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!!!

Also get a carbon monoxide alarm. Worth checking if a slow leak.

Buy Echinacea for children from e.g. Holland and Barrett. Drops to put in her food e.g. cereal.

This house is uninhabitable and needs proper renovation. You shouldn't be living there with 2 small kids. Get the hell out of there. And next time put the heating on and air your property on a daily basis. We live in a 100-year old house and we've never had mould. It's often self-inflicted.

Unfortunately this is true.

Get rid of the mould first, as other posters have suggested, and buy a couple of dehumidifiers. They are a game changer. We have a very old house, single glazed with leaded windows in some parts, hugely thick walls, no damp-proof course, no central heating, just woodburners, an Aga, and a few electric heaters if rooms get too cold. So unless there's a dehumidifier in the room, we get condensation on the windows, ice when it's cold, and mould starting in the corners. Unless you keep on top of the situation, mould will spoil your clothes, ruin books and other items, and generally be bad for your health.

I'd run this 24/7
Never turn it off and perhaps even get two depending on the size of the property
It's a decent size dehumidifier with a filter on the back that will filter out mould spores.
The mould in your house is not ok - it does happen in lots of places, which is why these are available.

Meaco Arete One Dehumidifier & Air Purifier, 20L

Do your relatives own it or is it a Council house/housing association property OP?

Councils take damp and mould much more seriously now than they used to since a little boy died in a housing association home due to mould.

Looking at that photo I'm really quite alarmed, honestly.

If there isn't a landlord you can call and the family are not taking care of it, I would read everything I could about how to treat mould myself and keep on top of it as much as I could.

I imagine damp works are needed but I do think this needs to be addressed and will be affecting health.

Can you go to the local Council and tell them where you live is not suitable, show them photos of the mould.

We had mould in a property we owned and lived in. Scrubbing and spraying so much ruined the wallpaper so we decided to strip everything and replace. What we found under the wallpaper was horrifying. What we saw above the paper was just literally scratching the surface. Everything was black, like in a movie where the house is possessed by a demon.

Humidifier and sprays etc. only tackle what is above the paper. You have no idea what is underneath until you strip it.

My kids suffered greatly with health problems - dd particularly with her breathing and hearing. Will never really know if that was the cause. We also lived on a busy road, so could have been the pollution.

I also agree with checking out slow leak. We had one of those and we were ill all the time. But that mould is really not okay and the landlord needs to sort it or you need to go to the Council as you can't live there.

I agree, and really love my Meaco dehumidifier. If the house is cold, down around 15c or lower, then a dessicant dehumidifier will be a better option than the more common compressor type.

The Meaco DD8L is the one to look at and it is currently reduced on the Meaco website.

I had a compressor type and despite running it loads it didn't seem to make much difference. I bought the Meaco DD8L Zambezi and it has made a huge difference to the humidity, air quality and temperature. It actually warms the air a bit while it runs.

I would start by buying one and running it in the room the child sleeps in. Longer term running it somewhere central like the landing will help the whole house.

When dealing with the landlord, point out that Awaab's law is due to come in soon it only affects social landlords for now but is likely to be extended to private landlords eventually.

What a useless response. I’m so glad we don’t live in days of parish relief boards. Plenty of people here would queue up to tell people they don’t deserve to live.

Your priority is to get out with your young child before the baby arrives. Otherwise you're just going round in circles and it isn't fair on your child or new baby.

Can you not work while you’re pregnant? I would not want my children living there and it’s not good for your unborn child either.

Has she started nursery or school? That's one way to start picking up constant colds. Over a winter pressures season as well with high rates of colds and flus.

Is that a loft hatch? If it is, then it's condensation as there's nowhere else its likely to come from, being well away from the external walls.
You need to change the carpet in the bedrooms at least, stop drying washing inside and ventilate much more than you're doing. Also use a dehumidifier.
Bleach does not kill mould, you need something like HG mould spray which is excellent and can be bought on Amazon.
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Seriously? Just how many more children should she bring into the mouldy overcrowded home?
She has lived there since before the first child was born, perhaps she thought things would improve? After five years living there it should have dawned on her that a second child in the house wasn't going to make her situation easier.
Why should we continually pander to people that make abysmal decisions?
Anyone can fall on hard times, OP didn't, she willfully brought two children into substandard accommodation.

OP has asked about the mould because her DD is unwell and she's trying to help her DD. Her GP sounds very unhelpful.

Not everyone knows about the risks associated with mould, and OP is doing the right thing by asking for advice.

I am not a mould expert, but working in housing I am very aware of the dangers of damp and mould and landlord responsibilities.

I think it's great to have the advice about dehumidifiers etc, but based on OP's description it sounds and looks like the home is not habitable or safe. While she/members of the family can try everything suggested and manage it as best she can (although I'd be a bit concerned about her having to do this personally being pregnant) there will likely be works or updates needed to resolve this that her hosts are not prepared to do.

That's why I'm suggesting she approaches the Council for assistance.

There is no need to judge OP for something she is asking for help with. She's clearly concerned about her child and trying to figure out what to do.

Is it really judgement to suggest a married couple should safely house their DC before having more of them? Just seem like common sense to me.

Agree dehumidifier with an air filter or a separate air purifier is absolutely necessary. Especially in your kids room when they’re sleeping, get an air purifier running through the night. For a cheap option, you could wear N95 masks in the house whenever possible. Circulate air as much as possible with a fan and open windows. Clean religiously with bleach and vinegar. Get a wet dry carpet cleaner and use it weekly.

You mentioned they have pets. What animals live in the house?

Another though…snake plant and other plants that clean the air. Excellent on a bedside table.

Op I'm sure it's been said but can you invest in a dehumidifier with air purification like a meaco but also a seperate special air purifier with colours to denote air quality.

Aside from cleaning (extremely carefully so as not to get spores in the air) I'd invest in them
Meaco 12 litre is about 140?

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It's been said, sorry op!!

Call environmental health and the local council to come out and look at it. Tell them about your sick child. You need to be moved urgently into social housing where there is no mold, or you need to have it all professionally cleaned and the source of this mold established.

Bugger waiting for the family to get this fixed! You have a duty of care to your child to get her out of there into cheap housing, where things like this are sorted promptly, or have it fixed yourself. You need to put prevention in place to stop her getting sick all the time and it becomes dangerous.