Mold Remediation For People With Asthma

Individuals with Asthma and Allergies require a home that is Allergen Free. This Allergen Free Area is your place to retreat for comfort, solace and relaxation. When you have an unwanted guest such as Mold, your Safe Home from Allergens is gone. One day it was a great place to relax and enjoy, the next day, you are dealing with mold exposure symptoms. These symptoms can include runny nose, coughing, shortness of breath, headaches, eye irritation, dizziness, nausea, and asthma attacks.

The first step to take in fixing your home so it is mold free is to find and correct the source of any moisture. Without moisture mold will not grow. Remember "No Moisture No Mold" is our motto. It is important to react quickly because microbial growth can begin in as little as 72 hours. The one thing to remember is that if you have a flood, have it dried up as soon as possible. I recently had my A/C Air Handler leak into the Return Area Plenum below it. Had it dried up within 24 hours. When you on top of it, you will never have mold. I was fortunate because I have a water intrusion alarm in this area. When water leaked into the area, it sounded a loud ringing sound. Fixed the problem of the drain line that caused the water back up. Algae caused the line to clog up. This is common in all Air Conditioners. If you don't fix the water problem, you can count on recurring issues with mold.

I had a job this past week where a dishwasher had been leaking for over a year under the Kitchen Cabinets. The Microbial Test results showed high levels of toxic mold. The type of microbial growth was Stachybotrys and Chaetomium under the Kitchen Cabinets. When you have this type of hidden leak, it is serious enough to remove all the cabinets in the affected areas. They were fortunate enough to have it covered by their Homeowners Insurance. There are some Insurance Companies not covering these types of leaks. They consider them a maintenance issue and not a burst pipe. I always recommend you check and see how good your Insurance Coverage really is. Call your Agent and see what is not covered before it happens, especially regarding water leaks.

In conclusion, people with Asthma and Allergies must live in an Allergen Free Area. Microbial growth only comes from moisture. When a flood occurs in your home, it is important to have it dried up quickly. If you are concerned about how good your Homeowners Insurance Coverage really is, call you Insurance Agent to verify. If you are sick from Microbial Growth, contact your Doctor immediately.

If you have any questions, feel free to call us or visit our website..

To learn more about your home, visit our website at Safe Homes or Air Testing.
Mr. Art Emiss is available as a professional speaker to help educate your community or group function on Asthma, Allergies, Mold, Indoor Air Quality and the Chemically Injured. Visit our website and sign up for our Free Air Conditioning Filter Change Reminder Service.

My House Is Killing Me

Recently a young lady called me who has allergy symptoms in her home and asked me to do an Environmental Inspection. When I got to the house, she greeted me with a stuffy nose and red eyes. It was interesting because she was holding her cat so it would not run out when she opened the front door. She also said that it was her husband's cat for over 10 years and he would not get rid of the cat even if it affected my allergies. I found this a very troubling statement because this is a common scenario when we go to houses where one of the occupants is allergic to the pets in the house.

The following week, I had a client call me saying that "My House Is Killing Me" and wanted us to investigate and find out what it was. He was having Asthma symptoms in every room of the house. During the Environmental Inspection, I noticed an area over a closet that had water stains on it. This area was also adjacent to the Air Handler Closet. Decided to look in the attic and there it was: 10 cardboard boxes for storage that were covered with mold. Apparently, there was a roof leak above this area and the roof leak leaked into the boxes with minimal damage in the house. What happened was the A/C Closet had a hole in the ceiling and every time the Air Conditioning cycled on, it would suck air in from the attic which was next to the moldy boxes. The mold spores were being spread throughout the home via the A/C System.

These are typical stories of the type of clients we have worked with for the last 15 years. Some problems are easy to fix and others can get very complicated. We have witnessed first hand how mold can affect people with Asthma and Allergies. Women and children seem to suffer worse than men living in the same house. Why, I do not know. I once had a Doctor say that it could be hormonal. The sad thing is when the husband is not allergic in the house, there can be a lot of tension around the issue of Asthma and Allergies.

We also deal with a lot of individuals who have Chemical Sensitivity from some type of injury from the job. This is worse than Asthma or Allergies because they are reactive to every thing. It is tough living like this but they are troopers who keep trying to make it in a world that is full of chemicals that can affect them. A simple Glade Plugin will affect them and not affect other people. I give them credit for not giving up.

In conclusion, people can be allergic to their pets and not understand their allergies. Mold can be caused by roof leaks in hidden areas of a house and you do not even know it is happening. There can be tension in a home when one person is sick and other is not. Chemical Sensitivity can be an increased vulnerability to chemicals and other airborne irritants. It is hard to deal with also. If you feel that you have Asthma, Allergies or Chemical Sensitivity, call you Doctor immediately.