OUT.

[Guest guest]

I do not agree with the fan. As you can not exspect that the spores are not

going to be air borne blowing a fan. I dont care if you think the spores are

going to blow out of the room, they are going to blow all over the room and

probably get into other rooms. Bleach is only going to make the color of the

mold disappear, not getting rid of the mold itself. Tell me how would you think

that the wood is going to be ok with scrubbing with wire brushes, to me it has

to be replaced along with the sheet rock, the room gutted out including the wood

if it has mold on it. I am no expert, but this is my opinion. Get some

professionals in there that know what they are doing. And do not, I repeat, do

not be in that house when remediation is taking place, I dont care if they seal

off the room or not. I would not want to be in any house that is being

remediated if I had the options to leave and be safe. Who knows, do they really

get rid of all the mold. I'd say bye bye house.

Get rid of the source as well. Darlene

LiveSimply <quackadillian@...> wrote: Bleach

can damage your lungs. You should avoid the bleach and instead,

remove the mold by removing moldy sheetrock and replacing it. The wood

inside the wall can be scrubbed with wire brushes and soap and water,

then dried out thoroughly, then new sheetrock put on.

You shouldn't do this. Pros using PPE (N-100 masks and gloves, at the

very least) should.. they need to seal off the room they are working

in and slightly pressurize the rest of the house or put a fan in the

room they are working in's window BLOWING OUT.

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Darlene, thats what they do. If the structural integrity of the studs

is not compromised, they just 'sand' the outside down until the mold

is gone and then some. Then they dry it out thoroughly.

Sometimes subfloors need to be replaced too but the beams and the

studs usually stay. Unless the situation is REALLY bad. Then its often

a matter of replacing a big chunk of, or the entire, building.

I agree with you about being there. But in some cities, hotels cost

$200/night (for a double occupancy room) for a family, it might be

more than that. These things can take a long time so she should be

ready for that. If they use dry ice blasting, and work fast, at least

a week.

Bad landlords sometimes pretend that it takes months to force tenants

to move elsewhere. But it shouldn't if they use the right equipment

and work fast. One crew can be putting the sheetrock back in one room

while an other room is being dried out after cleaning. (The whole

building should be cleared for the removal phase, but belongngs could

be completely wrapped in plastic in a corner, and sealed up, then

professionally cleaned.

[Guest guest]

Often its faster if the job is a replacement, not a renovation.

[Guest guest]

Live, it just sounds so crazy to run a fan. As far as the belongings, they must

be contaminated with spores. So if the belongings are being wrapped in plastic,

once unwrapped we are talking about cross contamination. With the bad

landlords, they should be forced to pay for relocation even if it is temporary.

We don't cause the mold, it is up to them as far as I am concerned and I am sure

others will agree with me. The thing is though, I would make sure where ever I

go while remediation is taking place that the temporary environment is mold

free. Once again, who now makes sure this is mold free for our safety. Alot

seems like it rides on our shoulders as tenants, and that should not be the

case. Darlene

LiveSimply <quackadillian@...> wrote:

Darlene, thats what they do. If the structural integrity of the studs

is not compromised, they just 'sand' the outside down until the mold

is gone and then some. Then they dry it out thoroughly.

Sometimes subfloors need to be replaced too but the beams and the

studs usually stay. Unless the situation is REALLY bad. Then its often

a matter of replacing a big chunk of, or the entire, building.

I agree with you about being there. But in some cities, hotels cost

$200/night (for a double occupancy room) for a family, it might be

more than that. These things can take a long time so she should be

ready for that. If they use dry ice blasting, and work fast, at least

a week.

Bad landlords sometimes pretend that it takes months to force tenants

to move elsewhere. But it shouldn't if they use the right equipment

and work fast. One crew can be putting the sheetrock back in one room

while an other room is being dried out after cleaning. (The whole

building should be cleared for the removal phase, but belongngs could

be completely wrapped in plastic in a corner, and sealed up, then

professionally cleaned.

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Darlene, I have made several attempts to write something here but I give up.