Moving out of/remediating moldy house

[mama2alex]

We are getting ready to move out of our house. We take possesion of an apartment tomorrow and will ERMI test it before moving in. My doctor says we can take hard furniture, clothes, dishes, cookware - anything that can be washed. He said to wash with bleach, but I've read not to use bleach on mold, so I want to be sure we're doing this right. Its hard enough (and expensive enough) to do this once - I don't want to have to do it a second time. Not to mention I'm very sick, and want to get well as quickly as possible! I'm wondering if others have experience with this and what you used to wash clothes, furniture, etc. We will just run our dishes, utensils and pans through the dishwasher, per Dr. Shoemaker's website. But I haven't found a lot written about how to best wash other things so you don't contaminate the new home. Any tips, experiences and/or resources would be much appreciated.

 

I'm also posting on the PANDAS forum.

[philamom]

You might want to pm Familyof5, she has some experience with this. Good luck!!

[tpotter]

You might want to pm Familyof5, she has some experience with this. Good luck!!

 

 

I also just went through this. I've gotten rid of the kids' mattresses, and still have to get rid of my antique furniture (I really should do it sooner than later, but I've been trying to figure out a way around it, and we are still dealing with insurance.) I also still have to replace my own mattress. I wish I could do this all at once, but we already spent over $20K, and most of it out of pocket!

 

Do not use bleach. It kills the mold, but even dead mold can be toxic. We washed all our clothes in the washer on hot water with soap, then dried it in the dryer. Spent a week doing all of it. We then put it straight into plastic bins that we had just purchased, and washed out really well. We drycleand whatever needed dry cleaning, but did it with organic cleaning. I agree with throwing out whatever cannot be completely washed down.

 

To kill mold, you can use thyme oil...I can't give the name of the product, but it is available online. BUT...keep in mind not to use too much, AND, some people get burning in their lungs from it. We did, and it was a problem. The information we were told, and what is published online is that it can't hurt you. It can, but it also kills mold. On the other hand, personally I think that just washing down non-porous objects with soap and water, and doing it repeatedly will get it off. That's what I did with my personal items.

[mama2alex]

You might want to pm Familyof5, she has some experience with this. Good luck!!

 

 

Thanks! I did and she is giving me a lot of help.

[mama2alex]

You might want to pm Familyof5, she has some experience with this. Good luck!!

 

 

I also just went through this. I've gotten rid of the kids' mattresses, and still have to get rid of my antique furniture (I really should do it sooner than later, but I've been trying to figure out a way around it, and we are still dealing with insurance.) I also still have to replace my own mattress. I wish I could do this all at once, but we already spent over $20K, and most of it out of pocket!

 

Do not use bleach. It kills the mold, but even dead mold can be toxic. We washed all our clothes in the washer on hot water with soap, then dried it in the dryer. Spent a week doing all of it. We then put it straight into plastic bins that we had just purchased, and washed out really well. We drycleand whatever needed dry cleaning, but did it with organic cleaning. I agree with throwing out whatever cannot be completely washed down.

 

To kill mold, you can use thyme oil...I can't give the name of the product, but it is available online. BUT...keep in mind not to use too much, AND, some people get burning in their lungs from it. We did, and it was a problem. The information we were told, and what is published online is that it can't hurt you. It can, but it also kills mold. On the other hand, personally I think that just washing down non-porous objects with soap and water, and doing it repeatedly will get it off. That's what I did with my personal items.

 

 

Yes, this is why his suggestion to use bleach didn't really make sense to me. Because we are worried about the toxins, not just the mold itself. Not to mention the fumes from bleach would probably make me sicker. We are using Thieves Blend from Young Living and diffusing it in the house every few weeks until we are completely out of here. Thanks for your suggestions!

[MichaelTampa]

We're planning a remediation as well. Can you explain these difusers and the process? A link to where one would buy one, or local in a store. Also, what does difusing these oils into the air do to the air. Is it a thick cloud which will settle on all the electronic equipment, TV screens, and get inside the small openings this equipment has to allow for air exchange? Something that would affect breathing? Or is it really much less than that, that one would barely notice, yet still effective (I have read it's effective)?

[jjl]

Sorry you have to go thru this, but it sounds like you can improve your health afterwards. One thing I would say (from my own experience) is that I would not put too much into ERMI testing. I had it done and the results were questionable. When I asked detailed questions I did not get great answers. Then I looked into it more and found out that there can be inconsistent results. I had a company come to my house with a microscope to evaluate tape samples as well as air, vent, and inner wall samples (1/2 day). It was way more info than that general ERMI test and all of my questions were answered. I am sure ERMI has it's place now and will probably be a top choice in the future, but I would not put all my eggs in that basket for something this important. The company I used to compliment the ERMI was EnviroHealth Consulting and boy am I glad I did that. I truly hope you are mold free in the near future. John L

 

 

We are getting ready to move out of our house. We take possesion of an apartment tomorrow and will ERMI test it before moving in. My doctor says we can take hard furniture, clothes, dishes, cookware - anything that can be washed. He said to wash with bleach, but I've read not to use bleach on mold, so I want to be sure we're doing this right. Its hard enough (and expensive enough) to do this once - I don't want to have to do it a second time. Not to mention I'm very sick, and want to get well as quickly as possible! I'm wondering if others have experience with this and what you used to wash clothes, furniture, etc. We will just run our dishes, utensils and pans through the dishwasher, per Dr. Shoemaker's website. But I haven't found a lot written about how to best wash other things so you don't contaminate the new home. Any tips, experiences and/or resources would be much appreciated.

 

I'm also posting on the PANDAS forum.

[JuliaFaith]

Sorry you have to go thru this, but it sounds like you can improve your health afterwards. One thing I would say (from my own experience) is that I would not put too much into ERMI testing. I had it done and the results were questionable. When I asked detailed questions I did not get great answers. Then I looked into it more and found out that there can be inconsistent results. I had a company come to my house with a microscope to evaluate tape samples as well as air, vent, and inner wall samples (1/2 day). It was way more info than that general ERMI test and all of my questions were answered. I am sure ERMI has it's place now and will probably be a top choice in the future, but I would not put all my eggs in that basket for something this important. The company I used to compliment the ERMI was EnviroHealth Consulting and boy am I glad I did that. I truly hope you are mold free in the near future. John L

After two ERMI tests and not knowing what else to do, we had an environmental contractor do some testing and made some changes based on his results. Same as jjl.

Edited February 9, 2013 by JuliaFaith

[mama2alex]

We're planning a remediation as well. Can you explain these difusers and the process? A link to where one would buy one, or local in a store. Also, what does difusing these oils into the air do to the air. Is it a thick cloud which will settle on all the electronic equipment, TV screens, and get inside the small openings this equipment has to allow for air exchange? Something that would affect breathing? Or is it really much less than that, that one would barely notice, yet still effective (I have read it's effective)?

 

Michael, Sorry I didn't see your post earlier. Our doctor said that the Thieves "neutralizes" the mold toxins temporarily. I don't know the details of how that's supposed to work. We tried it and our ERMI score went down enough that he was willing to start treating me while we're transitioning out of our house. We diffused it - using on of Essential Living's diffusers - for 3 days straight. We covered our piano and tv/speakers, but didn't find any info telling us whether we needed to do this or not. We stayed somewhere else during the process - the essential oil smells a lot like cinnamon, and its a nice smell, but it gets overwhelming quickly and our son has asthma, so we didn't risk it. Doc said once you do the initial treatment, you should diffuse for 8 hours once every 3 weeks. I didn't find any residue afterward. Here's the link: http://www.youngliving.com/en_US/thieves

I don't consider this any kind of permanent solution, but more of a helper to allow me to be in the house and help with the move. Also, I'm planning to use it in the apartment where we'll stay during our remodel/remediation, just as extra insurance.

 

Here's another site my dh found today. I found it interesting and plan to read more on it later: http://blacktoxicmolds.com/

 

Good luck with your remediation. Would love to see updates!

[mama2alex]

Thanks John. We are only relying on ERMI testing as a general guideline as to whether a given residence is safe for me. We are working with a company, but they are waiting for us to move out and start our remodel. We are going to open enough walls anyway that it makes sense to piggyback the search for hidden mold on the remodel. We also have visible mold that we uncovered just before Christmas, as well as major ventilation problems we've identified since starting to look for mold.

 

Sorry you have to go thru this, but it sounds like you can improve your health afterwards. One thing I would say (from my own experience) is that I would not put too much into ERMI testing. I had it done and the results were questionable. When I asked detailed questions I did not get great answers. Then I looked into it more and found out that there can be inconsistent results. I had a company come to my house with a microscope to evaluate tape samples as well as air, vent, and inner wall samples (1/2 day). It was way more info than that general ERMI test and all of my questions were answered. I am sure ERMI has it's place now and will probably be a top choice in the future, but I would not put all my eggs in that basket for something this important. The company I used to compliment the ERMI was EnviroHealth Consulting and boy am I glad I did that. I truly hope you are mold free in the near future. John L

 

 

We are getting ready to move out of our house. We take possesion of an apartment tomorrow and will ERMI test it before moving in. My doctor says we can take hard furniture, clothes, dishes, cookware - anything that can be washed. He said to wash with bleach, but I've read not to use bleach on mold, so I want to be sure we're doing this right. Its hard enough (and expensive enough) to do this once - I don't want to have to do it a second time. Not to mention I'm very sick, and want to get well as quickly as possible! I'm wondering if others have experience with this and what you used to wash clothes, furniture, etc. We will just run our dishes, utensils and pans through the dishwasher, per Dr. Shoemaker's website. But I haven't found a lot written about how to best wash other things so you don't contaminate the new home. Any tips, experiences and/or resources would be much appreciated.

 

I'm also posting on the PANDAS forum.

[red]

We are getting ready to move out of our house. We take possesion of an apartment tomorrow and will ERMI test it before moving in. My doctor says we can take hard furniture, clothes, dishes, cookware - anything that can be washed. He said to wash with bleach, but I've read not to use bleach on mold, so I want to be sure we're doing this right. Its hard enough (and expensive enough) to do this once - I don't want to have to do it a second time. Not to mention I'm very sick, and want to get well as quickly as possible! I'm wondering if others have experience with this and what you used to wash clothes, furniture, etc. We will just run our dishes, utensils and pans through the dishwasher, per Dr. Shoemaker's website. But I haven't found a lot written about how to best wash other things so you don't contaminate the new home. Any tips, experiences and/or resources would be much appreciated.

 

I'm also posting on the PANDAS forum.

[red]

We are getting ready to move out of our house. We take possesion of an apartment tomorrow and will ERMI test it before moving in. My doctor says we can take hard furniture, clothes, dishes, cookware - anything that can be washed. He said to wash with bleach, but I've read not to use bleach on mold, so I want to be sure we're doing this right. Its hard enough (and expensive enough) to do this once - I don't want to have to do it a second time. Not to mention I'm very sick, and want to get well as quickly as possible! I'm wondering if others have experience with this and what you used to wash clothes, furniture, etc. We will just run our dishes, utensils and pans through the dishwasher, per Dr. Shoemaker's website. But I haven't found a lot written about how to best wash other things so you don't contaminate the new home. Any tips, experiences and/or resources would be much appreciated.

 

I'm also posting on the PANDAS forum.

I have had extensive experience with mold remediation. anything like tables and hard surface furniture that can be cleaned BEFORE you move into your new apartment is OK. All soft goods like clothes have to be washed in soapy water: no dry cleaning as it does not remove spores from clothes. We found that a lot of "dry clean only" items came out undamaged from a regular washing machine. As for using bleach on clothes it is unnecessary as the soapy water will take out the mold. Besides that you do not need to expose yourself to chlorine fumes. As for using chlorine directly on mold do not bother as the store bleach is only 4% which does NOT KILL mold. Only 12% bleach kills mold and that is industrial strength. All other soft goods like couches, mattresses and books go to dump. We saved a couple of couches only by taking them down to the frame and putting in new padding and then reupholster. Extreme care to detail must be taken to not cross contaminate your new living quarters. Do not bring in spores with you. Take all clothes and wash and put in clean plastic bags to new living quarters. Luggage must be considered contaminated unless it is all hard plastic.

Red

[MichaelTampa]

Red -- I have been puzzling over making a plan for remediation. The part I don't understand is, I hear some people emptying one room of the house, cleaning it, and then one-by-one bringing in items into that room. Not sure if they are cleaning just before bringing them in, or just after. Either way, how to avoid cross-contamination. I read one write-up from someone in the remediation industry saying best results are to really take everything out of the house, clean the house, then bring things in after they are cleaned. It makes sense that's the best, of course, it's probably also the hardest.

 

Our home has a few small bedrooms/bathrooms, a hallway, and then a fairly larger living/dining/kitchen area, and that whole area has no doors and opens to the hallway as well. Realistically, it seems harder to clean things room-by-room in this circumstance, without greater cross-contamination risk.

 

Any thoughts on this? It occurs to me to ask you as I read what you wrote about the laundry. You were laundering clothes in the old moldy location, then bringing to the new location? You felt cross-contamination risk was minimized to acceptable by taking them straight from machine into plastic bag?

[red]

Red -- I have been puzzling over making a plan for remediation. The part I don't understand is, I hear some people emptying one room of the house, cleaning it, and then one-by-one bringing in items into that room. Not sure if they are cleaning just before bringing them in, or just after. Either way, how to avoid cross-contamination. I read one write-up from someone in the remediation industry saying best results are to really take everything out of the house, clean the house, then bring things in after they are cleaned. It makes sense that's the best, of course, it's probably also the hardest.

 

Our home has a few small bedrooms/bathrooms, a hallway, and then a fairly larger living/dining/kitchen area, and that whole area has no doors and opens to the hallway as well. Realistically, it seems harder to clean things room-by-room in this circumstance, without greater cross-contamination risk.

 

Any thoughts on this? It occurs to me to ask you as I read what you wrote about the laundry. You were laundering clothes in the old moldy location, then bringing to the new location? You felt cross-contamination risk was minimized to acceptable by taking them straight from machine into plastic bag?

It is physically impossible to make a clean room in a house and then move things into that room. 1. you cannot clean a table, move it through a moldy area without re-contaminating it. 2. The moment you open the door to the "clean room" it is no longer a clean room. Spores are in the air all the time and especially when one is moving around.

Everything has to leave the house, clean it and then bring it back into a clean house.

I was NOT laundering clothes in a moldy location. All laundering was done out of the house. All contaminated bags were not reused for clean clothes. They became garbage bags that were kept outside the house in a shed. The house was virtually empty. After remediation the house was fogged 3 TIMES, yes 3 times with sporicidin and cleaned after each fogging.

Remember the HVAC system is a huge monster when cleaning a house. The square footage in the duct work and the air handler is enough to give me the shivers. One has to deal with that if they have had a major mold problem.

Red

[tpotter]

Red -- I have been puzzling over making a plan for remediation. The part I don't understand is, I hear some people emptying one room of the house, cleaning it, and then one-by-one bringing in items into that room. Not sure if they are cleaning just before bringing them in, or just after. Either way, how to avoid cross-contamination. I read one write-up from someone in the remediation industry saying best results are to really take everything out of the house, clean the house, then bring things in after they are cleaned. It makes sense that's the best, of course, it's probably also the hardest.

 

Our home has a few small bedrooms/bathrooms, a hallway, and then a fairly larger living/dining/kitchen area, and that whole area has no doors and opens to the hallway as well. Realistically, it seems harder to clean things room-by-room in this circumstance, without greater cross-contamination risk.

 

Any thoughts on this? It occurs to me to ask you as I read what you wrote about the laundry. You were laundering clothes in the old moldy location, then bringing to the new location? You felt cross-contamination risk was minimized to acceptable by taking them straight from machine into plastic bag?

It is physically impossible to make a clean room in a house and then move things into that room. 1. you cannot clean a table, move it through a moldy area without re-contaminating it. 2. The moment you open the door to the "clean room" it is no longer a clean room. Spores are in the air all the time and especially when one is moving around.

Everything has to leave the house, clean it and then bring it back into a clean house.

I was NOT laundering clothes in a moldy location. All laundering was done out of the house. All contaminated bags were not reused for clean clothes. They became garbage bags that were kept outside the house in a shed. The house was virtually empty. After remediation the house was fogged 3 TIMES, yes 3 times with sporicidin and cleaned after each fogging.

Remember the HVAC system is a huge monster when cleaning a house. The square footage in the duct work and the air handler is enough to give me the shivers. One has to deal with that if they have had a major mold problem.

Red

 

And, I will add to the HVAC issue...make sure you get someone who really knows how to work with mold, And I would not let them spray anything in afterwards (total waste of money.) In the end, we had our HVAC system cleaned 4 times, but that was because we kept getting recontaminated...the cleaning job was not done right, new mold, etc. Also, when you have the house cleaned afterwards, make sure it is with a company that really, really knows how to clean for mold remediation. The first time, they didn't even move the furniture. We moved back in, and I won't even go there. Then, we did it again...moved out of the house for 5 days, and a team of 4 spent 5 solid days cleaning every single surface (including all boxes and items in the basement, floors, ceilings, walls, etc.)