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Has anyone done mold remediation (for their home)?

GypsyGirl

Senior Member
Messages
165
Location
North Carolina
Hello all,

I'm wondering if anyone has successfully had mold remediation done to their home, and if the remediation made your home safe and livable again.

A different way of asking the question would be, "Is a home salvageable after mold?"

I'd love to hear from people who know they're sensitive to mold/illness is directly linked to mold, but any info is welcome.

Thanks!
 
Messages
236
Location
Medford NJ
I have had mold remediation done. I went on a sabbatical while my husband stayed home. We had mold in our basement. I started Cholystyramine before the remediation and tolerated it well. I simply closed the basement door and did not go down there. The fact that I tolerated the cholestyramine in my home makes me think I would my home was not super problematic.

I was out in Tecopa California ( by Death Valley) and had remission, able to hike 3 miles with no pem. Brain felt calmer did not need clonazepam to sleep. I returned home. I felt really well for 3 weeks then Cfs slipping in. I am on a mild avoiders website which suggests I may be reacting to " mystery toxin" which is said to be problematic from Nov to Feb in the area were I live ( Philadelphia Pa) . Which in my case makes total sense my symptoms are terrible in general during these months.

I think I am reacting to issues ( mold , pollution ect) in the area where I live. Right now I am on cholestyramine and started infrared sauna treatment which really seemed to help. I can not leave the area right now. My husband is ill with depression , I am dragging him with me to the infrared sauna and getting him to take charcocaps.

I guess it would depend. I would go on a mold sabbatical. Then see how you react to tour possessions. I did react to a few of my possessions. There are certain areas I have driven through and immediately took a shower afterwards. From what I have read it is better to just get rid of everything . I think it is an individual case be case basis but when in doubt " throw it out"

While on sabbatical I took all new clothes ect with me. I have been on vacation before but never had complete remission so I would probably just start over.
After having Cfs for 7 years and able to feel " normal" again for a few weeks , I would live in a shack and have 3 outfits from Walmart then a luxouruuos home with a closet ful of designer clothes.
 

Dechi

Senior Member
Messages
1,454
Hello all,

I'm wondering if anyone has successfully had mold remediation done to their home, and if the remediation made your home safe and livable again.

A different way of asking the question would be, "Is a home salvageable after mold?"

I'd love to hear from people who know they're sensitive to mold/illness is directly linked to mold, but any info is welcome.

Thanks!

Yes, I had it done before being sick, after I realized I felt bad and had a constant headache when I was staying home too long. I had a company come and measure the level of mold inside the house. They made a full report and told me exactly where the mold was. Then I had to coordinate 2 things simultaneously, or almost. 1- to have professionnals come and get rid of the mold. It was a complex operation and they used special machinery to make sure the mold wouldn't spread in the air, some type of vaccuum sealed equipment. They cleaned the whole house also. 2-Then I had another team install an air exchange machine, to make sure I could supply fresh air inside the house.

After that, the first team who had made the report came back amd measured the levels of mold again, to make sure it was all gone. The levels of mold were perfect.

This cost me a lot of money, probably close to 15 000$ but I didn't have a choice.
 

GypsyGirl

Senior Member
Messages
165
Location
North Carolina
@SueJohnPat
Thank you for sharing! I should clarify that I am in a mold-free home, having left nearly all my belongings behind in...2013, I think? I'm trying to research a little bit, for if I move into a home that could have mold problems. There's not much information out there on how successful home mold remediation is for mold-illness sufferers. This is my unofficial way of polling and learning. :)

I don't know if it's helpful info for you, but you mentioned being on cholestyramine while in your moldy home. After trying cholestryramine while in the moldy home, my doc (who follows Shoemaker protocol) mentioned that 1) taking cholestyramine while in a moldy environment might be overloading my body (& make me unable to excrete the mold, thus just recycling the mold back into my bloodstream) and 2) that after removing mold from my body with cholestyramine, I could expect to be hypersensitive to mold for about 2 years. It's 3 years later and he was absolutely right about both these things.

It's amazing what a fast remission you had while away from your home. I hope you can get to a point where you have that chance again.

@Dechi
Whew. $15,000 is a chunk of change.

Just to clarify, since they did the remediation, you haven't felt sick (or the symptoms haven't appeared to correlate to mold)?

And do you know what kind of testing the mold remediation team used? (Did it have a name, or do they have a website you'd be willing to share?)
 

Dechi

Senior Member
Messages
1,454
@GypsyGirl No, I haven't had anymore headaches and general malaise associated with the mold since everything was cleaned. I would have kept having problems if I hadn't found the cause of the problem and also fixed it (installation of the air exchanger).

The cie that did the testing and analysys of the mold is Enviro-Option. I don't remember much because it was 7 years ago. http://www.enviro-option.com/en

15k seems a lot but it includes the work of 3 separate teams and the price of the air exchanger.
 
Messages
236
Location
Medford NJ
I was able to take cholestyramine in my " moldy " home because the mold was confined to the basement . I simply shut the basement door and never went down there. This is before the remediation even. I also left all the windows in the house open in August. We sweated but I think this is a good thing. I did turn the air on at night . I live with 3 men and they were complaining.

My husband is taking charcocaps. Right now he has refractory depression and is going to the sauna with me. I am also putting him on Prescrip assist. probiotic.

I think in my case the whole area were I live is an issue. I would recommend Erik Johnson and Lisa Petisons books.
This sounded a little nuts to me but I fit the profile of " mystery toxin" to a tee.
I just got back from getting an infrared sauna treatment. I am going to do this 3 times a week. This has benefited me tremendously.

I spent the last weekend in bed because I went to a bad part of Cherry Hill NJ on Friday night. This has happened to me 3 times so far , the same area , takes me two days to recover. I don't feel bad when I am there but have horrible depressive crazy like symptoms . They go away in 48 hours. Erik called them plumes.

My CFS always became really bad in Nov-march. This is what got me thinking about mold.

I spent 6000 for the mold remediation in my basement ( I have a large house ) and some areas " walls" torn out and replaced.

I never went yet to a mold doctor.
I have an appointment with a Dr Rothman in Spring Lake on Feb 28th, but I am not sure if I want to invest tons of money if it is the area that I am in that is the problem. .
 
Messages
236
Location
Medford NJ
Ps . I did an infrared sauna session today. This is the second one I have had and it is making a huge difference. Maybe I will put this on another thread but if anyone is ha one mold issues.
Infared sauna cleared up my Neurol/ psyche issues due to mold hits.
 

Murph

:)
Messages
1,799
Super low-budget version: After I noticed my problems were worse in winter, I went on a mold hunt. I found a lot of green stuff growing on my damp and shady (south-facing in the southern hemisphere) back deck.

I went and bought 10 litres of cheap vinegar and poured it over the mold. Rubbed it in. Mold disappeared. symptoms? idk. maybe a little better. It's hard to be certain. Certainly not worse.
 

GypsyGirl

Senior Member
Messages
165
Location
North Carolina
@Murph
When I moved from the original "Mold House" that gave me mold illness, I saved non-porous furniture (and a few wooden pieces) by wiping down with an industrial mold cleaner and following up with vinegar. And saved some clothes by washing in vinegar rinse then washing as usual. If you google vinegar+mold, there are articles saying vinegar kills 82% of mold.

But while in "Mold House", I used a lot of vinegar (and certain essential oils to kill mold), and the mold problem must've been too bad for it to have much effect. Alas.
 
Messages
236
Location
Medford NJ
Ps . I did an infrared sauna session today. This is the second one I have had and it is making a huge difference. Maybe I will put this on another thread but if anyone is ha one mold issues.
Infared sauna cleared up my Neurol/ psyche issues due to mold hits.
I wanted to send a big shoutout to Erik Johnson and Lisa Petison. It took me a year to start to give credence to the " mold" issue. Thank you ! I think we are there is a " scientist" in all of us.