To ask, how bad is mould? Any doctors about?

[WillYouPutYourCoatOn]

I've had a cough for ages. Been to the docs, and they can't see much wrong. Always worst when I'm in my bedroom. I had assumed because I'm laying down.

We have a lot of built in storage that's all along an external wall, and one of the wardrobes, we never really use daily. I open it regularly to pop in Christmas pressies we buy throughout the year though.

I decided to clear it out today, it's full of DH old coats etc. I pulled the first out, and whilst the outer edge I could see was fine, the edge more "in" the wardrobe was covered in green dusty mould. Every coat was the same. The cupboard goes back probably 8ft and there must be a crack in on the wall or something as when I pulled all the coats off the rail and shone a torch to the back, the corner of the wall, and up to about 3ft high is all black and green mould spore dots.

I then panicked and started pulling furniture away from walls and there's a small amount behind our headboard and quite a lot under a dressing table in the other corner, which I hadn't seen because I'd put a load of boxes under there.

Is this really bad, can you get really ill from this? I'm going to remove all the mould, and establish/fix the cause, but we've been breathing this in for god knows how long. Is this why I'm coughing? Can I be tested for it? My under eyes have become unusually puffy too.

Does anyone know how serious this is from direct experience? Google presents very contradictory information.

Mould magic extreme promises to stop it coming back.

I'm not a doctor, so I can't advise on the health side of it.

But on the mould side, the best option is a spray made up of benzalkonium chloride. I've found it's fabric safe as well which is ideal (but as always test it first!).

It's vile stuff and you need to wear a mask while you use it but it kills it off like nothing else - much better than the bleach based ones. I had terrible black mould all over my bedroom, sprayed down with that and scrubbed the walls then painted with Dulux fungicidal paint and there's not even a dot of it 13 months later.

I can't talk to any long term effects but I react badly to mould (which happens from time to time in our house and in our previous flat because they're both old and poorly ventilated). It's like the worst hay fever and I feel absolutely dreadful, especially at night. My eyes are terrible too. As soon as I properly get rid of it, the symptoms go.

Thanks guys, I'm pretty confident on getting rid of the stuff. I've already been out and bought some stuff and started on it.

I'm more concerned about the health implications of sleeping in this room for the last two years full of mould!! (that's how long ago it was I last went into the back of that wardrobe, to get an old duvet. Completely fine then, so it's appeared some time since then)

Yes it's not good for your health at all. I do suffer from it too. We've had various areas of black mould in our house (and it's sneaky, it likes living on paper, cardboard and leather as well as walls that are obscured by shelves or whatever. I had to throw out a lot of stuff as it just reeks.

I discovered the mould smell is stronger at night, as this is when moulds release their spores, so it is definitely not good to be breathing that in. I already have hypothyroidism so I already have puffy eyes and various symptoms so it can be hard for me to spot extra symptoms not caused by that, however I did notice I'd start sneezing more in the evenings and coughing, plus my eyes would itch and water. All that stopped when we had work done to repair the areas affected. Now it's started again in another room! I hate it, honestly.

There are many groups that discuss mould and its affect, some advise throwing all your things away and moving to live in a desert! A bit drastic. 😂Still, you need to get it all treated because it will have an adverse effect on your health.

The stuff that's on wallpaper, will the spray not ruin it?

You need a dehumidifier and a massive clear out.
Hope you manage to get rid of the mould! HG stuff is very, very good.

Yes, mould is awful for your health. Hopefully you can get rid of it now and take steps to stop it coming back.

Can you explain from personal experience? Google is quite conflicting.

Mould isn't good for you no but it is likely to have a higher impact on people who have preexisting respiratory illness like asthma

Long term exposure will similarly have different outcomes based on the individual health of those affected.

I don't think you should fret especially and you're obviously going to resolve the problem.

I've lived in two flats with mould problems - in both places I suffered from bad coughs, headaches and fatigue, as well as general low mood and poor sleep. I've not had any similar issues since I moved out.

I work for a housing association in the safety department and we have a no tolerance to damp and mould, it has been the main contributor to some deaths, and can be really dangerous for asthmatics, elderly, and children.

Fuck. Really.

The room is really big and this is going to sound so stupid, but I rarely use those bits so haven't noticed how long it's been there.

I've had a cough. For months and months.

I'm going to call the doctors.

Is the impact reversible?

I would try not to worry too much - most people's symptoms improve once the mould is sorted out.

My friend who is generally a young healthy person got pneumonia, and that was said to be down to mould in her flat...

Another friend has a lot of it and never had an issue. I think it's different for one person to the next

I'm not a doctor and only going on my experience of living in various places with a partner who is asthmatic, in general I was completely unaffected and my partner suffered if there was any mould.

Now we live somewhere that doesn't get damp and she has no problems. As far as I know I think most people get better after the exposure ends

Thank you.

How quickly does she notice the difference once it's gone?

I think it's more like an allergy than anything. Once you remove the allergen, symptoms improve quickly.

Just asked her and she said once the exposure stopped (ie when we moved) she didn't have any problems after that.

Having a cough for the amount of time you have had isn't great and if you're concerned it's not gonna hurt to get checked out.

Open the windows at night (or all the time) until you get it fixed.

Not a doctor but the mould in my adult ds's room seems to be causing a cough that he can't get rid of.

It might be best to get your cough checked out to check it's nothing serious.

I'm a bit worried about the anti-mould products also causing my ds problems as the chemicals will soak into the wallpaper and might trigger his asthma. I guess it's the lessor of two evils really. When I get rid of the source of damp I'll treat and redecorate the room.

One of my DC had asthma triggered by mould. Now that he doesn't go to the place where the mould was present (his DF's house) his asthma has completely gone.

So it can all be pretty easily removed from paintwork. What about the stuff on the wall paper. If you soak the wallpaper with spray, doesn't it ruin the wallpaper? Or damage it as you rub it off?

I'd remove the wallpaper, to be honest. Mould loves paper!