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Toxic Mold
One Family's Story Part Two
By Donna Smith
If you do find mold, Dr. Farber says the first thing you should do is find and repair the source of the moisture. "Second, remove all water damaged items," he says. "And third, clean the affected area with soap and water, then rinse with a solution of one part household bleach to four parts water." Dr. Farber says you should wear protective gloves when doing this. This is good for small areas of mold, but what if it's a large area, or in your walls?
Gorman says that if you suspect mold contamination, the amount of mold must be quantified. "So, mold air tests are the first item of business," she says. If mold is found, Gorman says to contact a mold remediation firm; one can be recommended by the Health Department or Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Susan Chick contacted her homeowners insurance company and they sent out an environmental company to test her home.
After the tests confirmed toxic mold, a remediation company wrote up a plan for the Chicks on how to get rid of it. Their home was packed up -- and torn up. Everything in the home must be cleaned, if possible, or disposed of. "We know in our house so far the garage and adjoining utility room will be torn out," says Susan Chick. "Our entire kitchen will be torn out. The wall between our living room and master bath. The entire master bath. They won't know how much extra will be torn out until they get in there and start tearing to see how far the mold has gotten."
The children's health has also improved. Seth, who ws on seizure medication, is now off the medication and seizure-free. "His motor skills have improved some, but speech and social skills remain a huge obstacle," says Susan Chick. He is in a program offered by their school district for speech therapy, and he also sees a private speech therapist twice a week and an occupational therapist once a week. The Chicks also found out later that Seth is extremely allergic to penicillin, and after testing, it was found that their home contained high concentrations of penicillium (from which penicillin is derived).
