Leaving a moldy home is overwhelming. Between testing, remediation, sorting your stuff, and finding a new pad, there’s so much to do! Not to mention, you’re tackling that to-do list feeling pooped and brain fogged – not exactly ideal conditions for making important decisions.
Yet, how you exit your moldy home is crucial to ensure your new home is a safe, clean haven. You don’t want mold moving shacking up in your new home, right? This article offers twelve tips to safely leave your moldy home while keeping your new one fresh and clean.
How to Say Goodbye to Your Moldy Home…Safely
You may need to be in your current house for a little while, and you may need to sort your own moldy items. But if this makes you sicker, have another family member or friend do the sorting. Here are some tips that can ease or prevent exposure and symptoms:
Take items outside to sort them in fresh air.
Wear a full respirator mask with filters (preferred) or an N-95 mask and gloves.
Have a few ‘mold outfits’ that you put on to work and then remove before driving or re-entering a safe space.
Shower and use a nasal rinse after handling mold and then returning to your mold-free space.
Take a binder supplement if you are feeling mold-affected. More on these later.
Diffuse essential oils like cinnamon or tea tree while sorting through moldy items. A diffuser costs about $20.
Open windows and doors for fresh air.
Do not haul moldy items in your car! Rent a truck or see the following tip.
Get a dumpster delivered; this was a lifesaver for us and was also used for remediation trash.
After a remediation is complete, the whole house needs to be wiped down or fogged. We used spray bottles of ½ vinegar, ½ water, and 20 drops of Thieves oil/On Guard oil per 16 oz. bottle. Or purchase/rent specialty mold formulations and foggers. You can look into an enzyme fogger system with something like Deacon 30. Be sure to match the fogger with the particular type of liquid it uses. You can sure Deacon 30 as directed with cleaning rags as well.
After remediation, duct cleaning with a non-toxic fungicide is also recommended.
I would not invest in a $1,000 air purifier for your moldy house. It will not fully protect your health and the mycotoxins will embed in the plastics and machinery and ruin it. You can buy this type of thing for your new, clean space for maintenance.
You get much more exposure through breathing mycotoxins than touch. So protective clothing is good, but wearing a mask is more important. But you don’t want moldy clothes entering a safe space.
Remove your mold outfits and leave them on site. Change into new clothes before riding in a car. Shower when you get home and do a nasal rinse.
Need More Help Navigating Your Mold Journey?
My book, The Ultimate Toxic Mold Recovery Guide: Take Back Your Home, Health, & Life, is available in three forms on Amazon. If you know toxic mold is part of your chronic health puzzle, this book just might change your life.
Whether you’re a mold newbie or are far into your mold journey, this book can help. It walks you step-by-step through every piece of recovering from toxic mold exposure. From testing, remediation, cleaning, moving, detox, nutrition, supplements, and mindset – it’s all there.
Bridgit Danner, LAc, FDNP, is trained in functional health coaching and has worked with thousands of clients over her career since 2004. She is the founder of Functional Detox Products, an online shop with detox supplements and toxins testing.
Check out her easy 5-Day DIY Detox Guide here!
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