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On a similar note to ChickenArise's thread, specifically keeping the home clean...

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Posted 3/14/2017 9:52 PM (GMT 0)
How does everyone manage everyday household dust and cleaning. I know personally I have been extremely sensitive to dust/mildew/mold, etc., now more than ever, and the cleaning is becoming overwhelming! I live in a 50 year old home and the dust is unbelievable. Plus, I think I'm starting to see mold on the edge of the interior walls where they meet the ceilings along the outside wall. The bathroom that I paid to have gutted and redone (2.5 years ago) is now showing mold in the shower grout and inside one of the cabinets...A lot of what was done in this home was done by the previous owners, so lots of diy infrastructure, and who knows what problems lie within these walls. There is a crawlspace that is inaccessible, not waterproofed, and was once adjacent to a greywater run-off area confused. When I bought the place the first thing I did was waterproof the basement and replace sump pumps, becaue the previous owner let it flood constantly...confused

I'm seriously contemplating tearing the whole house down to a wall or maybe the foundation and starting over. Esthetically, it's not that bad inside, because I made it liveable inside...but I feel like a whole biosphere is living inside the walls, attic and basement and thinking about the other work that needs to be done makes me want to tear it down.

Sorry, off on a bit of a tangent, but I don't know where to begin, I just can't keep up with the dust and other toxic issues that I won't get into right now.
Posted 3/14/2017 10:08 PM (GMT 0)
Bathrooms are very hard to keep super clean. Biofilm collects in the toilet. Mold on the shower stall. Mold on the window sill.

This is normal! Not all mold is toxic in the bathroom. The black fuzzy stuff is bad. My husband's field of expertise is asbestos and mold detection. I have no idea about it at all. That is his schooling. I just have him clean my bathroom. LOL!

As for dust... when I did not feel good I did not dust or clean. I focused on my healing and let it go. Funny thing, it was still there when I got well.

I think our house was built in the late 70's. We have lived here since the late 80's. So our home is old, but very well kept up. We do plan on replacing windows and redoing siding. Hubby wants concrete siding. I just care about what color it will be.
Posted 3/14/2017 10:14 PM (GMT 0)
smile you are lucky.

I seem to have a strong reaction to something...but it could be one of the infections I have. I have these severe coughing episodes out of nowhere...my chin starts to itch, but not really its one of those unscratchable itches. I also get it inside my chest...like it's under my skin and cant be soothed. It usually last about an hour, peaking 30 mins in, and calms down for another 30 or so. sometimes I'm doubled over coughing. It seems to happen once or twice a week, out of nowhere. At the same time, I get so agitated I start tearing everything apart and dusting, cleaning, vacuming... I fear dealing with it, even though I know what happens, it's so harsh it affects my whole body...then poof! it's gone. It only happens in my house, so I feel like it has to be somthing here.
Posted 3/14/2017 10:21 PM (GMT 0)
I had a cough and I don't know what was the cause. I would cough so hard I would throw up.

A cough is related to Borelliosis, Babesiosis, Brucellosis, Clamydia Pneumonia, Mycoplasmosis, Powassan virus, and Tickborne Relapsing Fever.

I still do not know what mine was caused from but with treatment it went away.
Posted 3/14/2017 11:03 PM (GMT 0)
Bathrooms don't have to be moldy.

Ours aren't.


What we did do in the one that we have showers in - is installed a more powerful fan.
We never did have mold in there...but didn't want any moisture sitting on the windowsill.

The other bathroom we just use the tub for baths...and no moisture in that one.

We used to have some moisture on our bedroom windowsills upstairs...until we changed the windows.
Posted 3/15/2017 12:29 AM (GMT 0)
I have to have help cleaning. I used to clean with bleach, but no more because of chemical sensitivities.

I've put my foot down over dry dusting. You can just see the motes flying off through the sunlight. I insist on damp dusting, with just water or a white vinegar/water spray.

Same with my floors. Vinegar water.

I've discovered a neat use for my used lemon slices/wedges from my lemon water.....they pick up dirt off of wood beautifully! Slap a paper towel over one and scrub away. Then wipe over with dry towel.

I don't have shower doors, I have curtains and use one of those clear liners that cost about $2-3 and I replace them at least once a year. Wish I had an exhaust fan in there but don't, so either open the window in there or keep a small portable fan in there to clear the humidity out. I do use my exhaust hood in the kitchen quite a bit.
Posted 3/15/2017 12:38 AM (GMT 0)
Diffuser for thieves oil and a good hepa filter ...i use essential oils in spray as cleaner
Posted 3/15/2017 2:48 AM (GMT 0)
Bluelyme I love thieves. I need to get a diffuser for our bathroom.

July, one of our bathrooms has a liner and we replace it about every 3 months. The other one is a glass door and the bottom has some funky stuff on it. I have super fans in both bathrooms. Anywhere water sits, you can have mold. Toilets are notorious. But I haven't found a great all time cleaner for mine.

I see them advertised on tv to clean the toilet every time you flush but what is in them??? And, in the boonies we are on a septic system so it needs to be safe for septics.

Anyone have a grand idea for this?
Posted 3/15/2017 2:52 AM (GMT 0)
Grand idea for mold in the toilets?


Interesting - we don't have mold in our toilets....or in our tub. Maybe if they weren't used regularly that would happen? IDK
Posted 3/15/2017 2:59 AM (GMT 0)
Are toilets different in Canada? Up underneath the rim of the toilet is where mold accumulates here in my neck of the woods. It is where the water runs out to wash the toilet clean.

I have a friend that is a housekeeper and she hates cleaning that spot.

I'm fortunate that hubby cleans ours. It is gross when I have had to do it.

You don't get a line of scum at the water line in your toilet?? An orangish or pink colored substance? One lady told me it was staph. I don't believe her, so I looked it up. It is an airborne bacteria known as Serratia Marcescens.
Posted 3/15/2017 3:22 AM (GMT 0)

PeteZa said...
Are toilets different in Canada?

You don't get a line of scum at the water line in your toilet?? An orangish or pink colored substance? One lady told me it was staph. I don't believe her, so I looked it up. It is an airborne bacteria known as Serratia Marcescens.

LOL - I don't think our toilets are different.

orangish or pink colored substance? No we don't have those stains either...and we have white toilets...pretty sure I'd see that. Isn't that when the toilet isn't flushed very often...? That wouldn't be mold though, right?

For one bathroom we have a dehumidifier - and this is the bathroom where we also installed a more powerful fan because that's the one we have showers in.
Posted 3/15/2017 3:25 AM (GMT 0)
Maybe because we aren't home as often as you and we do have more than one toilet. I guess that maybe we just don't flush it as often.

Our home was not occupied from 6 am to 7 pm for years because we both worked. There were months when I only saw my house in the light on the weekends. So glad we got that done with.
Posted 3/15/2017 3:29 AM (GMT 0)

PeteZa said...
Maybe because we aren't home as often as you and we do have more than one toilet. I guess that maybe we just don't flush it as often.

Our home was not occupied from 6 am to 7 pm for years because we both worked. There were months when I only saw my house in the light on the weekends. So glad we got that done with.

Well, we have three toilets - two upstairs and one down.
I doubt if it's because I'm home now...because I used to work..
We go away for three days...and it doesn't happen.

I wonder if it's something in your water? Your water source?

What is used to disinfect your water? maybe you don't have any chlorine or chloramine in your water?
Posted 3/15/2017 3:50 AM (GMT 0)
/www.ewswater.com/pink-stains-in-your-toilet-bowl-and-bathtub-heres-how-to-get-rid-of-it/

It just lives here. That's all.
Posted 3/15/2017 4:04 AM (GMT 0)
Well, whatever the reason...I'm sure it's harmless.

"Serratia will not survive in chlorinated drinking water. However, where water stands long enough for the residual chlorine disinfectant to dissipate, such as a toilet in a guest bathroom, or on a shower curtain, the pink color may develop. Once established, Serratia is difficult to eliminate entirely. However, regular and thorough cleaning, followed by disinfection with chlorine bleach, is the best means to control the organism."


"More people indicate the problem occurs in the summer months when temperatures and humidity are higher, and especially if windows are kept open for any length of time."

www.hkywater.org/i-didnt-know-that/pink-stains-in-your-toilet-bowl

PeteZa, have you found it worse in the summer months?
Posted 3/15/2017 2:58 PM (GMT 0)
I never had mold in my toilet until we had a housemate move in - and he has Diabetes, so that only makes sense. But no mold in my bathroom either, and I live in what is commonly known as the "upper south". Our humidity levels are generally in the 70 - 90% range in the summers. The funny thing is, that I do have to watch my car for mold though! It grows on the outside of the car.

But, I hate the smell of a 'musty' house, so I have my house open as much as I can in the Spring/Fall or any time that the weather will allow - summers are spent with the AC on (removing humidity), and winters we use gas heat mainly - and that dries the air too much sometimes (bleeding sinuses/very dry skin).
Posted 3/16/2017 5:44 AM (GMT 0)

Traveler said...
I do have to watch my car for mold though! It grows on the outside of the car.

That is amazing. It seems like modern day molds are capable of grow in the most unlikely surfaces. Does it grow on the metal? Someone was telling me he saw mold growing on metal rafters in one home which was difficult to fathom.
Posted 3/16/2017 11:56 AM (GMT 0)
Yep, on metal and on the sides of homes on the siding - nearly anything that doesn't move much! LOL!

On my car, the mold will grow first just inside the doors, where they close together, then on the side of the car where the sun doesn't get to it, then, last summer, it started on the roof of the car as well. It was a mildish, rainy summer last year though.
Posted 3/16/2017 12:34 PM (GMT 0)
I haven't cleaned in a while because I haven't felt good. We finally got a cleaning person in last week and our house looks so much better. She wasn't able to get mold out of the caulk in our shower- I asked her how to get it out, she said its behind the caulk and it would have to be recaulked.. makes sense, but we don't have another shower to use while we do that because we have a roommate so I guess its staying there for a while until he moves out. Our bathroom also doesn't have a fan (not sure why!?) so all the moisture just sits in it. It also looks like the ceiling wasn't painted with the correct paint, so that stuff could accumulate on it if it wanted to. We have decided to keep getting cleaning services once a month. I think I get more stressed out and unhealthy from the stress of the mess in the house and not being able to clean it than dust/mold in the house.
Posted 3/20/2017 8:50 PM (GMT 0)
We bought a Roomba (?) and it was the best thing we ever did. We run it every other day or more as needed. It really keeps the dust down. We have a dog and cat so pet hair was always a problem, but not now.

I don't see mold in our bathroom, but we have a strong fan and when we built the house we put in drywall that was treated to prevent mold. I never thought about our toilet and I'm just not going to right now. I leave the vinegar and baking soda out to clean the toilet as needed. It's easier to keep clean if I just do a little bit every day.

I also had my husband pack up most of the stuff on our tables and dusty areas so it's a lot easier to dust.

I wonder if a dehumidifier would help if you don't have a fan in your bathroom. We have one running in our basement all the time.
Posted 3/20/2017 9:24 PM (GMT 0)

cindy22706 said...
I haven't cleaned in a while because I haven't felt good. We finally got a cleaning person in last week and our house looks so much better. She wasn't able to get mold out of the caulk in our shower- I asked her how to get it out, she said its behind the caulk and it would have to be recaulked.. makes sense, but we don't have another shower to use while we do that because we have a roommate so I guess its staying there for a while until he moves out. Our bathroom also doesn't have a fan (not sure why!?) so all the moisture just sits in it. It also looks like the ceiling wasn't painted with the correct paint, so that stuff could accumulate on it if it wanted to. We have decided to keep getting cleaning services once a month. I think I get more stressed out and unhealthy from the stress of the mess in the house and not being able to clean it than dust/mold in the house.

Caulking is a fairly easy job. I kept my tubs caulked and actually need to do it again. However, I wasn't dealing with mold behind the caulk, and don't have professional advice on cleaning it once the old caulk is out. I have to use vinegar water because of my chemical sensitivities. There are real products on the market intended to prevent mold regrowth.

I prefer to use a caulking gun rather than a squeeze tube. I just pull the old caulking out, dropping it in a trash bag, wipe the area clean, let dry, and re-caulk making an even steady bead squeezing the caulk gun handle, followed by smoothing the bead down against the crevice or edge with a wet finger.

Whole job can be done in a couple of hours but advisable to let set 12 hours or overnight before using or getting it wet.

Post Edited (julymorning) : 3/20/2017 5:28:45 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 3/20/2017 9:59 PM (GMT 0)
My husband bought a steamer that was on sale a few days ago. He says it kills mold...

I don't know though.
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