I have been offline for several days, and boy have there been things going on. For the last 2-3 months I have been dealing with the reality that I am headed for a big crash...and have been keeping it at bay for the most part.

We went to my sister's then my dad's for the Thankgiving Holiday, and to my surprise I did pretty darn good. BUT we came home to find that there has been a leak from our hot water heater - that has been leaking into the twins/baby's room, under the twins trundle bed. How great, right? So we put some space heaters in the room to dry it out - and WOW the smell of MOLD was overwhelming.

Pulled the carpet back yesterday, and we have BLACK MOLD and a green fuzzy mold around the vent. So of course off to do research!

DING DING DING!!! Boy does this explain why I feel worse when I spend a lot of time in that part of the house. Over the years I have had some problems with these psoriasis looking rashes. Years ago we were able to rule that out tho. I have treated the ones I get on my scalp with Nizerol shampoo and Lamisil spray - with little or no success. presently I only have them behind my ears and along my hairline/base of my neck. But years ago, they were huge open sores. I had also had ones that were similar that would pop up on my body. Those ones did go away with anti-fungals...ultimately we wrote it off to Lyme. One of the twins occationally gets the body ones - exactly the same as mine - presently one is going away. But I also have some sores in my nose. Which started up when we were moving here to CO. Back in NJ we had a flood in the basement, and so much was ruined - by BLACK MOLD! Now, over the last 2-3 months, these sores in my nose have gotten progressivly worse.

Ha - my kids are going to remember me fondly with my pinky jammed up my nose, as the scabs from these sores sometimes have to be ripped out - or else my nasal passage with be closed shut. Sorry - not exactly my favorite topic to divuldge...not a pretty picture. Anyway, my nose will just sometimes bleed, or will take over an hour to stop bleeding. Especially over the last 2 wks...

SO...with this and some of my other symptoms coming to surface, Babs & Bart...I am wondering if this whole MOLD thing has been the actual trigger? I mean, I know that before this, I was feeling a bit worse...but now it is just getting steadily worse. If I spend a day out of the house, I tend to feel better in general...being away for a day and a half, driving 500 miles (roundtrip)...and let me say the return trip was terrifying, as the roads were bad...but my health did not dip as I feared it would. I didnt start feeling worse until yesterday - we got back Friday night.

Does anyone have any experience with Black Mold?

I have a plan for how we are going to deal with this with the landlord/management...we have stopped trying to dry it out, as the mold spores were being circulated throughout the room and house. Will be getting Organic Mold killer and only accept that the worst of the damage be completely removed and a new carpet in the room.

Anyway...thoughts, suggestions...advice...hubby wants me to have the girls checked out by the doc too...idk if there is anything that they can do tho...

Thanks...glad to be back home!

Christine

My fiance is a HVAC professional and has come home with some real horror stories about mold in vents and behind walls and all sorts of other things.

As soon as he gets home tonight I'll talk to him and see what his advice would be. It can make you all VERY sick. You should definitely all get to the doctor...

Oh my poor dear...I am glad your trip went well and I was happy to see you post again! I was worried for you making that drive...

If you have somewhere else to stay in the meanwhile, maybe? Get your landlord on top of this like yesterday! It is highly likely that clean up will need to be more in depth than you can imagine...certainly more than just changing the carpet out and using some killer...make sure if their is any duct work, that that gets cleaned too and now you have to examine EVERY nook and corner of the house. Dry wall may need to be replaced, floor boards, some cases I've heard that isn't even enough.

I don't want you to be alarmed but, as you obviously are, please take this VERY seriously.

I'll pm you later after I talk to the fiance...

Always an adventure, right? LOL ((hugs))

Here's the book I recommend, it's WONDERFUL!! Green This! Vol. 1 greening your cleaning, by Deirdre Imus. She recommends using a bucket of water with 1/4 cup organic vinegar in it. That will kill mildew. Not sure about mold, she doesn't really address toxic mold in this book, at least that I could find. She may, but I don't remember specifically finding it. But she does state clearly that essential oils and vinegar both will take care of molds and mildew, respectively. After you put in the vinegar, add 5 to 10 drops of your choice of essential oils, or add the antibacterial blend, which is lemon, clover, grapefruit, tangerine, sage, and spruce.

That's what I found so far. If I find anything else, I'll let you know, but if you want to know anything else about non-toxic cleaners, let me know, cuz she's got a TON of stuff in this book. I've brought it back out of the closet, cuz I've been needing it, too! I'm re-reading through it, and I'm using all non-toxic stuff and EO's again. I can't stand the chemicals. I need to replace my dishsoap soon, and I'm going to find something or get one she recommends.

Ok, we'll chat later! Luvume!! J