Mold reaction to the new house?

[jop]

This info is bound to be in lots of places but I can't find it in my current head space...

We decided about a month ago to move somewhere warmer, drier and sunnier to help my health. Then I started reading about mold and we made a hasty departure from the old place, leaving everything behind.

Travelling lite with only a few new changes of clothes and a toothbrush etc we have been trying to stay in clean places while waiting to hear if we could move into this great little sunny apartment on the waterfront. Overall, I've been doing better since but it's hard to dodge moldy houses in NZ.

I tested the new apartment with the healthy home test kit and it was negative. Not sure how to get more complicated testing done or even if it's accurate enough to be of use. We moved in this morning.....

Since then, my eyes have gone dry and puffy, my head hurts more, my throat hurts more....are these typical reactions to mold after 'unmasking'?

It's such a great place and I would love to live here but.....how do I tell if it's the building or just a bad day or something else?

Thanks.

 

[cigana]

These are certainly possible symptoms of mold exposure.
I would say, unfortunately, the only way to tell is to see if you improve away from the house and if it comes back when you go back again
I have personally found how I feel to be much more revealing than using mold tests.

 

[Forebearance]

I agree with cigana. Your symptoms matter more than any mold test.

One thing I'm wondering about is that your symptoms might also be symptoms of chemical exposure.
There is an overlap between chemical symptoms and mold toxin symptoms. It might take a while to figure out what your individual symptoms are for each.

If it did happen to be chemicals that were bothering you, you might be able to fix those by airing out the place, using some smell absorbing sachets like "Smell-eze" or whatever you have available in NZ.

Sympathy and empathy!
Forebearance