Anne called to ask what she should do about a potential mold problem caused by a roof leak in the old house she was renting for the summer. She and her husband are working in a small resort town in the Black Hills. Housing for resort town summer workers can be very hard to come by. It tends to be old and not very well maintained, but it is also fairly cheap for those reasons.

Apparently, not long after Anne and her husband moved in a rain storm revealed a leaky roof.  Water was pouring in through a ceiling light in the addition to the old house. Anne was aware of the problems that mold can cause and inquired if the owner of the property was prepared to do something about it. She was told the owner of the property would take care of the leak, but not any mold problem that may have resulted. The couple was offered the option to move out but only had a few days to do so. Anne was unsure what to do, so she called us.

I explained to Anne that mold is mainly a problem for 16% of the population who have a genetic predisposition to mold allergies. These folks can’t process mold out of their bodies the way everyone else does. The rest of population is susceptible to problems from Mycotoxins that are produced by 10% of all molds. Mycotoxins can cause a host of problems that include sinus issues, brain fog, fatigue, and a general feeling of discomfort. They have also been linked to autoimmune diseases and even cancer.

What is important for Anne to know is does she have a mold problem and what type of mold it is. To do that I recommended that she get an EC3 Mold Screening Test Kit and send any plates that grow mold into the lab we suggest for diagnostic testing. If it turns out that there is a high concentration of Mycotoxin-producing mold in the home, there is no question that Anne and her husband should leave. If there turns out only to be the nontoxic variety, Anne could choose to manage their exposure utilizing with our environmental treatment protocol and EC3 mold cleaning products and air purifiers in the rooms where they spend the most time.

If you have a rental situation similar to Anne’s, get the information you need to make a sound decision.  There is no need to risk your health in this way when the resources are readily available and relatively inexpensive.

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