Moody attic
#11
Moody attic
(02-03-2025, 04:11 PM)Apydomis Wrote: it’s supposed to say moldy attic?

It all seems to have started when I worked for a company that did mold remediation in 2010 in 2011. After I quit that job I think there was a few years where I felt better.
When my wife and I bought our house in Montana, I discovered a little mold here and there, but I just took care of it when I found it.
Then, about six months ago, I was poking around in the attic and discovered a little bit of mold was growing. I meant to take care of it, but I was really busy with work. Fast forward to about two weeks ago, I went up there because I was, curious about a smell in our upstairs closets.
This is where I discovered a huge mistake that I made, and that was that I put the bathroom fan exhaust pipes into the soffits. That little bit of mold was probably the start.
When I went up there recently, I found quite a bit of mold around. I was using a good flashlight and could see on the back wall where there was a lot.
My whole family has been sick for three weeks or so with a respiratory sickness, but doesn’t seem to be going away. I feel that it seems more like an allergy than a cold though.
My oldest son went to the doctor, and was prescribed antibiotics. A week and a half later I don’t see much of a change.
Last night I went up in there to see if there was any changes, and I’ve discovered that there was possibly some leaks that will have to be fixed as well. And in those areas there is lots of mold that I didn’t notice. The mold seems to be going pretty strong.
So all in all, it’s going to be a huge project. But in the meantime, it seems like my family could be sick with some mold poisoning. Does anybody have any comments, or experiences?
What I don’t get, is with the attic sealed from the house, how would that mold get into the house. Looking around the house, there are no real signs of mold either.
Thanks for reading, I hope it’s not too horrifying for you!

Basements in WV are notorious for mold. Ventalation, humidty reduction, and bleach are used. It's stubborn. Throw out the damaged stuff you can.


The black mold that crept in after Katrina condemned the buildings. Couldn't even burn them, it would aersolize the mold, which was potentially fatal.
There are three things not long hidden, the Sun, the Moon, and the Truth.
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#12
Moody attic
Apydomis, I have a horrid mold story. 

In 2008 I was living in Las Vegas doing construction. Well the 2008 downturn happened and 22,000 carpenters were laid off there including me. I started a handyman business. Got my license, etc. It was dog eat dog. So many un licensed people could under cut and get jobs. I took just about anything except plumbing and electrical because I did not have a license to do those. 
A guy called me and asked if I could clean his tile in his shower. I said ok. What a mistake that was. This guy was a hoarder. His house was so full of crap piled to the freaking ceiling every where. To get to the Master bedroom and bath room you had to walk a 18 inch corridor he provided through the living room. The whole house smelled like crap. I got to the shower and I have never seen so much mold in my life. It was like tomato plants. I dunno how else to describe it. And musty OMG, what a mess. I should have just walked out. But I needed the money. It took me three days to clean it. The guy was nice as he payed me by the hour and I was not cheap.
A few days after I got the job done I fell sick. And I mean deathly sick. I spent two days in ICU and another 5 days in the hospital. The docs never found what I had other than a bad virus. 

Yea don't mess with mold it can kill ya.
Doin' what I can with what I got

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#13
Moody attic
(02-03-2025, 10:29 PM)IDR Wrote: Apydomis, I have a horrid mold story. 

In 2008 I was living in Las Vegas doing construction. Well the 2008 downturn happened and 22,000 carpenters were laid off there including me. I started a handyman business. Got my license, etc. It was dog eat dog. So many un licensed people could under cut and get jobs. I took just about anything except plumbing and electrical because I did not have a license to do those. 
A guy called me and asked if I could clean his tile in his shower. I said ok. What a mistake that was. This guy was a hoarder. His house was so full of crap piled to the freaking ceiling every where. To get to the Master bedroom and bath room you had to walk a 18 inch corridor he provided through the living room. The whole house smelled like crap. I got to the shower and I have never seen so much mold in my life. It was like tomato plants. I dunno how else to describe it. And musty OMG, what a mess. I should have just walked out. But I needed the money. It took me three days to clean it. The guy was nice as he payed me by the hour and I was not cheap.
A few days after I got the job done I fell sick. And I mean deathly sick. I spent two days in ICU and another 5 days in the hospital. The docs never found what I had other than a bad virus. 

Yea don't mess with mold it can kill ya.


Dang.  

PPE is a must when dealing with crap like that.

Glad ya' dodged that near miss, Rick.     Heartflowers
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#14
Moody attic
(02-03-2025, 11:21 PM)DaJavoo Wrote:
(02-03-2025, 10:29 PM)IDR Wrote: Apydomis, I have a horrid mold story. 

In 2008 I was living in Las Vegas doing construction. Well the 2008 downturn happened and 22,000 carpenters were laid off there including me. I started a handyman business. Got my license, etc. It was dog eat dog. So many un licensed people could under cut and get jobs. I took just about anything except plumbing and electrical because I did not have a license to do those. 
A guy called me and asked if I could clean his tile in his shower. I said ok. What a mistake that was. This guy was a hoarder. His house was so full of crap piled to the freaking ceiling every where. To get to the Master bedroom and bath room you had to walk a 18 inch corridor he provided through the living room. The whole house smelled like crap. I got to the shower and I have never seen so much mold in my life. It was like tomato plants. I dunno how else to describe it. And musty OMG, what a mess. I should have just walked out. But I needed the money. It took me three days to clean it. The guy was nice as he payed me by the hour and I was not cheap.
A few days after I got the job done I fell sick. And I mean deathly sick. I spent two days in ICU and another 5 days in the hospital. The docs never found what I had other than a bad virus. 

Yea don't mess with mold it can kill ya.


Dang.  

PPE is a must when dealing with crap like that.

Glad ya' dodged that near miss, Rick.     Heartflowers

I wore like a covid mask. But not a resperator. Stupid, I had one. Sometimes I think it is why my life is hard now, I am always sick. From a very strong man to being sick all the time.
Doin' what I can with what I got

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#15
Moody attic
You encounter mold every day of your life. Most people never get sick because of it. Where you run into problems is type of mold and how much of it you breath in. I have heard horror stories of landscapers who use a lot of hand tools to plant flower beds/gardens who get deathly ill after digging up the wrong mold and getting a lung full. At the same time I have known people who live in old houses that are infested with black mold but it is in places the occupants never see (in the crawl space and loft) and thus it don't really affect them. I have found mold in my house a time or two, I live in a humid swamp after all. A heavy spray of diluted bleach and let sit a few minutes to work, then put on a respirator and hit it with the brillo pad and wipe clean with some warm water. Pat dry and hit the surface and surrounding area with a coat of kilz. Come back later and paint over.
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#16
Moody attic
(02-03-2025, 04:44 PM)Danfromthehills Wrote:
(02-03-2025, 04:11 PM)Apydomis Wrote: it’s supposed to say moldy attic?

It all seems to have started when I worked for a company that did mold remediation in 2010 in 2011. After I quit that job I think there was a few years where I felt better.
When my wife and I bought our house in Montana, I discovered a little mold here and there, but I just took care of it when I found it.
Then, about six months ago, I was poking around in the attic and discovered a little bit of mold was growing. I meant to take care of it, but I was really busy with work. Fast forward to about two weeks ago, I went up there because I was, curious about a smell in our upstairs closets.
This is where I discovered a huge mistake that I made, and that was that I put the bathroom fan exhaust pipes into the soffits. That little bit of mold was probably the start.
When I went up there recently, I found quite a bit of mold around. I was using a good flashlight and could see on the back wall where there was a lot.
My whole family has been sick for three weeks or so with a respiratory sickness, but doesn’t seem to be going away. I feel that it seems more like an allergy than a cold though.
My oldest son went to the doctor, and was prescribed antibiotics. A week and a half later I don’t see much of a change.
Last night I went up in there to see if there was any changes, and I’ve discovered that there was possibly some leaks that will have to be fixed as well. And in those areas there is lots of mold that I didn’t notice. The mold seems to be going pretty strong.
So all in all, it’s going to be a huge project. But in the meantime, it seems like my family could be sick with some mold poisoning. Does anybody have any comments, or experiences?
What I don’t get, is with the attic sealed from the house, how would that mold get into the house. Looking around the house, there are no real signs of mold either.
Thanks for reading, I hope it’s not too horrifying for you!

Light some incense, and take it out for dinner?

Jptdknpa That just might work!
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#17
Moody attic
(02-04-2025, 06:04 AM)JB1 Wrote: You encounter mold every day of your life. Most people never get sick because of it. Where you run into problems is type of mold and how much of it you breath in. I have heard horror stories of landscapers who use a lot of hand tools to plant flower beds/gardens who get deathly ill after digging up the wrong mold and getting a lung full. At the same time I have known people who live in old houses that are infested with black mold but it is in places the occupants never see (in the crawl space and loft) and thus it don't really affect them. I have found mold in my house a time or two, I live in a humid swamp after all. A heavy spray of diluted bleach and let sit a few minutes to work, then put on a respirator and hit it with the brillo pad and wipe clean with some warm water. Pat dry and hit the surface and surrounding area with a coat of kilz. Come back later and paint over.

Another thing that I read was to figure out what the source of moisture is. 
The day before I posted about mold, I climbed a ladder and opened up one of the soffits and found insulation packed in and soak and wet. I opened up two or three more soffits going down the side of the house until I found one that wasn’t full of mold, then I stuck a fan up there in the attic. Yesterday, when I cleaned up in there, a lot of the moisture had dried up. I would say there was a reduction in mold. I also have two air purifiers going upstairs.
I also found a highly rated mold spray that I am going to pick up at the hardware store. Before I spray, though, I need to add some additional vents- but it just snowed last night…
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#18
Moody attic
(02-04-2025, 12:01 AM)IDR Wrote:
(02-03-2025, 11:21 PM)DaJavoo Wrote:
(02-03-2025, 10:29 PM)IDR Wrote: Apydomis, I have a horrid mold story. 

In 2008 I was living in Las Vegas doing construction. Well the 2008 downturn happened and 22,000 carpenters were laid off there including me. I started a handyman business. Got my license, etc. It was dog eat dog. So many un licensed people could under cut and get jobs. I took just about anything except plumbing and electrical because I did not have a license to do those. 
A guy called me and asked if I could clean his tile in his shower. I said ok. What a mistake that was. This guy was a hoarder. His house was so full of crap piled to the freaking ceiling every where. To get to the Master bedroom and bath room you had to walk a 18 inch corridor he provided through the living room. The whole house smelled like crap. I got to the shower and I have never seen so much mold in my life. It was like tomato plants. I dunno how else to describe it. And musty OMG, what a mess. I should have just walked out. But I needed the money. It took me three days to clean it. The guy was nice as he payed me by the hour and I was not cheap.
A few days after I got the job done I fell sick. And I mean deathly sick. I spent two days in ICU and another 5 days in the hospital. The docs never found what I had other than a bad virus. 

Yea don't mess with mold it can kill ya.


Dang.  

PPE is a must when dealing with crap like that.

Glad ya' dodged that near miss, Rick.     Heartflowers

I wore like a covid mask. But not a resperator. Stupid, I had one. Sometimes I think it is why my life is hard now, I am always sick. From a very strong man to being sick all the time.
I hope you get your health back…
I also feel like I went from feeling indestructible to picking up every single cold and sickness that my kids bring home. I always have the sniffles, and it seems like I always have allergies all year. I just feel suppressed.
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#19
Moody attic
Moody attic- I was expecting a temperamental ghost story!

I have not been into the attic space on this house yet. I don’t wanna knowwwwww


Spoiler

Do Good,
And Be Good,
And Good shall exist in the World.



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#20
Moody attic
(02-04-2025, 06:04 AM)JB1 Wrote: You encounter mold every day of your life. Most people never get sick because of it. Where you run into problems is type of mold and how much of it you breath in. I have heard horror stories of landscapers who use a lot of hand tools to plant flower beds/gardens who get deathly ill after digging up the wrong mold and getting a lung full. At the same time I have known people who live in old houses that are infested with black mold but it is in places the occupants never see (in the crawl space and loft) and thus it don't really affect them. I have found mold in my house a time or two, I live in a humid swamp after all. A heavy spray of diluted bleach and let sit a few minutes to work, then put on a respirator and hit it with the brillo pad and wipe clean with some warm water. Pat dry and hit the surface and surrounding area with a coat of kilz. Come back later and paint over.

Kilz, the best primer!


Spoiler

Do Good,
And Be Good,
And Good shall exist in the World.



[Image: hRfn9kJ.png] Heartflowers
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