Mould

[artiste]

Do we have any evidence of mould affecting lungs (COPD)

[Gordon57]

Mould produces spores that get into the air around us, forming part of the 'household dust' that gets blamed for a lot of things.

It's not, to my knowledge, a cause of COPD, but can trigger breathing problems, depending on how bad it is. You don't want to be touching anything with mould on and then eating a sandwich...

Some useful info at :- careandrepair-england.org.u...

[libby7827]

Certain moulds are very dangerous for your lungs and can kill. Not the kind you get on food (!). If you have respiratory problems you should make sure you're not exposed to mould spores, you won't even know you're breathing them in. Don't think it would come under the heading copd though. I

[Gordon57 in reply to libby7827]

I should have said that I didn't mean mould on food, but the black stuff on the walls of damp houses or those with condensation issues and so on.

I was actually looking around me at the time. We get condensation mould a lot and the silicone seal around the windows has gone black in many places, but cannot be cleaned. I've stripped and replaced this in the past.

We have to use a dehumidifier and even that's had mould in the water collection tank before now! My wife wipes the walls and windows down regularly with a spray for the purpose, but it comes back.

[libby7827 in reply to Gordon57]

Blimey Gordon, you could do without mould, you having a lung condition. Is there no way you get some help with eradicating it? I found the back of my couch (fabric) was covered in a fine pale grey mould a couple of years ago. It just brushed off though and has never reappeared. Very strange, but worried me at the time. Libby

[Gordon57 in reply to libby7827]

It's an old house with many problems, and not just me. When we've had a shower we need to wipe the condensation off the walls before the mould gets chance, but it's not always easy. The bathroom is only single brick thickness, it was a bit of a bodge job - probably done before I was even born, and that's some years ago.

We get the problems through not having proper heating I think. Upstairs is cold nearly all the time at this time of year. We have wall heaters but they only go on for a couple of hours before bedtime.

I'm trying to get the council to sort out a grant for proper heating. That will help a lot. Because we're on pre-pay meters we can't just leave the gas fair and bedroom heaters on, it would cost a fortune. With a proper boiler we'd only be using one lot of gas, not 4 at a time. It should also be more energy efficient so may even save us money.

[libby7827 in reply to Gordon57]

Well I hope you get your grant Gordon - modern boilers are very efficient. We had a (I think this is what it's called!) a condensing boiler for heating and hot water a couple of years ago and it's economical and efficient, compared to our previous boiler. Good luck, am sure because of the nature of your illness you will get your grant. Libby

[Hidden in reply to Gordon57]

Lakeland sell a spray called HG mould spray it works reaaly well and in most cases the mould does not return. It has to be left on for half an hour but is has a verry strong smell so we leave the window open.

[Jester]

Take a look at this danabelletete.com/?p=109

[Gordon57 in reply to Jester]

Aaaarrggh, I hate it when they get their info wrong. Lumping Asthma and other stuff in with COPD and calling it the 'latest invented disease'.

Sadly, it's not a site I'd refer to as being 'fact' as it's a personal blog, which then goes on to promote a commercial 'mold removal' service at the end.

[gripper2430 in reply to Gordon57]

Hello my names tracy I had a burst at home because British gas missed a leak

It was running for 12 months until the kitchen wall fell down.my Insurance company made me live in the house for 2 years .I'm not in good heath as it is .But in the kitchen the ceiling grew black think mould .then I got diagnosed with copd. Is the mould the corse please help I find it difficult to get around now.

[O2Trees]

I am as scared by the chemical products which treat moulds as by the moulds themselves. I have had to use them - well my partner actually does it and opens doors and windows wide. Sprays may work well, but they don't just reach their target - quite a lot goes into the surrounding air too. (Try sitting at a cafe when the staff spray nearby tables with cleaning fluid.)

But white cleaning vinegar is very good as a regular maintenance treatment for areas vulnerable to mould. It smells strong but is completely non-toxic.

[Hidden]

I haven't got COPD but do have 2 lung diseases.

I also have some black mould around window seals in rooms that suffer with condensation.

My house has central heating, double glazing and a de-humidifier but if the temperature drops in the night I invariably have condensation on the windows because of the difference in temperature between the outside and the inside. I don't leave the de-humidifier on overnight because the noise would keep me awake, even though it is a reasonably quiet one.

I have trid the HG mould spay that you can get at many hardware shops and I've also tried the Polycell version too. Both of these help for a short time but the mould invariably returns so I just keep repeating the treatment to try to keep on top of it.

I was at the Royal Brompton a couple of weeks ago for an assesment and one of the questions I was asked was whether I had any black mould in my house, so to me this would suggest that it could be one of the many triggers for many lung diseases. Maybe one of the BLF Helpline team could give you the definitive answer on this though.

[rubenschtorm]

we had to keep bleaching/painting the wall in the alcove where the pc is(and where i spent most of my time) because of mould. we were told a couple of months back that if we added apve glue(the cheap kids glue) to the paint it would keep it away . so far so good , 6 weeks, would have been on its 3rd coat by now so fingers crossed

[MSMichaela1966 in reply to rubenschtorm]

I have written this down. APVE glue. I am smelling mould in my daughters room a lot and I have also seen stuff that has been stored under the bed with green mould on, I wash it down as best I can, this thread was very informative.

[rubenschtorm]

pva glue