To think our house is making DC sick

[Concernedmum23]

Please, need some urgent help.

DC is 4. She used to be lively, happy and full of energy. Since about late October time she started getting colds. We thought the usual, oh it's that time of the year. Except the colds never went away and kept on coming. Since then she's been ill and "congested" every single day. She now looks pale, yes I know it's winter time but she has this weird tint to her that she gets when is run down. She has big black bags under her eyes, her energy is higher but restless and irritable. Again, we thought it could be down to her age and a phase but now I'm not so convinced. As well as permanently being congested and always choking on it, she's become highly wired at night time. She wakes up multiple times during the night sleep talking/walking. The other day she randomly woke up, complained of pain, vomited and then was fine?

The thing is we live with family and can not afford to move out at the moment. The house, to me anyways, seems riddled with black mold. When I bring this to DH or his families attention I get shut down. But there is evidence of black mold, in the corners by windows. On the floor, in the carpets, in the corners of the wall/skirting. At its worst it can go up into the ceiling and this is all just the visible external part of it, god knows what is happening behind the walls. I'm worried her sudden onset of illness and not seeming to get better despite the diet change, heavy vitamins ect is due to black mold poisoning? DH claims it's common from old homes to get this, but surely not every week/month? We clean the mold and it seems to return with about that time frame. If left untreated it can get really bad. The wall paper in the house in many places is peeling/bubbled but again it gets dismissed from just being an old house.

I feel convinced that unless it's a random allergy she has developed it's the house doing this. Her symptoms align with black mold exposure but no one seems to take me seriously. Also there isn't really anything we can do about it being in the financial predicament we are in.

The drs don't seem concerned. They have referred her to an ent and said her to sols look big but that it's "normal for most kids and she will grow into them". This feels more than that, and I'm scared for my child despite being shut down by everyone. Gp won't even do basic allergy/asthma tests on her. I'm at a loss and so so worried. Help!!!

Mixing bleach and vinegar makes chlorine gas. They should never be mixed.

I'm sorry but I feel you need some tough love!!! Get it together and stand up for yourself, you have another child on the way. That mould isn't normal. And you expect yourself to be in there with possibly two sick kids, imagine a new born in them conditions!!! Stand up for yourself and your babies lady and keep focusing on them. It's rough out there I know but there's a way to get out of this situation. Stop believing others, and have you any family and friends you can talk to?

How big is the house and how many people & animals live there?

Are windows opened when cooking/showering? Is it well ventilated?

Is it heated to at least 18 degrees?

Watch this week's Panorama on Britains mouldy homes then get them to spend some money dealing with the cause.

Ok so if the mould is everywhere it is less likely to be caused by damp and is much more likely to be caused by condensation. That’s a good thing, because you can control it. If it gets worse in winter even more so as we keep all the windows and doors closed because it’s cold outside.

there are things you can do to help :

1. do not dry clothes in the house. All the moisture on the clothes goes straight back into the house. Use a laundrette for a while. If you cannot do this make sure you dry clothes in one room / area that has the window open.

2. move furniture away from effected corners so they can ventilate

3. only shower with the window wide open.

4. clean effected areas with bleach

5. ask the landlord to make sure the building has the right ventilation in accordance to building regulations. I.E there should be an automatic extractor fan in the kitchens and bathrooms and all windows should have trikle vents installed in them.

as far as your child’s health goes, I was under the impression black mould effects respiratory illness although I am no doctor. If I was you I’d take my child to the doctor to ensure there is nothing else effecting them. Good luck.

Bleach doesn’t kill mould.

Probably could have explained it better. I would wipe the mouldy ceiling with vinegar first- air it for a few hours. Once dry, I would wipe the surface with bleach (diluted with water) and let it dry.

Op I'm allergic to mold, I grew up in a old damp house and went on to develop asthma. It only resolved when our family moved house. I seem to be more sensitive now and get symptoms if I visit friends houses that are damp. Have you tried giving your daughter an antihistamine especially at night when symptoms are worse. I know it's not a long term solution but if she improves then at least you'd know for sure and she would get some sleep. I really feel for you I this situation.

You say the house "isn't crazy overcrowded" but this is interpreted very differently in some communities. Most typical British housing stock isn't suitable for more than 4-6 people, and thats before accounting for animals.

A lot of people allow too much moisture into their homes but then can't afford the extra heating costs of having windows open to ventilate in winter then having to reheat. Its a big issue. Get an efficient dehumidifier.

You need to contact the council and explain you need housing and then sort out a UC claim so you can move out into a suitable home. If you’re in an expensive area with high demand accept a move to a different area. You will have 3 years before you have to start looking for work so plenty of time to get yourself sorted.
IME mould only grows where there is water ingress or significant amounts of water vapour are in the air.m from cooking, drying clothes or showering. Heating a house sufficiently does help

Keep going to GP about child's illnesses

Declare yourself homeless to the council as the house is unsuitable

Move to a cheaper area and rent

Give your child antihistamines daily

Wash their bedding every few days. Wash curtains

Shampoo the carpets

Buy a dehumidifier for worst rooms

Get those little pots from home bargains that suck up moisture for every room

Open windows daily

Don't dry wet clothes in the house

It could also be a pet allergy?

Are you on the social housing list?

Op can you not take the carpet up? I know a lot of people are saying use this and that to clean skirting boards but washing up liquid and boiling water will do a lot. Air the house well too and look into dealing professionally with it if you can’t move but I’d say talk to your dh framing it as getting on a council list so ye can live on your own as a family

If you can afford it, you need to buy a dehumidifier. Ours is from Argos. Buy one with as big a capacity as possible.

They have a very low running cost after the initial purchase. Mould forming in corners and around windows etc is where the moisture in the air is condensing on a cold surface. If you reduce that moisture, you should see a big reduction in mould forming.

Older houses were not designed to be used the way we do now, we add so much more water into the air with showers, drying washing etc.

At the end of the day, you can test your Dc until the cows come home, but that won’t help if she’s living in a house full of mould.
Black mould thrives in damp cold conditions. You have to open the windows and turn up the heating. Otherwise there’s no point cleaning it off.

That first picture looks like an air flow issue on a cold North facing wall that has caused condensation to me. Did you pull out a bulky piece of furniture and find the mould behind it? We had similar issues in our old house's back room which was North East facing. I put a large chair in the corner and found something almost identical behind it, plus the back of the chair was mouldy. I panicked that we "had damp" and ordered a survey, the surveyor was very laid back and said if you put bulky furniture against the wall in a North-,East facing room that doesn't have good air circulation, you will get that result. The room had patio doors instead of a window and so ventilating it was a bit trickier in Winter.

I moved the furniture, made sure that corner stayed free of furniture that would impede airflow, cleaned the wall and repainted, and made sure to open the doors a crack for an hour or two every day...and bugger me but it was solved.

You could get a dehumidifier, about a 20 litre one, from Toolstation for example, about £80?. They are cheap to run.. ours shows the percent humidity in the room, that is often 65-70 percent when we first put it on. Then after about 4-6 hours, it's down to 55 percent and the air in the room feels a lot drier. The smell of damp is reduced and the room feels warmer. I run it in my kids bedroom when they are at school. They don't like the noise of it. I think your problem is indoor condensation like ours and that this will massively help reduce it. It's given us time to do the bigger stuff like re wallpaper and change the room layout. Our 1960s house doesn't have ventilation and the others in my family refuse to sleep with the window open a crack. Good luck.

As a child I lived in a cold damp house without central heating and from November to March every year I was like this - continual catarrh and a runny nose. Moved out at 18 to uni and halls of residence with central heating and it cleared up immediately never to return. It is the house.

Because it’s selfish and irresponsible and what a surprise, someone else has to pick up the cost. Neither of them work and yet they’re having another baby despite literally not being able to afford a safe home. Meanwhile my husband and I work full time, pay for our childcare, pay for our housing and baby no. 2 is on the back burner until we can afford it. People need to take some personal responsibility and realise that whilst they might want a second child, if they can’t afford to raise a baby in a safe place then they should not have one.

Have you offered to pay to get the problem sorted?

or are you soo entitled that you think your husband’s family that’s hosting you should find the money to solve a problem that’s not impacting them ?

Open windows, especially the bedroom. EXtra covers if necessary.
Can you go round washing off the worst of it.
It will prob come back but if you use cleaning fluid with bleach in it that should slow its return.
I don't like the sound of it being in carpets. Can you lift and replace with a rug. Give floor a good wash first.
I use H&G spray to kill the mould in my 20 year old shower, spray and leave to let it work, and the shower has no mould but it has a strong bleach in the spray so no good for round the house but you could cautiously use in in corners of windows etc out of reach of dogs and kids.

Get some HG bathroom mould remover spray, go round spraying every visible bit of mould on the walls and just leave it. The spray should eat the mould right up. It is strong so open windows. For the carpets God knows, carpet shampooer?

I think you need to work out if and what your child is allergic to
I would say its more likely to be the animals or dust than mold you are wiping off regularly.
Next why is the room damp? Are you drying washing? Is the place adequately heated and ventilated?
Get a dehumidifier. Even the gel ones that cost about a quid are effective.

Yes it can - we had a leak in our home we owned that caused mould and I had to have an inhaler for a bit - we fixed it and I felt so much better

we had a huge dehumidifier in the kitchen for a month to sort it (and the leak needed to be fixed) and ours was just one wall

I get black mould in bedroom. Been a problem for 8 years on and off.
A couple of things. I used a black mould remover spray. Under two pounds. I understand with chemicals but I wiped with water after. I used kitchen roll and left for the recommended time so it didn't run.
Fill any cracks in the room. I noticed mould around cracks.
Open the window daily. Remove any black mould silicone and redo with one of those guns and tubes. There may not be enough silicone around the window frames. Fairly cheap.
Wipe down windows and window ledge daily.
Invest in a dehumidifier one that matches the square footage for your room. You can get them for 40 to 100 pounds. And empty it as often as needed.
If you can afford to replace the flooring for a hard floor as its easier to keep clean.
Don't use lots of water for cleaning.
If you have a vent in the room. Don't cover it. If insects come through it. You can change the plastic cover cheaply. Like under a tenner.
Keep the furniture away from the walls.
Reduce the soft toys in the room. Or wash weekly at 60 plus wash or on an allergy wash.
Check the bed if fabric or wood for white mould or black mould or green. Mine was on the underside of the mattress. And also on the back of drawers that are wood.
I also have an electric fire in the living room when used the mould breeds behind it.
Treat the back of furniture if infected with black mould spray. Then use an anti mould paint on your walls to stop it returning. Or even paint it on the backings of drawer etc.
Black mould or any mould can hide behind wall paper. Can you ask to strip the walls and offer to pay and paint it? With an anti mould paint.
Black mould also ran along my pipes where the heating was. under the paper. But only on the lining paper. When removed it wasn't on the walls. It also can be behind radiators.
I had mould in various rooms.
Good luck with this.