Would you love to have mold illness made simple, so you can heal more quickly without adding to your overwhelm and fatigue? Whether you’ve just discovered that mold illness is the cause of your crazy symptoms, or you’ve known for some time but haven’t had the energy or time to spend, these next steps will help you get on the path to healing.
Why You Might Be Suffering From Mold Illness While Your Family Member Isn’t
Before taking steps to heal, you may need to better understand how or why you could have mold illness while another family member does not, even though you’ve been living in the same place!
All around the world, about 25% of people have the genes that make them sensitive to mold. But the rest of the population could be susceptible to mold illness if they are exposed to enough mold. (I am one of the 25%.)
Mold in the home can pose a big problem for anyone, depending on the amount present. That’s why it is important to keep molds down to a level that will not affect even the most sensitive person in your home.
Moisture is your key contributor to mold problems in buildings and homes. In fact, it takes as little as 60 percent humidity to cause a mold growth problem. Ideally, humidity in your home should be kept around 40 percent.
Also, each person exhales about a quart of water a day. Add this to the humidity from cooking, cleaning, and bathing, and each person puts off about a gallon of water vapor every day. And it only takes a couple of days at high humidity for mold to grow. Dust mites also love moisture, which is why mold sensitivity often goes along with dust sensitivity and even asthma issues
After your mold illness (CIRS) diagnosis, what next?
Once you finally pinpoint your strange symptoms and sickness to mold illness, you will have 4 key questions come up. Let these answers be a guide to help make your next steps less daunting. Remember that brain fog, overwhelm and other rampant emotions are common symptoms of mold illness, so let’s talk about next steps for mold illness made simple!
1 How do you inspect your home or workplace for a mold problem?
If you have mold illness and visible mold growth in your home, you must repair the source of moisture. If you’re not sure, you can take a dust sample using a piece of tape and have it tested where/how or get a petri dish test kit from your local hardware store.
If you don’t see visible mold, but do smell musty odors, your moisture level is high enough that mold could be actively growing somewhere you can’t see. This is a good time to call a IINSC -certified mold inspector. This type of inspector is trained to look for mold and mold mycotoxins – both visible and invisible – that impact the wellness of the most sensitive individuals. This is not the job for your regular home inspector or even a regular mold inspector. Look for one with this specific certification: IINSC.
Another option if you suspect that you have mold in your home is to test it using ERMI and HERTSMI-2 tests.
2 Should you remediate or move?
If you find mold in your home after testing, you will have to choose to either remediate or move. This is the hardest part for many people with mold illness to accept, but studies have shown that most individuals must get out of the mold in order to heal. And the longer you put it off, the more damage the mold does to your entire body whether you can feel it or not.
- When to choose remediation (moldy homes can be fixed)
- You love your home, maybe it’s your dream home or a family home.
- You or your remediator must have the name-it certification or expertise to properly address the mold and mycotoxins at a level of detail that will allow you to heal.
- When to choose to move
- You don’t have the time, money, energy, or expertise to fix your moldy home.
- You have help from a certified mold inspector to test a new home and make sure it will work for you.
It can be alarming, sad and overwhelming to think about moving or remediating at first. But one thing is certain. Your health is worth it.
3 How do you find and work with a professional mold remediation company
When looking for a mold remediation company, be sure to look at the certifications. If they don’t list them on their website, then they probably don’t have the certifications you need. More companies are beginning to do this type of remediation but you may have to ask one to travel from a neighboring state.
Take the time to interview at least 3 mold removal professionals to ensure you choose a reputable one. Ask (The answers should ALL be YES):
- Do you (the mold remediation company) provide me with a written contract/change order?
- Will you provide me with a remediation plan?
- Will you provide me with a post-remediation report from retesting? (A reputable company will test and make sure the cleaning is done to the point needed.)
- Are you willing to provide me with referrals I may contact and speak with?
- Do you carry insurance?
4 How do you prevent mold from coming back after remediation?
The first thing you need to do to prevent mold from coming back is to decide that you are going to do what it takes to make that happen. You must be faithful to do these things:
- Keep dry. To prevent mold growth you must keep the moisture level down. There will always be mold spores and fragments in your home, but if they don’t have enough moisture, they will not grow. This is key.
- Maintain proper ventilation.
- If you find a leak, repair and dry it quickly.
- Use a dehumidifier if necessary, to keep your moisture level around 40 percent.
- Keep it simple.
- Run a quality air purifier that filters to .3 microns – small enough to catch mold spores.
- Do maintenance surface cleaning using good old soap and water. Dry your surfaces afterwards.
- Avoid using bleach, which can actually promote mold growth.
- Use a quality HEPA vacuum that catches those .3 micron particles.
When you or someone in your household has mold illness, you must take the proper steps to clean your home and keep it dry so you can begin your path to healing your body. This can feel overwhelming or even devastating at first, but your house is not truly “home” if you’re not able to feel fully present!
If you want help healing your body from mold illness and regaining your strength and energy, Click here to set up a complimentary Breakthrough call to see if we could work together.
