[IMMUNE] HELP!!! Mold in shower enclosure

[Pam DeVries]

I need some advice. I have lived in my condo for 3 years, and for the past
year have had chronic sinus infections and serial viral infections (colds).
Even on a "good" day I have swollen lymph nodes in my neck and a sinus
headache. Today I discovered a black substance that is coming out of the
seams of the bath/shower enclosure. It's the plastic/vinyl type of enclosure
used in lieu of tile. I assumed it's mold and the building super looked at
it, confirmed that diagnosis, and suggested Tilex mold remover, to spray in
the seams "and that will take care of it". I tolerate bleach, and assume
spraying it with bleach will be a better solution. I don't know what is in
Tilex, but a fungicide was the cause of my MCS in the first place, so I want
an alternative. So, here's my questions:

1.) Do I use straight bleach or dilute it with something?
2.) Spraying will only get at the mold that is in the seams, there is no way
to get in there and clean the whole wall behind there. Do I assume this
means I need to get the shower enclosure replaced? (and the mold remediated)
3.) Was is the best type of replacement to consider, that would also be
cost-effective? I'll do what I have to do, but am not loaded with money.
4.) Do I need to get the mold cultured, so I know what type it is, or it
that a moot point?
5.) If this is the cause of the problem, I'm curious as I got much better
with no sinus infections May-August, which is the time when the place is
closed up (I'm on the coast of S. Carolina). Very humid here, and the
windows stay closed pretty much all the time from May to October, until the
humidity breaks. But for 3 months I had no sinus infections or colds, and
the cycle started again beginning of August. If this shower mold is causing
the problems, why did I do so well for 3 months???

Thanks, any advice and input would be helpful. I'm scheduled for sinus CT
scans next week, to try to diagnose the cause of the sinus infections.am
wondering about delaying those. (I don't have insurance for outpatient
radiology).

Pam

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[Janet Kovak]

Pam,

I see Cyndi covered the basics with you already. Just a couple of
comments. One, IMO you should replace the plastic/vinyl enclosure with a
canvas curtain that can be taken down and washed periodically, that is if
u were referring to a curtain. And two, if u ever get rid of the mold,
in addition to wiping down the ceiling and /or walls with bleach every 6
months or so, you could put a portable fan in the bathroom and run it
every time after you shower. We do this in our bathroom and it really
works. Also, we wipe the tile dry with a towel after each bath or
shower--in your case i guess you would be wiping down a wall.

Janet

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[Peter Benjamin]

Summary:
I list another 10 or so sources of bathroom mold.

- --

Mold will also grow in the drain pipe, and that is next
to impossible to disinfect, as it is wet daily. The
only good solution is to replace all the drain piping
up to and including the trap. What type of drain is
it? Tiled with plaster?

Do you weekly put vinegar for 30 minutes into the trap?
Put about 1/2 to 1 cup, for a 50% mix with the trap
water. Do not let stand longer than 1 hour.

This cleans the trap, but not the pipe above the trap,
nor all the joins in the pipes to the drain hardware.

Mold can also grow where the shower head pipe comes
out of the wall, the water faucets and the spout,
and even the water overflow drain outlet. Consider
visual inspection of these areas, by moving or removing
the cover plates and use a strong flashlight and mirrors.

Also, mold can grow behind the medicine cabinet and mirror.
The cabinet should be unscrewed and the wall interior
inspection. Mirrors typically are glued to the wall.
What I did was seal the mirror edges to the wall with
DAP, as I rent. If I owned, then I would remove the
mirror, carefully, and inspect the wall surface.

Mold also grows in the sink cabinet, particularly
on the inside upper surfaces near the sink. You
will need to empty the cabinet and use a flashlight
to inside there, and ***especially*** including the
faucet area (water leaks) and the drain (water leaks)
and the sink to counter top seal area (water leaks).

Also, where the sink water supply comes out of the wall,
and the drain pipe goes into the wall should have the
cover plates slide free of the wall and inspect what
you can see. I used DAP again to seal these areas.

And inspect the entire sink drain pipe and trap for
any signs of discoloration or crud or growth. It should
all be removed. Dissassembly is the easist, and inspect
inside the trap and pipes at that time.

WARNING:
If you do remove he trap, then use foil and rubber band to seal
the seer gasses in, otherwise, the mold and gas can actually
kill you in a few minutes, or in the worse case, in under
a minute, so hold your breath, and seal it first thing
when the trap comes off. This means being prepared with
foil already torn and rubber band already handy. I use
two rubber bands in case one breaks. I have read a story
where the type of mold was deadly, and 20 seconds was all
it took to kill the person doing the plumbing and everyone
else in the house got sick and hospitalized. And I read
another case where the sewer gas was so bad people fell
unconsciousness within 5 seconds, and the people who pulled
the person out of the bathroom managed to call 911, and
they fell unconscious too. And both paramedics who pulled
them out of the house were overcome 3 minutes later, and
more paramedics had to come to treat them. Keep in mind
these are worse cases, YMMV. Typically, there is no problem
but a bad stink coming out of the sewer pipe. But if you
suspect a mold problem...

If your toilet "bubbles", and your bathroom smells upon
returning home, then your plumbing has a very severe
health problem, and you should be very careful. Even
holding your breath until the open pipe is covered is
not enough. Continue holding your breath until you
have left the bathroom and shut the door, with the
ceiling/wall exhaust fan on.

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[Laura X -G4-]

COMMENTS FROM SOMEONE WHO JUST HAD TO REDO HER BATHROOM BECAUSE OF MOLD

******* 10/6/06 My comments are at the end. You can pass them along
to the list if you like. Sara

******* 10/6/06 A few possibilities -
Maybe the AC/dehumidifier also filtered the air and got a lot of the
mold spores out of it.
Maybe dehumidifying the air cut down on mold growth (though in the
shower it would still be pretty humid...)
Maybe you are allergic to something growing outside so closing the
windows kept that problem out of your house.
Maybe you are allergic to both mold and something growing outside,
and you need to be exposed to the two together to get a reaction.

Have you ever tried closing the windows during the rest of the year,
and does that help? If so, it would be worthwhile to just keep your
windows closed all the time.

I'm also wondering about the ozone - would that kill the mold inside
the wall? In might be something to try as a cheaper first step
toward replacing the shower. If you get rid of the mold with ozone
and your problem goes away, (and there is nothing else in the
environment that you know to cause you problems) then you will be
pretty sure that it was the mold that made you sick, and you can then
decide what to do about the remaining mold in your bathroom.
Sara

- --
Laura X, founder/director of the former
National Clearinghouse on Marital and Date Rape
Women's History Library
[phone] Berkeley, Ca.
WEB SITE: http://ncmdr.org

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