This house is cursed! (Sickness)

Magus`

So me, my mom and the cats we live with have been having pretty bad health issues.

They include, but are not necessarily the only, following symptoms:

A) Coughing -> Sore throat
Sneezing
C) Itchy Eyes -> 'Severe' Eye Infection
D) Heavy, HEAVY Nasal Congestion

At first I thought it was mold because we had very noted water damage. However, it was repaired and no mold was found. I've scoured all over the house looking for something that stands out and can't find anything. There are no strange smells or mis-coloring in the walls/roof.

I know it is something in the house because as soon as any of us leave for a decent amount of time we feel much better. A cat who went to the vet with a sinus infection got better after a few days and one day after she came back she started to sneeze like crazy again.

This is driving me crazy and quite frankly I'm not sure what to do. Who should I talk to? What should I look for?

On a personal note I've been feeling a lot better (not perfect, but much better) but my mom and some of are cats are still showing pretty bad symptoms.

Thanks in advance.

Robman

Have you had your ducts vacuumed? Try that.

Magus`

Heating ducts? Would that really cause all this?

pacbowl

By all means. The next place I would check are the central ac/heating ducts if your home has them.

chupamiubre

Could easily be mold as well so yeah first thing check ac/heating ducts then check all the bathrooms and rooms next to bathrooms.

After that call in a professional.

Rusk

How old is this house? Did you just move in?

You may have been correct, it could be mold. It definitely sounds like an allergen that's affecting both you and the cats. The heating duct is a good place to check. If you have a major problem with them, I'm not completely sure if it's something you can fix on your own. The EPA seems to have a lot to say about mold and heating ducts:

(Taken from http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/airduct.html)
You should consider having the air ducts in your home cleaned if:

* There is substantial visible mold growth inside hard surface (e.g., sheet metal) ducts or on other components of your heating and cooling system. There are several important points to understand concerning mold detection in heating and cooling systems:

o Many sections of your heating and cooling system may not be accessible for a visible inspection, so ask the service provider to show you any mold they say exists.
o You should be aware that although a substance may look like mold, a positive determination of whether it is mold or not can be made only by an expert and may require laboratory analysis for final confirmation. For about $50, some microbiology laboratories can tell you whether a sample sent to them on a clear strip of sticky household tape is mold or simply a substance that resembles it.
o If you have insulated air ducts and the insulation gets wet or moldy it cannot be effectively cleaned and should be removed and replaced.
o If the conditions causing the mold growth in the first place are not corrected, mold growth will recur.

* Ducts are infested with vermin, e.g. (rodents or insects); or

* Ducts are clogged with excessive amounts of dust and debris and/or particles are actually released into the home from your supply registers.

If any of the conditions identified above exists, it usually suggests one or more underlying causes. Prior to any cleaning, retrofitting, or replacing of your ducts, the cause or causes must be corrected or else the problem will likely recur.

Magus`

We have central air. The place is 20-ish years old.

We have guessed, but are not sure, that a lot of it hasn't been cleaned since it was built.

I'll look in the vent, but I'm not sure what I'd be looking for.

Shogun

How long have you lived there? Did you move in recently or have you been there for a long-ish time? The reason I ask is because if you've moved in recently the place may have been used as a methamphetamine lab. I read an article about a couple in the outskirts of Philly who purchased a home and began having symptoms similar to yours. As soon as they were out of the house their symptoms vanished. Their home inspection came back with nothing serious but home inspections do not include testing for methamphetamine. They paid a very steep price (tens of thousands) to have their home tested and disinfected.

If you've lived there a long time you can rule this out, but if you guys moved in say six months ago I wouldn't be so sure.

Thundyrkatz

Just a quick heads up.

There have been a lot of issues about people being scammed by Duct Cleaning companies.

Here is an article from Consumer Reports

I also saw an article a few weeks back that i can't locate at the moment that spoke about people being pushed around by these scammers. Mostly Old people. Anyway just be aware and be careful that you hire a reputable company.

zhen_rogue

You can also have a "mold panel" done, pick up one at home depot or maybe a wal-mart.
It's a tester you expose to the air, leave in your home for X hours/days, then mail off to the lab for evaluation of what types of molds/allergens were found, and in what quantities.

I would get your ducts professionally cleaned first, then try the mold panel if that doesn't help.
You can be proactive with the mold as well - go into your basement/crawlspace and look for any signs of mold on the underside of your subfloor. Look near the foundation walls, as that's where mosture is most likely to come in.
Look in your attic spaces, and you can try pulling back the carpet in some rooms to likewise check for any subfloor mold.

As a third option, maybe you're allergic to a laundry detergent or other household floor/surface cleaner?
You might try the "non-scented" or "natural-ingredient" versions of your laundry/dish soap, bathroom cleaners, etc. for a month and see if it makes any difference.

bowen

Yeah that sounds of mold.

Magus`

Lived here for years. I'll look into the mold panel thing. Not sure about the detergent. Wouldn't think that would do it since it's affecting multiple people/animals.

bowen

What caused the water damage Magus?

urahonky

Do you have a time of day that it's worse? Like when you wake up or go to bed?

Reverend_Chaos

That sounds like a super fun time that I had with mold in 2006. The water pipe that connected to the washer hook-up leaked inside the wall, dripped down into the insulation below the floor where a plastic sheet held the water in. When I finally found it, it looked like some horrific alien egg, Pink with mottled black mold hanging down from my floor into the crawl space. Worst part was that someone had cut a hole in the floor right above this (in my closet) and then instead of fixing it, put a heater vent in the hole.

I got so sick, that I would cough until I threw up, blood vessels in my face would break, or in one case I coughed until I blacked out. The landlord was a total goose about it. I ended up moving out.

Check the crawl spaces...