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Hypothesis: office mold

Discussion in 'Environmental Discussion' started by bwilson4web, Sep 4, 2015.

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  1. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Odd that its not affecting your lungs. If the mold was so bad it affects your eyes everyone would be sick. Which makes me think its probably more eye strain that mold.

    Best way to detect mold in an office environment is to bring in a humidity meter. If the humidity is higher than 55% that's when you begin to have mold issues. If its super dry like most like below 45% mold cannot grow. Its hard on the peepers though.

    Now...I can tell you the carpet shampoo is the worst. Now there all using cheap cleaners that emit horrible fumes. They use it at my job 3 times a year and the poor weekend staff is actually driven out of the building. The idiots I work for are cleaning 30 year old computer tile carpet. The whole building stinks. Sounds like you have a very good employer though.

    Check humidity. Rest your eyes. Stop looking at computer monitors. Warm wet cloth over eyes. And get to an optometrist asap as alot of diseases sometimes affect the eyes.
     
    #21 edthefox5, Sep 13, 2015
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  2. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    They symptoms abated and no problem last week. The carpet cleaning sounds more and more likely.

    I picked up the mold detection kit and will keep it in the office. I'm also fond of the ladies in the circuits group and they may have another problem.

    I do appreciate the clue about humidity. Now I have an excuse for that indoor toy.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #22 bwilson4web, Sep 13, 2015
  3. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    +1 on the HVAC system.
    I'm a little interested in the timing for this event.
    One thing about UA (upper AL) that's quite different than LA (lower AL) is that you four seasons instead of just two.
    Your building may have recently had HVAC work in preparation for winter, which may have involved chemicals or may have disrupted some plant ecosystems inside your building.

    Good Luck!
     
    #23 ETC(SS), Sep 13, 2015
  4. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Still symptom free, I have another hypothesis. Joyce who works in the other office still affected, told me 'her husband had similar eye problems that led to his diabetes diagnosis.'

    A month ago, I had a fasting blood test and the A1C (long term surgar) was 5.8 (ok) but the glucose came in 140 (too high for fasting!) My family physician labels me as 'sugar intolerant' and that makes sense. I've always preferred the cake and not the icing. Sweet drinks turn me off. So Saturday I replaced my blood sugar testing kit, what I used to tune my diet. I was surprised to see reading range from 110-160 depending upon what I ate (or didn't) on Sunday.

    As a test, I'll use the mold kit on her office and see what we find. She reports it is constant, not associated with wet weather. We are on the top floor and the building has roof leaks.

    Bob Wilson

    Lessons learned from the mold kit:
    • three sample - outside air, inside air, and contact strip
      • air filters have 1 year expiration
      • contact strip has 2 year expiration
    • $35/each! -> $105 OWCH!!!
    I have two more kits but if I decide to use them, I'll take all three samples but only send one in for preliminary testing. If it comes back negative, I'll toss the other two samples and save $70. If it comes back positive, I'll send the others.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #24 bwilson4web, Sep 14, 2015
  5. RobH

    RobH Senior Member

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    I've found that 500 mg of DMG (dimethyl glycine), morning and evening, reduces my allergic symptoms. The claimed function is that DMG increases oxygen availability and clears lactic acid. I'm not sure of all the metabolic actions, but it sure clears up my nasal congestion and itchy eyes. The usual dosage for children is 125 mg capsules, but I find the 500 mg chewable tablets more appropriate for me.

    What I really like about DMG compared to antihistamines is that it improves alertness rather than making you groggy. There's no practical dosage limit short of your wallet.
     
    #25 RobH, Sep 14, 2015
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  6. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    About three weeks ago, we had a rainy day and the irritation returned. So I fired up the kit while it was still misting and sent in my samples. The results came back a week ago:
    Spores indoor raw (m{3}) outdoor raw (m{3})
    1 basidiospores 5 (67) 79 (8427)
    2 hyphal elements 1 (13) 1 (13)
    3 penicillium/aspergillus 1 (13) 1 (13)

    • basidiospores - "Basidiospores are extremely small, unusually unicellular spores produced by many thousands of fungi as a result of sexual reporduction (these fungi include mushrooms, bracket fungi, puffballs, etc.)
    We just went through three days of light rain and no symptoms. This suggests the offending spores are mostly outside and favored in warmer, wet times than dry or cooler, wet times. But how to fault-isolate to a specific one will be difficult.

    Regardless, it also suggests making sure the filters in the home systems and car cabins should be checked in the late summer. As for treatments, it will have to remain topical until the weather dries and cools.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #26 bwilson4web, Dec 2, 2015
  7. DaveyJones

    DaveyJones New Member

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    I would buy an air purifier in the interim. Since you're already seeing a reaction I would also go to the doctor if you can and get a note/record of your reactions. You can use it as leverage later on if your work drags their feet on fixing the situation. Good luck, I've got some terrible allergies irritated by mold, dust, and cut grass.
     
    #27 DaveyJones, Dec 7, 2015
  8. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Thanks,
    The test indicates any problem is external to the office. Because there was no repeat after the most recent rains, it is possibly seasonal requiring a combination of temperature range and humidity. The numbers indicate the office has lower counts than the outside.

    I've got one testing kit left and if the symptoms return, I can take another set of measurements.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #28 bwilson4web, Dec 7, 2015
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