Has anyone else had mould affect their child’s health or behaviour?

[mouldscore]

Hi all,
I’m posting here because I’m genuinely at a loss and wondering if anyone’s been through something similar. We’re renting an older property and only recently realised how bad the mould situation is—especially in one of the bedrooms. My youngest started coughing constantly and my eldest’s mood and sleep have really shifted since moving rooms. I didn’t connect the dots at first, but now I’m wondering if the environment is playing a bigger role than I thought.

We’ve tried cleaning, airing, dehumidifiers—you name it. Some of the mould is hidden behind furniture so it’s hard to reach. I’ve read that mould can trigger more than just allergies, especially in kids, and it’s got me worried.

I ended up using a free tool that gives a visual mould risk score from photos—just to get a sense of how serious it might be. It helped me decide whether to escalate things with the landlord. Happy to share it if anyone’s curious.

Would love to hear if anyone else noticed changes in their kids linked to mould or damp. Did you test for anything? Move rooms? Push for repairs? Just trying to figure out what’s reasonable and what’s urgent.

Thanks in advance

I've been a few old houses with damp and ventilation is incredibly important ..windows open at night etc, also avoiding lots of fibre board, chipboard or mdf furniture - the damp seems to bring out the VOCS. Manmade everything exacerbates mould issues polyester throws, rugs etc. Avoid. Go for Woollen rugs, natural fibre clothes curtains. There are VOCs in fire retardant finishes and some toys such as thermal linings on curtains too which made me cough and caused watery eyes.

Also if your immune system is already lowered the reactions increase...so Vitamin D in your children and you will make a difference ...supplement with vitamin D daily or check if they are ill constantly with the GP...they may be deficient

So yes, mould is terrible but there are ways to optimise your living conditions and ways to mitigate its noxious prescence as well as the obvious ...deal with the damp at source...gutters and drains and wipe off the spores and repaint.

I use white vinegar instead of the mould spray as it's less harmful to breathe, too.

Never push furniture against the wall or use plastic boxes under beds for storage as it increases condensation on cold surfaces. Also fitted cupboards in modern materials without vents make things worse.
Blocked up fireplaces too without airbricks.

I’d look to move

Look into Awab’s law otherwise I’d look at moving if it’s as bad as you say becasue it’s not worth risking your child’s health.