House Making Me Sick?

I know this is not a fun idea, but you may need to remove all carpeting, and opt for tile, linoleum or wood instead. Carpeting is terrible, because it is impossible to get it clean enough for a person with allergies or asthma.

I'd call Bob Morris with Armstrong Forensic Laboratory. He is an industrial hygienist and can test your home for mold spores, etc. ###-###-####.

I have helped many families with asthma and allergies get relief by switching to safer home and personal care alternative products that do not contain bleach, ammonia, formaldehyde(quaternium 15) preservatives, etc. Also many of these products can be put on your air filters to even further reduce your indoor air toxins.
Many older homes do not have adequate air flow and the toxins in your products build up in the home and create very poor indoor air quality. Most people don't realize our indoor air is more likely to cause chronic health problems than outdoor pollution.
Email me if you would like to see some research and try some safer products. M.
www.LiveTotalWellness.com/texas

This happened to a friend of mine. Her and her 2 girls were sick. They found out it was from mold. They did a home-based mold test. I'm not sure where you get these, I would check online.

Are you new to this area? I know alot of people that move here and have a very hard time getting used to of the air. If not then it could be your "older" home that's got you sick. You'll need to have your vents/ducts cleaned out. Make sure that you get someone that sweeps the inside of the duct and not just the vent area. That should help alot. Also you might want to do some serious cleaning of the windows. If they are older windows they might have some mold on them from sweating in colder weather. Be sure to use a mask when doing this. If you don't want to do this yourself or if you want to check your home for mold there are companies that can do this work for you.
If you have carpet it can hold all kinds of ugly stuff. You might want to get them cleaned if they haven't allready before you moved in. Or you could just pull the carpet up and replace with smooth flooring.
Also if you suffer from allergies you might think that keeping you home sealed up is good for you but it's not. You should try and air out your home as much as the weather permits. It lets you home breath and keeps it from being damp and stag nit.
Usually it's going to be dust and mold that's going to bug you in a older home.
Hope you get well soon.
C.

hey there! It is probably mold, cause that's what's making us sick in the house we are currently in. That is the reason why we are also moving really soon. check your bathrooms for mold on the ceiling and also most importantly the bedrooms! if you have a masterswuit and there is not a window in the bathroom of the mastersuit it probably gets really steamy after you take a shower, and after a while you will get mold, so.....
Hope that will help you a little. My daughter has a horrible caugh also and is seeing a doctor for it, but they can't really do anything as long as we live in that house. We visited my mom for a couple weeks and she was fine, and she is also fine when we stay at a friends house over night. As soon as we get back in our house all is bad again.
Feel free to ask more question or contact me!
Have a great day, Mel

ooo...could be mold. notice any black stuff creeping up the walls, inside or out? musty smells? you could either get someone to come out and test for molds or look online for a do-it-yourself way of finding out. sorry. I don't know of any do-it-yourself methods but i'm sure there are some. my friend and her family did not have signs of mold on walls, etc. but she developed the same symptoms; in fact, they became more severe for her son. they forced the apartment to test for mold and sure enough it was all around. other thing might be plants outside of your house. you should check for "high allergy" type plants, ie. cedars, etc. i was also told that if you have new carpet, that could also be a source of allergy. hope you feel better soon!

It could be mold - which will keep you sick all the time. I think you might have to have someone come look in the cracks and crevices of your home to determine that. Call your insurance company for a referrral. IF I'm not mistaken, your insurance co. should cover this?!
My boss' sister went through the same thing. She and her family were sick for a month or so...and then they began to notice discoloration on the walls. They called in the insurance co. who determined that the entire wall in the Living Room had black mold behind it. They ended up tearing out the wall, under the stairs, re-doing the plumbing in the upstairs bathroom and re-carpeting the LR, stairs and the landing upstairs. It was a huge mess that would have gotten worse had they not checked into it!!!
I think b/c the house was just purchased - something about the inspector or previous owner came into play...I'm not sure what though.
Hope this helps...I think the sinus, asthma, bronchitis, etc. - are all indicative of some type of mold or wet surface.
Take care!

Sounds like you may have a mold problem. Check the air ducts and have them cleaned by a professional. If the house is on piers it may have mold underneath since wet damp areas promote the growth. My friend had similar problems in an old trailer she lived in and did find mold throughout in the duct work. Once she moved shes felt fine.

If you and your children are constantly ill in your (older) new home, the problem could be dust or mold related. If the home has older carpet, the problem may lie in the carpet. The problem may also lie in the heating and air conditioning unit and/or duct work. Years of dust and possibly mold residue can exist in the system, especially if the units or ductwork are old. You may want to contact an HVAC professional for advice and or an inspection of the system.

Find out what kind of airconditioning system you have and call a reliable airconditioning company to come out and clean and check your system. Buy 12 filters and replace them monthly. Call a reliable duct cleaning company and have all your air ducts cleaned. Use the internet to look up airconditioning companies and pick one that specifies your system. Again use the internet to pick a duct cleaning company for your area. I have been through this several times.

Have you looked at getting your air ducts cleaned? They can get an incredible amount of buildup in them and cause asthma and allergies.

Mold! Hubby and I had the same problem when we were renting a duplex right after we got married. I think there was either mold in the ductwork or in the walls. As soon as we moved our problems went away. Get the ducts cleaned and the house inspected for mold.

L

Wow! You've had a lot of responses! Isnt it great to be part of Mamasource? Anyways, yes, your house can definitely make you sick. It sounds like a mold problem. Call an HVAC technician. They can check for black mold and install a UV light that will kill it. Its VERY important that you get this taken care of. Black mold can cause serious health issues and even death. Sorry, I'm not trying to scare you, I just want you to know that this is serious!! My parents own a HVAC company and have been in the business for over 30 years. They are Christians, very honest, reasonably priced and have personally dealt with black mold. I dont know where you live though so you may not be in their service area. Either way, here's their contact info. Tell 'em their daughter sent ya!! Air Master's A/C & Heating ###-###-#### or ###-###-####. Good luck S.!!

The other moms had great advise on this, I just thought I would add one other suggestion. I'm not sure if you have replaced all of your air filters since you have moved in or not, but if not it may be worthwhile replacing them and paying a little extra for the kind that help with allergens. Not too expensive to do and might be helpful.

As the other moms mentioned, if you moved into an older home, it's probably not a bad idea and worth the money to look into having your air ducts cleaned out and carpets steam cleaned. Hope you get to the root of your issue. Best Wishes!

You may want to also check for mold. I have a lot of allergy problems. Mold is common in old houses, as well as lead paint, gas leaks (old furnaces) and other issues. Check out all those things and get them taken care of.

For mold you can spray a diluted bleach solution on it to kill it until you can get it cleaned and a long term solution.

Also check for leaks in walls from the roof. :-0

I grew up in an old house and it is a project to make it nice for allergy sufferers. Good luck

I think you should find out what you and your daughter are allergic to first. I'd hate to see you spend a bunch of money pulling out carpet or doing the HVAC thing until you know what's making you sick. If you know it's mold then you can go searching for the mold, if you know it's dust then you can try to remedy that problem, etc. I see Dr Ken Parker in Keller and he is awesome. He does muscle testing to find out what you're sensitive to (enviromental allergies, food, etc). He can even help with those allergies by using laser therapy.

www.jubileewellnessclinic.com
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Hello, i know it is terrible when your home , the very place you are supposed to be comforted by, makes you sick! A few years ago i was being poisoned by a used entertainment center that i bought at a yard sale! I wondered later if they knew and that's why they sold it. Once i figured out what it was i made my husband break it all up and throw it out so no one else would see it out for trash and decide to pick it up. Any way there are countless things it could be! Did you put in new carpet, drapes, paint, furniture? It can be mold behind fresh paint or under sinks etc. Chemicals found in upolestry, paint, carpet and famaldahide in compressed partical board. For some people it's no big deal, but if you are allergy sensitive it can be terrible.also if your adrenals are not working as they should you can have major problems with sensitivitys to lots of enviromental hazzards.any way i know i haven't really answered your question but i hope i have given you alot to think about.

Sounds like black mold to me or you need to have your air ducts cleaned. Might want to have someone come out and check.

Hi,
Since it is an older home you may be having a mold problem. You can get someone to come out to the house to check for mold, lead, abestos, or anything else. I advise this because even though you may be the only one in the home not feeling well, your family will be affected as well, if one of these is indeed the problem.

Have you checked around for black mold? I know that can be a problem around here, and it makes you sick. Good luck!

Hi Stacy,

You might want to get your HVAC and duct work checked. You could have mold and other allergens blowing through the house. The same thing happened to us in Louisiana because the people who lived there before us did zero maintaince. Good luck and happy holidays.

K.

There are some mold kits that you can purchase commercially.. Just wondering does your house have wall to wall carpeting??

You may need to have the carpets professionally cleaned and the central heat and air ducts cleaned and check the air filter in the heat/air system.

I had the same problem when I moved into my house... the dog that "lived outside" apparently lived inside at some point and since I have found spots in the carpet... so, I had to save up and have them ripped out and replaced them with laminate flooring - I am breathing better..

Good Luck!
J.

Do you have hard floors or carpet? If you have carpet- get it steam cleaned, or remove it. My husband used to have horrible allergy attacks prior to us removing our carpet in our bedroom. Getting everything steam cleaned is a good idea just to have a point of reference.

Looks like the molds have it! That usually is the number one culprit, esp. in old houses. Behind wallpaper, beneath carpet, behind walls (if your studs are moldy, that's worse), air ducts. I know a HVAC guy in Grand Prairie if you need a referral. It doesn't matter the color of the mold (green, purple, black, etc). if your allergic, you're allergic and it's gonna make you sick.

Also, if your family is allergic to pets, and the previous owners had pets, their proteins are most likely in the house. I'm allergic to cats, and the protein that I'm allergic to in their skin can remain active for up to 4 years after a cat has left. Good news, allergy stores sell products that neutralize the protein. I bought some (previous owner had a cat only in the garage) at an allergy store in north arlington.

Also, to go back to the mold issue, if the previous owners had a flood incident (leaky toilet, flood water not covered by insurance), that could be causing problems too. In the state of Texas, if the previous owners had a mold problem and didn't give ya'll documentation saying that they had a problem and fixed it, I think that's a lawsuit waiting to happen (it's been a while since I did mold work, so I'm kinda rusty on the TX legislation regarding it). The Texas Department of Health website should have details. Hope ya'll get better quick!

Could be mold..look around attic, basement, take a good look at walls..
E.

Hi. I hope you do not mind me saying but I have a feeling you have a mold problem. There are companies out there that can come and tell you if you have mold in your home. Your insurance may pay for it too. I hope you all feel better soon.

Maybe you need to have your air ducts cleaned. My friend recently had similar problems and just by coincidence she received a coupon for a free carpet cleaning with a duct cleaning service. She had it done and they discovered she had mold in them from the moisture build up from the a/c. They recomended a special air filter that lasts for years, and is washable. After her ducts were cleaned all the sinus problems subsided. About every 2 years they should be cleaned, and you should use a better quality filter especially if you have allergies. The people who lived there might not have done it or they had pets or something that you are not accustmed to that is causing the irritation. hope this helps.

That sounds like me recently. Mold has been VERY high. Maybe you have mold in your house, because you just described all the mold allergy symptoms.

to help clean the air, you could look at the uv lights that can be put in your a/c duct system (it is similar to what has been used in hospitals for years, but is now made affordable for personnal use). Contact Gillette Air Conditioniong - Dan Combs, residential department for more information. ###-###-####. Tell him S. Walls referred you. Good luck.

Hi there, it might not be your home it might be the products you use in the home... we switched to some safer, "green" products and we love them. they actually seem to work better than the store bought stuff and are safe for people with asthma and other issues.
check out for more info
www.livetotalwellness.com/saferathome
AJ

You should have the AC vents checked. We were starting to develop allergies and it turned out our AC vents were moldy. We had them cleaned out and we are better.
B.

There are many allergens in the air but also chemical irritant most people don't realize in their household products. Switching your family to non-toxic products may be the key. Message me if you want more info.