Sick building syndrome?

[Mclennonvicky]

I have severe damp throughout my home caused by rising damp and a compromised gutter. Water has been soaking my wall for two years and my landlord has still not repaired it. I had an accident two years ago and was bed ridden for over a year. My recovery has taken place in a soaked room. I started getting severe pain in my arms at first not being able to sleep on one side but after alternating my other arm began to suffer the same pain. The pain progressed then my arms became restricted I can now not raise them above breast level or go backwards without excruciating pain. I cough all night so get no real sleep. The Mold is taking over my leather goods are covered and I am really depressed. How do I prove the Mold is causing all my symptoms. I have had test after test with drs and hospitals and have been currently given tremadol for the pain as well as sertrolin for my depression unfortunately my son also has asthma and although he hasn’t suffered for years is now reaching for his pump again. I think we are suffering from sick building syndrome? Advice please?.

[Shaurene]

Hi we have a company in New Zealand and for the last 27 yrs our expertise in damp and fungus/mould in homes. We are experts in treating this. When ch is caused by damp in homes. The fungus/mould grows on the walls in black patches. The fungus is live it is very bad for your lungs.

You can also notice the dampness in your homes in winter when your windows are covered in water running down them.

It will help you greatly to buy a good Dehumidifier, a 20-30 Lt a day will be good. The water/damp is hard to remove in cold conditions and will help if your area is heated. The water is collected in a bucket in the dehumidifier, when it is full the unit will turn off, A flashing light on the unit will tell younto empty the bucket.

It is a must in a very damp home, the fungus is live and floats around and you breath it in. Go to one of the large hardware stores like B&Q

You will notice the mould and fungus will start to die off. You will feel the benefit after a few months.

[Mclennonvicky in reply to Shaurene]

Thank you that was very informative. I actually fitted a dehumidifier last week but there is hardly any water after two days but the walls are soaking so I am slightly confused as to whether it is working correctly.

[Shaurene in reply to Mclennonvicky]

I will try and explain this.

A dehumidifier works like a refrigerator/air conditioner. It has a condenser and an evaporator. The evaporator forms the refrigerated coils, The compressed forces the hot gas through the condenser which then passes through very narrow copper coills under pressure which is then turned into very cold gas and passes through the evaporator. And these coils are refrigerated and ice up. The fan sucks air in through the back and blows it, and ver these coils which turns the moisture in the air into water droplets which drip down into a water tank.

The warmer the outside air the more efficient it will be in extracting the moisture out of the air.

Normal Dehumidifiers do not work very well in temperatures below 15c.

So in winter a house can get quite cold. If the air is bellow 12-15c the evaporator will form ice on the coils and build up. You need to have some sort oh heating. The best Dehumidifiers have a reverse cycle which will send the hot gasses from the compressor through the evaporator and melt the ice on the coils.

The Mitsubishi dehus have this system bet they are more expensive. If you have any heaters, not gas heaters because gas heaters produce a lot of moisture, use an electric heater and place it close to the back of the dehumidifier which will warm the air that the dehumidifier fan sucked into the back.

Some dehus have a little heater fitted in. Hope this helps a little.

[Mclennonvicky in reply to Shaurene]

Thank you I will try putting heating on for longer as the room is also like an icebox. Many thanks.

[Mclennonvicky]

Ok so this morning I wake up to soaking wet floors in my bedroom. It appears water is dripping from the side of the dehumidifier onto my floor. There is hardly any moisture in the bucket but my floor is soaked. I assume the dehumidifier is faulty?

[Mclennonvicky]

I have started legal proceedings. I will look into your suggestions. Thank you.

[GAtherton Administrator Fungal Infection Trust]

Mould growth in damp homes certainly is a health problem and causes many symptoms. Most commonly it causes allergies but it also can cause and worsen asthma, sinusitis and more. I wrote a lot about this here nacpatients.org.uk/damp_gen...

The main way we would suggest to quickly relieve symptoms is to leave the damp home and find a dry place to live - there are no treatments that will eliminate the symptoms other than removing yourself from exposure. Your landlord may want to remediate the home but it can be a long and messy business if done properly.

[Mclennonvicky in reply to GAtherton]

Thank you and I agree I should be moved out at least until the works are completed. I will read your link in a bit. Also I read that when you leave the damp premises if you are suffering from the effects of mycotoxins that you get worse before you get better, if you get better.

[GAtherton Administrator Fungal Infection Trust in reply to Mclennonvicky]

Damp homes expose us to a cocktail of irritants and allergens that we inhale and touch. I am not aware of any suggestion that you will feel worse before improving, only that most people improve once they have left the damp home as long as the new home is dry.

[Mclennonvicky]

mobile.dudasite.com/site/ka...

[Mclennonvicky in reply to Mclennonvicky]

I found this paper very informative

[GAtherton Administrator Fungal Infection Trust]

This paper is probably more relevant to a domestic situation, and far more recent aspergillus.org.uk/articles...

[Mclennonvicky in reply to GAtherton]

Thank you I shall read it now.

[Mclennonvicky in reply to GAtherton]

Interesting but too vague. I need a lot more information than what was available on that page. But thank you for the link.

[GAtherton Administrator Fungal Infection Trust in reply to Mclennonvicky]

That paper describes a series of stages of illness relating to living in a damp home, so it gives you some idea as to where you are. It also points out continued exposure is a bad thing! It is vague because there are many blanks in our knowledge of how damp home impact our health.

The first paper you were reading refers to a situation where people are exposed to levels far higher than would be expected (or so far detected) in a home. It doesn't directly apply to your situation as you have described it.

[GAtherton Administrator Fungal Infection Trust in reply to GAtherton]

NOTE we run a small group that discusses this here facebook.com/groups/damphom...