The MOLD

A big WELCOME to Carol Kerr!  Thanks for becoming a follower of our blog as my dog, Katie, and I get ready to RV full-time.  Of course I'm going to be the one doing all the work.  But she'll definitely be coming along for the adventures!  I hope you'll enjoy coming along, too.  Do you have a blog?  : )

I got the results back from my blood test and I was exposed to mold.  According to the doctor, the particular mold in my blood test can cause asthma, which will diminish when the mold is gone, and COPD, which was diagnosed last year, that won't go away. Because of the two issues, I need an inhaler which I use morning and night. Not a big deal, just tightness in my chest in the evenings, but since using the inhaler, I have no breathing problems at all. I just hated to have to rely on a prescription med, but I guess at 66 I'm lucky that 's all I need so far.

My bedroom is still sealed, no action for the last few days, but today when I came home there was a new seal, a better one with a zipper in it, so someone was working here today.  Last Friday they took away the big HEPA filter fan that was there last week. A surgical office in the area was found to have a really bad mold issue, so they took it there.  I can hear it again behind the plastic seal.

 This was the previous seal, loose thick plastic covering lighter plastic taped around the opening.

 Today's new seal. Nothing is getting in or out. The blue strip is a zipper.

It appeared work was going to start on Tuesday afternoon, and I was concerned that there had not been time to get building permits, if we needed them at this point.  They did get the permits for the first two units they've had similar problems with.

I e-mailed the contractor Tuesday and told him I want to make sure we have all  the permits, etc. that I'll need to show when I sell my place.  I don't want to have a buyer, and lose the sale because I have to disclose this leak and don't have proof it was repaired correctly.  I'll also get a certification from the testing company that the area is safe. That seems to have put the work off by a few days. In talking to my insurance company, I understand we probably don't need permits for the mold removal and cleanup. But since there was a lot of termite and water damage to at least part of this load bearing section, they will need to remove and rebuild part of the wall. 

I was told I'd get copies of all the reports and photos the contractor sends to the HOA and I've gotten nothing yet, so I also sent an e-mail reminding him that I wanted to be copied on those.

His e-mail response started:

Dear Barbra,

Please calm down.

Ohhhh boy!  Not a good way to start!  You know the worst thing to say to a woman who is upset is "Calm Down."

I called my daughter and went through my concerns with her. Kristy really helped and after we hung up I did feel better. 

Katie and I are still sleeping on the mattress on the guest room floor and she is still going to work with me every day.  She is so good I forget she's there in her crate right next to me.  At lunch I always sit in my car and listen to my books on tape while playing a game on my phone. (Who would have understood that sentence 25 years ago?)  When I was ready to go back into the office, Katie wouldn't get up and come with me.  She's so used to sleeping all day, I think the constant activity in the office is keeping her awake and really tiring her out.  Poor thing.

She used to get me up in the morning and be so excited to go out in the yard, and now I get up and make the bed around her.  She doesn't move, just a lump under the bedspread.  She crawls out between the pillows when it's time to go potty and get in the car. I'm not really inconvenienced by the bedroom being closed off, but it is affecting poor Katie.  It will be nice to get back to normal.

From Me and My Dog, who is burrowed under the quilt on the couch sound asleep...

... have a great Thursday evening, everyone! : )