cross contamination

[Guest guest]

For you newbies: We cross contaminated our new condo, and ended up

throwing all furniture, clothes books etc. away. Anything that could

not be washed. Then we had remediation work done on our condo. Dr.

Shoemaker states in his book Mold Warriors that you can never

completley rid your environment of mycotoxins once they have pervaded.

Good luck to all. LL

[Guest guest]

I have a theory: if the books or clothes are too moldy for me to

tolerate, then I trash them. I don't want other people to start

wheezing or becoming intolerant to the kind of mold I'm dealing with.

[Guest guest]

I know all too well about cross contamination, too! I moved me & the

kids to our lake condo after I found out the house was full of mold;

then I started finding stuff at the condo which I then had tested &

it came back positive, also. I didn't know about cross contamination

then, so probably carried it there unknowingly. Now I have both

places that need remediating...this stuff just never seems to end &

it's wearing me down.

Hugs & Health to all, Cheryl

> >

> > Are Dr. Shoemaker''s views on this, widely held? If this is so,

> what are the best standards one can hope for?

> >

> > Thanks,

> > Sam

>

[Guest guest]

Laurie,

Thanks for sharing what you had to go through. You mentioned the your mattress

was cleaned by the remediator? What did they do to it? Has it been alright for

you to sleep on it with the allergy prevention mattress cover? Was it a plastic

cover? I know they are usually made to keep in the dust mites. I didn't realize

it would also keep in any mycotoxins or mold spores.

Thanks again,

Sam

Laurie Lowery <lannl4@...> wrote:

We kept our bed and had the mattress cleaned by

our mold remediator and then I covered it with a allergy prevention

mattress cover.

---------------------------------

You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total

Access, No Cost.

[Guest guest]

Cheryl,

I'm so sorry to hear about you having to remediate both homes now. How are you

able to test your belongings? Is this something you are able to do on your own

without a mold testing company?

Thanks and good luck,

Sam

Cheryl <sunbum256@...> wrote:

I know all too well about cross contamination, too! I moved me & the

kids to our lake condo after I found out the house was full of mold;

then I started finding stuff at the condo which I then had tested &

it came back positive, also

---------------------------------

You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total

Access, No Cost.

[Guest guest]

I agree - i will be throwing out all that i cant save - um looks like most of my

stuff. Yesterday i was going to bring a plastic box of my grand daughters toys

to her house, i wanted them out of here and figured after two days in my room

with the air purifirer it might be ok. and the box was closed tight so the toys

inside (that she loves) might be safe. i have a hatch back car and put the box

in back of the car. i drove to pick up the paper and to a drive through to get

a bite to eat. after 15 minutes in the car with that box i was sick as a dog.

i had to come home and go in my room, turn on the air purifier and lie down

again. i just dont need this. i was sick before this mold stuf. not fair. i

am like an illness magnet. now my car is probably filled with this stuff. i

dont know. just know i felt worse then ever yesterday. i have to get out of

this place. i just dont have any energy. thats nothing new, but now its worse

then ever.

nne

[] Re: cross contamination

I have a theory: if the books or clothes are too moldy for me to

tolerate, then I trash them. I don't want other people to start

wheezing or becoming intolerant to the kind of mold I'm dealing with.

[Guest guest]

Sam, I did both. I had mold testing companies, so I thought, but there

wasn't any follow up & they tested what I pointed out to them. I,

also, bought petri dishes from Mold Help.com(I think!) & did my own

testing on suspicious areas & from my vents.(I think Lowe's sells them,

too.) & sent them to lab for analysis after waiting & watching growths

appear. I still don't have source, just a bunch of numbers & species!

I have found leaky windows, doors, etc., so we have high dollar

purchases to make & then I have to see about remediation. It's been an

uphill battle b/c my husband is one of those " mold is everywhere &

doesn't make people sick " kind of person. I did speak to a remediator

who recommended getting our leaks fixed before remediating belongings.

Hope this is of some help & thank you for your kind words!

Hugs & health to all, Cheryl

Cheryl,

I'm so sorry to hear about you having to remediate both homes now. How

are you able to test your belongings? Is this something you are able to

do on your own without a mold testing company?

Thanks and good luck,

Sam

[Guest guest]

Jeanine thank you so much for your reply unfortunately you've decided to take a

much needed break so you may not read my response.

Other than the crawl space nothing in the WDB had a moldy musty smell. My G/F's

clothes were/are my biggest concern. When she moved back in to her house with

her room mate she never washed her clothes in anything other than laundry

detergent and Im sure there were times that she sat on a sofa that's currently

in our house with her contaminated clothing not once but several occasions.

Once she sold her house she put all of her belongings in a POD knowing that she

would remove them once she found a new place to buy. Not wanting to take any

chances once we found the house were living in now we hired a mold remediation

company to come in wipe everything down and hepa vac the two sofas that came

from her old house which seems to have worked to a certain degree.

Weve had the windows open both day and night and have used the a/c maybe once or

twice the entire summer. What worries me is getting all this fresh air and me

feeling better as each day goes by (thank you Carl) may be giving me a false

sense of security. I live in an area where the winters are brutal and we dont

have the option to keep the windows open. Im praying that my tolerance level

will be high enough to handle not getting the fresh air I so desperately need.

>

> Tug, did your cloths have any kind of smell to them that you could detect? I

did give some of my thoughts on cross contamination in the prior post. mainly on

possabilities of mold and mycotoxin cross contamination, which doesn't cover

everything involved in WDB's

> I mainly talked about those because I was responding to your thoughts

> of cross contamination mainly by mycotoxins.

>

> there are probably

[Guest guest]

Dave,

did the hepa cleaning of the sofas seem to work for you? also, out of

curiosity, what did they charge for that service? The remediator out

here wants $100 per hour to clean.... sue v

>

>Once she sold her house she put all of her belongings in a POD knowing

>that she would remove them once she found a new place to buy. Not

>wanting to take any chances once we found the house were living in now

>we hired a mold remediation company to come in wipe everything down and

>hepa vac the two sofas that came from her old house which seems to have

>worked to a certain degree.

>

[Guest guest]

I have hear of people cross contaminating an apt with just one object, but most

of the time, no. I would remove the pillow to outdoors, wash the bedding and

clean the room, some people use a small blanket stuffed into a pillow case,

because it can be washed, and a pillow cant. Right on your face, has to be real

clean. I find a good pillow, and put a waterproof cover on it so I can wipe it

down when I wash the outer cover, course I buy cheap pillows because I alway

seem to get them contaminated somehow.

>

> Hi all, once somethibg has been cross contaminated, ie bedding is it all over

for the whole dwelling? Is it possible to wash such items and decontaminate

them? Have had apillow for 3 weeks and last night was getting scratchy throat

and irritated eyes and nasal passage as if breathing mold in. Nothing else has

changed eg clothes worn to bed, new shampoo or any other products in the room.

Thoughts?

>

[Guest guest]

Porous padded items such as pillows and upholtered furniture should be

discarded. I have some additional information on contents on my blog, which is

listed below.

Connie Morbach, M.S., CHMM, CIE

Sanit-Air, Inc.

cleanlinest.wordpress.com

>

> Hi all, once somethibg has been cross contaminated, ie bedding is it all over

for the whole dwelling? Is it possible to wash such items and decontaminate

them? Have had apillow for 3 weeks and last night was getting scratchy throat

and irritated eyes and nasal passage as if breathing mold in. Nothing else has

changed eg clothes worn to bed, new shampoo or any other products in the room.

Thoughts?

>

[Guest guest]

Cross contamination has always been a question/concern of mine. I've moved 4

times in the past month each time feeling better for the first few days than I

become symptomatic again. Each time I've moved I've thrown away my clothing and

bought new. The only thing that I have brought with me are my medications which

I thoroughly wipe down. The current hotel I'm staying at is 3 years old and

there has absolutely no signs of water damage anywhere, I'm thinking it's not my

current residence that's making me sick but rather the mycotoxins that are still

lingering in my system that are making me feel symptomatic if that's the case no

matter where I move to I'm going to feel symptomatic and time, medication, diet

and exercise are the only thing that's going to help.

Tug

>

> I get my bedding and pillows from National Allergy. They work for me

> anywasys.

>

>

> In a message dated 11/20/2010 10:11:24 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,

> kdeanstudios@... writes:

>

> I have hear of people cross contaminating an apt with just one object, but

> most of the time, no. I would remove the pillow to outdoors, wash the

> bedding and clean the room, some people use a small blanket stuffed into a

> pillow case, because it can be washed, and a pillow cant. Right on your face,

> has to be real clean. I find a good pillow, and put a waterproof cover on it

> so I can wipe it down when I wash the outer cover, course I buy cheap

> pillows because I alway seem to get them contaminated somehow.

>

>

[Guest guest]

I have been thinking a lot about cross contamination myself. Since none

of my family are hypersensitive and aware when a substance whether it be

mycotoxins or something else is bothering us, I decided early on not to

stress over cross contamination which will surely happen, because the

stress is a huge burden on health and the whole illness and move and

everything already created so much stress, and to focus instead on

finding " safer " rather than " perfect " . This may or not be a good

decision. But the more thinking I have done on the subject, the more I

think about the fact that " mold is everywhere " and a necessary part of

the ecology of the earth....I am thinking that the cross contamination

thing is somewhat like the " terrain theory " vs. the " germ theory " , germs

are everywhere yet not everyone gets sick from them, so " terrain "

matters hugely---in other words " healthy body " ....I think it must be

similar with mold/mycotoxins: " mold is everywhere " and avoiding " cross

contamination " is very difficult and only necessary for people who are

hypersensitive.... I am not saying stop trying to avoid cross

contamination, but I am thinking that building up and strengthening the

body so it can handle a little cross contamination might be another

strategy, so the healing approach to mold illness might be " avoidance

where possible " and " strengthen the terrain " . I am sure everyone is

trying to do both these things, so I really haven't said anything new,

but I had been thinking about the parallels to the germ vs. terrain

theory lately and thought I'd express that. >

>

>

>Cross contamination has always been a question/concern of mine. I've

>moved 4 times in the past month each time feeling better for the first

>few days than I become symptomatic again. Each time I've moved I've

[Guest guest]

Theyve told me that they are getting reactions in the spots i sat and where

spent time in the house. They had no issues before i went there. Also have a

friend whos developed many symptoms since she visited here a month ago similar

to mine. Was talking with her this morning and really saddened by this. I doubt

this happens with normal mould, i do feel its something stronger. Just what i

dont know, bacteria or combination of things maybe. I do know how ridiculous

this sounds believe me.

________________________

On 2011-03-01 14:00:03 +1100 Tug <tug_slug@...> wrote:

>

> How do you know you cross contaminated someone else's house? Are they now

> having problem or were they having problems before you went to their house?

> I've been down this road when it comes to CCing someone else's house and

> chances are if you did the only person it's going to bother is you.

>

>

>>

>> I seem to have cross contaminated someones house just by visiting. Places

>> where I sat are causing issues. Any way to mitigate this cross

>> contamination before it grows bigger? Feel so bad.

>>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

To avoid these problems keep clothes washed in containers. Only get dressed

after showered and only when you are ready to leave put the clothes on. Do not

sit with clean clothes. Put them on and leave. Always decontaminate your

clothes when you wash, then store them.

Sorry.........................

God Bless !!

dragonflymcs

Mayleen

________________________________

From: Dana S <candalah@...>

Sent: Mon, February 28, 2011 10:32:07 PM

Subject: Re: [] Re: Cross contamination

Theyve told me that they are getting reactions in the spots i sat and where

spent time in the house. They had no issues before i went there. Also have a

friend whos developed many symptoms since she visited here a month ago similar

to mine. Was talking with her this morning and really saddened by this. I doubt

this happens with normal mould, i do feel its something stronger. Just what i

dont know, bacteria or combination of things maybe. I do know how ridiculous

this sounds believe me.

[Guest guest]

Good idea, thx. Guess ive always thought about it from the other way, avoiding

contaminates out there rather than contaminating others. IF there is a next time

and i doubt it, i would shower and wear his clothes. I really didnt think i

could effect someone this way since i thought *i* was the sensitive one from the

exposure. But a few incidents now have confirmed to me that this toxin, whatever

it is, is extra strong which also would explain why i have a bunch of autoimmune

stuff happening.

Really hoping i havnt messed up this guys house for him.

________________________

On 2011-03-01 16:47:01 +1100 dragonflymcs <dragonflymcs@...> wrote:

>

> To avoid these problems keep clothes washed in containers. Only get dressed

> after showered and only when you are ready to leave put the clothes on. Do

> not

> sit with clean clothes. Put them on and leave. Always decontaminate your

> clothes when you wash, then store them.

>

> Sorry.........................

>

> God Bless !!

> dragonflymcs

> Mayleen

> ________________________________

> From: Dana S <candalah@...>

>

> Sent: Mon, February 28, 2011 10:32:07 PM

> Subject: Re: [] Re: Cross contamination

>

>

> Theyve told me that they are getting reactions in the spots i sat and where

> spent time in the house. They had no issues before i went there. Also have a

> friend whos developed many symptoms since she visited here a month ago

> similar

> to mine. Was talking with her this morning and really saddened by this. I

> doubt

> this happens with normal mould, i do feel its something stronger. Just what i

>

> dont know, bacteria or combination of things maybe. I do know how ridiculous

> this sounds believe me.

>

>

[Guest guest]

I dont agree with what you stated here Dave. If the person is carrying around

toxins, " normal " people can react to toxins as they are like poison from what I

have learned. I went through this with friends and family when I was in my home

also. D

> >

> > I seem to have cross contaminated someones house just by visiting. Places

where I sat are causing issues. Any way to mitigate this cross contamination

before it grows bigger? Feel so bad.

> >

>

[Guest guest]

I started to do this in the first contamination home so I could get in the car

and not contaminate it. This year I majorly messed up in doing this and ended

up with bad clothes. The winter ones anyway. So I will practice this always

and not drop my guard again as I did recently. I always wash and store my

clothes in something air tight. When I am going to leave just before I put on

the clothes and leave. It helps at least.

________________________________

From: Dana S <candalah@...>

Sent: Tue, March 1, 2011 12:55:39 AM

Subject: Re: [] Re: Cross contamination

Good idea, thx. Guess ive always thought about it from the other way, avoiding

contaminates out there rather than contaminating others.

[Guest guest]

Diane, I'm curious. What sort of symptoms did your friends and family start

getting?

On 2011-03-02 11:42:26 +1100 dianebolton52 <dianebolton@...> wrote:

>

> I dont agree with what you stated here Dave. If the person is carrying around

> toxins, " normal " people can react to toxins as they are like poison from what

> I have learned. I went through this with friends and family when I was in my

> home also. D

>

>

>>

>> How do you know you cross contaminated someone else's house? Are they now

>> having problem or were they having problems before you went to their house?

>> I've been down this road when it comes to CCing someone else's house and

>> chances are if you did the only person it's going to bother is you.

>>

[Guest guest]

Vertigo, itching, respiratory symptoms, sudden reativity to their animals which

they had had for many years (cat was 19) and my cousin suddenly became

" allergic " to his cat but tested negative at the allergist for cats. My Aunt

ended up in the hospital with pneumonia after my last visit with her, and later

was diagnosed with toxic vasculitis. Puzzling at the time and then it began to

make sense to me after I educated myself. From what Dr R says, " normal " healthy

folks can react to mycotoxins because they are so potent. D

> >>

> >> How do you know you cross contaminated someone else's house? Are they now

> >> having problem or were they having problems before you went to their house?

> >> I've been down this road when it comes to CCing someone else's house and

> >> chances are if you did the only person it's going to bother is you.

> >>

>

[Guest guest]

Dianne, this is just from you visiting with moldy clothes? That is quite

disturbing.

________________________

On 2011-03-03 06:51:23 +1100 dianebolton52 <dianebolton@...> wrote:

>

> Vertigo, itching, respiratory symptoms, sudden reativity to their animals

> which they had had for many years (cat was 19) and my cousin suddenly became

> " allergic " to his cat but tested negative at the allergist for cats. My Aunt

> ended up in the hospital with pneumonia after my last visit with her, and

> later was diagnosed with toxic vasculitis. Puzzling at the time and then it

> began to make sense to me after I educated myself. From what Dr R says,

> " normal " healthy folks can react to mycotoxins because they are so potent. D

>

>

>

>>

>> Diane, I'm curious. What sort of symptoms did your friends and family start

>> getting?

>>