Places in the US with the least mold?

I have heard a lot of people go to Arizona.

However, before you move across the country in desperation, hear me out a minute. I have CIRS, too, and have been struggling to get away from mold exposure for the past 3 years. I am in the warm, humid SE area.

I have learned a lot over the past 3 years about mold, mold remediation, and problems with buildings. I am about to have mold remediation done on a house we bought earlier this year after a long, tiresome search.

We looked at around 120 houses over 9 months. We had 2 houses under contract before this one and backed out. I have done a total of 6 ERMI tests, all on different buildings (including 3 homes I have stayed in and my former office), and 1 HERTSMI-2 as a follow-up on 1 of the previously tested buildings.

I am convinced that most all indoor mold problems are avoidable regardless of what part of the country they are in, if you understand what causes the building issues and how to effectively fix the issue. The hardest part is finding mold remediators and contractors who understand that mold is a real problem and how to find hidden reservoirs and remove them and understand what caused the mold growth in the first place and fix the cause.

I have to take a break right now. I’ll post more on this later.

Lapis_29 said...
I have serious mold issues and lived in Arizona for a while and would move back today if I could.

S. California, nevada, new mexico, parts of oregon (high desert), are also good.

Lapis,

I would love to hear more about your perspective on this. What, specifically did you find different about living in Arizona? Were the housing and buildings in general that much cleaner and less moldy in spite of swamp coolers and indoor plumbing? Or was it the outdoor air that made such a difference?

I did spend a week in Arizona after I first became ill about 9 years ago. I was not aware of CIRS/mold then. I did not notice feeling better while there or any other location I have been to. Of course, any time I traveled, I stayed in a hotel, not tent camping as an extreme mold avoider.

Did you ever do the extreme mold avoidance - camping out in pristine locations?

I've been living in my truck and in tents for the past 4.5 years for this reason and been in over 35 places throughout the country. I have other issues as well like altitude restrictions and problems with humidity and chemicals so the list I give you takes all those plus mold into consideration.

I'm ranking these in order of best to worst.

1) Palm Springs/Palm Desert, CA. Good from October- March when there is less heat. Beautiful air quality, low altitude and good sun. Many sick people move here because the mountain range blocks all the pollution from L.A.

2) Florida panhandle from Destin- Seaside. Also best October-March due to lower humidity. Great air quality coming off the Gulf Coast plus beautiful beaches.

3) Santa Cruz, CA and northern CA coast spanning Jenner. This is best during Summer because the cool air off the ocean keeps the climate mild and not humid. Winter and Spring are too rainy and dreary. A caveat here, though- the redwoods come down right to the coast and redwoods can produce airborne irritants so if you spend time in the redwood forest you may feel worse. A couple hours back down at the shore would clear me right back up, though. Santa Cruz is an awesome city but expensive.

4) Outer Banks, NC. Awesome place in the summer and fall. Ocean breeze keeps the humidity lower and air clean. If you have a 4x4 you can drive out on the beaches. I lived there for about 6 months and spent ever morning way out on the beach cooking breakfast in the back of my truck, watching the sun rise.

5) St Geroge, Utah. Super nice, clean, hidden little city. Great family vibe. Also a stone's throw from Zion National Park which has some of the best air I've felt in the whole country. I only put this city a little lower because it's at 3,000 ft. (All of Utah is high) and I have altitude issues. If you don't though, this is a top choice. Consider Moab, too. These also get hot as hell in the summer, though.

I spent a few weeks in Tucson and Phoenix, AZ and didn't feel nearly as well there as compared to these other places. The air quality didn't feel quite right to me. You can also find good spots north/northwest of Vegas out in NV but it's desolate, there is no civilization out there. Only do that of you're prepared to go fully off the grid.
I went off the grid in Anza Borrego for about 6 months and felt well there.

Places that always suck no matter what time of year-
San Jose and Palo Alto, CA. Chicago.
Los Angeles and surrounding valley.
All of Texas especially Midland.
Kalamazoo through Ann Arbor, MI.
Las Vegas
Northern California, Eureka area
Francis Marion National Forest all the way up to Wilmington, NC. Wilmington was fine but everything between that and Charleston- awful.
Generally New England sucks unless it's autumn and the air is drier

Most of us lyme/CIRS people end up southwest with the exception of Arizona and New Mexico. I can't speak to NM because the altitude is too high for me but Utah, eastern Nevada and Palm Desert, CA trend as the best places. I like to put a vote in for northern california coast during the summer though as well because it's too beautiful not to see.

Hope this helps a little. I have pretty much the whole country mapped and am very sensitive to mold but like I said, I have other restrictions as well so you may have more options than me. Feel free to DM me with any questions you may have

Savannah is a beautiful city but the climate is poor- too humid. I always stop there when in the area but just for a day or two in the spring or fall when the humidity is less. The nature preserve right over the river is a pretty place to drive through and find alligators.

I haven't been to Pensacola but it's crazy how precise some of our sensitivities can be. For instance, Seaside- Destin is great but further east into Panama City and I feel like crap then west of Okaloosa Island into Fort Walton and it's also crappy. Mirimar and Point Washington State Forest are wonderful. I spent months in that state forest, driving to the beach for sunrise and sunset. Felt almost as good there in the winter as I do in Palm Springs. Just a few miles east or west, though and it's terrible again

WalkingbyFaith said...

I am convinced that most all indoor mold problems are avoidable regardless of what part of the country they are in, if you understand what causes the building issues and how to effectively fix the issue. The hardest part is finding mold remediators and contractors who understand that mold is a real problem and how to find hidden reservoirs and remove them and understand what caused the mold growth in the first place and fix the cause.

I think that the impact of outdoor mold is very often overlooked, I realized that while listening to that better health guy's podcast the other day, that guy mentioned outdoor mold so many times. I don't believe that outdoor molds can make us sick, but if you are already sensitized to the point that we are, then that's a whole lot of additional burden and irritants to the system. We can't process this stuff out of our bodies, we're just walking around accumulating it. That's why I think that climate (and other irritants) play an important role in recovery/illness. In a damp climate other buildings where we spend time are also more likely to have a mold problem, workplace, schools, public institutions, shops.. I think it could only be beneficial for me to move to a dry climate.
One problem in hot climates is the air conditioning systems, they can harbour a lot of nasties, but that's still more localised than the situation with humid areas where the problem is even in the oudoor air itself.

Tarheels8 said...
Does anybody know how Missouri is?

in the summer its unbearably humid, for mold sufferers that is very bad.

SW Desert is best, but only so many cities to support yourself and comes with high cost of living.

If you drew a vertical line from about mid point of Montana south to the Western point of the Texas Panhandle, west of all that is drier air, with many options. With exception- Leave out coastal areas of Washington and Oregon. Obviously,AZ, western NM, and Nevada are prob the driest...and hottest. Utah sounds great...if your a Mormon, if not your an "outsider".

Aerose91 said...

astroman said...
SW Desert is best, but only so many cities to support yourself and comes with high cost of living.

If you drew a vertical line from about mid point of Montana south to the Western point of the Texas Panhandle, west of all that is drier air, with many options. With exception- Leave out coastal areas of Washington and Oregon. Obviously,AZ, western NM, and Nevada are prob the driest...and hottest. Utah sounds great...if your a Mormon, if not your an "outsider".

"I'm far from a Mormon and had no problems in Utah. Moab and St George, ppl there were great.

"
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ive heard it both ways. Like always, depends on the community and the workplace. Preference can happen,.... other places too I suppose.

May have not been your choice or not, but you've really toured much the US. (wow!)

.

Post Edited (astroman) : 9/21/2019 10:43:29 AM (GMT-6)

I too suffer from CIRS along with many other illnesses now.. I am getting to retire soon and need to move out of the state of NJ. Has there been any definitive answers as to what state would be the best to live in with mold illness?? I also have to look for tax friendly as my income will be limited .. this whole thing is such a mess!
Appreciate any ideas!! Thx

Yea looked into AZ but some comments are not soo positive, mist referring to the fact that it’s always soo hot that the air conditioner is always running creating a perfect breeding place for mold…I’ve been suffering for 3+ yrs now and only found out recently that it’s all mold related. Started my 2nd protocol in sept so I’m hoping for some normalcy by the new year.. lol I still have 2 years before I retire n maybe by then this thing will have settled down enough that it won’t b the ONLY criteria I use .. seems like u must b doing better!! That’s good to see!! Thx

The only place that I have seen positive responses in the NE is Boston Mass, I’ve also seen Vt n Maine to b good. From what I understand the longer it stays cold, the less opportunity for mold growth. The exact opposite is true as well tho. Too hot all year means running AC constantly which in and of itself can become an issue because of high humidity n dark space..this is tbh a very difficult challenge !

Exactly. Plus for me a tax friendly state.. this is going to be very hard. I wish u the best!! Have a Happy Thanksgiving !