Ever Enough Cleaning?

A presenter at a mold conference made the statement, "A mold incident always leaves the footprint."

By this, the presenter was alluding to the fact that no matter how thorough mold removal is, it is impossible to remove every tiny particle that could have come from mold. Remaining might be stray hyphal fragments (pieces of branch-like growth structures), mold proteins from cell walls, microparticles from inside hyphae, or some molecules of mycotoxins (toxins given off by mold).

As I write these words, I am well aware of the ticklish nature of this column, especially for Our Toxic Times readers. On the one hand, there are those who would say, "Anytime there is a mold incident, you might have to walk out of your home, leave everything behind, and start fresh elsewhere." Indeed, the "bible" of the mold industry, Bioaerosols: Assessment and Control, states: "Persons with building-related HP (hypersensitivity pneumonitis) may require permanent restriction from entering implicated environments because, once sensitized, individuals react to extremely low, often unmeasurable, concentrations of antigenic material," Section 3.3.3.

On the other hand, I respond, "In the real world, how many people can afford to leave everything behind, and is it really necessary in the average situation?" Even if an individual can afford to close the door behind him or her, I wonder if that person would continue to leave her residence after the third or the fifth mold incident. There comes a time when enough is enough.

I received a call from a client some years back. She reported that her son and daughter-in-law had had a water leak (which they found soon) in their apartment. They hired a mold remediator who promised to get rid of the mold. The remediator told them that they would have to discard all their furniture and belongings, except the dishes, glassware, and plastic items. My client was calling to ask if I felt was really necessary to throw out their new large screen TV, as the remediator recommended.

My response was, "Absolutely! And I'll come pick it up!" The mother got my message, although I don't know what decision her son and daughter-in-law made about the TV. Personally, I thought it was ridiculous to throw out all belongings, just because of one water leak that was found in short order. One mold remediation worker told me, "All our houses are furnished with furniture taken from clients' houses."

That said, I have had clients who have been reactive to clothing and possessions that were present in moldy homes. Some of these clients have cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and have still not been able to tolerate either their homes or possessions. One woman found that she could tolerate clothing if it was washed four times.

Occasionally I have been asked to check such possessions for mold. I could touch clear sticky tape to a dozen places on an article of clothing, and then examine the tape under a microscope without finding a single mold spore. In actuality, this finding may or may not mean much to my client. Perhaps the individual is reacting to a smaller part of mold, or a chemical made by mold, that would not show up under a microscope, in DNA testing, or even in any available type of testing.

A colleague experienced with counseling Vietnam Vets suggest that perhaps an alternative explanation is what happens with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, which trauma memories are stored in "disconnected sensory fragments, somatic sensations, and muscular impulses in the more primitive parts of the brain." (Naparstek, 27)  When one experiences certain memories, thoughts, sensory sensations, visual stimuli, etc., the primitive brain triggers an alarm state (more commonly known as a reaction), again without the person being aware of why the reaction is occurring. This autonomic nervous system response is out of the control of the individual. Perhaps ultimately it can be replaced with a learned safety response.

Where does this leave the reactive individual whose home has been involved in a mold incident? Here are a few post-cleaning suggestions from my experience:

I am a mold inspector who was told by a physician specializing in mold that I am "the last person who should be a mold inspector" because of the worst combination of genetic predispositions to mold toxins. Oh well. This is where I am for now, and over a thousand environmental inspections later, I seem to be okay. Yes, I watch my diet (very little sugar and plenty of fresh veggies) and yes, I explore other issues, such as adrenal function, bio-identical hormones, and enzymes

Works cited: Naperstek, Belleruth, Invisible Heroes: Survivors of Trauma and How They Heal, Bantam, 2006.

For information on the EnviroHealth mold inspections, please call May at 1-888-735-9649 or email at may@createyourhealthyhome.com.

Inspections are available in: Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and other areas by arrangement

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