Our chip reader won't let me upload any pictures, so I'll just have to update with words for now.
We had an indoor air specialist come out to our house yesterday to see if we had any mold (or anything else) problems keeping our immune systems low. He looked through the ENTIRE house- closets, cupboards, under sinks, etc. This is the gentleman that helped us when we built the house nine years ago and he is excellent at what he does. He was made sick from mold exposure about twenty years ago and knows first hand how devastating it can be.
I found it interesting that he got out of breath walking up the stairs to the bedrooms. I get winded doing that too, and I know it's not because I'm out of shape. He commented that he was just at a high altitude and was fine, so his reaction was due to something in the house.
After checking out the rooms and making various suggestions and comments, he headed to the basement- and immediately knew there was something wrong. With his measuring devices, he determined that the moisture content of the basement cement is high and the humidity is high as well (but the humidity is still within acceptable limits). Dust and debris has settled into the cracks in the floor, causing mold and bacteria to breed and it is being released into the air (and then, through the upstairs as well). He feels this is the cause of the terrible musty smell and the source of our lowered immunity/worsening reactions.
The solution for this will be for us to move everything into sealed plastic storage containers and clean the basement floor very well (shop vac with hepa filter). Then all cracks need to be sealed (lots of cracks...). Hopefully in a few weeks we'll know if that was enough to help us.
A job I've been putting off for years- getting the basement organized. Well, I guess this is just the motivation we need to hurry up and get it done!
*Update on Hannah*
She is on her last day of antibiotics and feels the hearing in her "bad" ear has returned to about 50 percent (much better from zero percent hearing...). She is looking better, eating normally and is smiling more, so we continue to pray that her hearing will return 100 percent. We are grateful that she is feeling better and is up and about much more than last week.
I took Hannah to the chiropractor on Monday and she felt that was helpful for her ear- and as soon as we got home, her ear started to bother her again. So we knew something *is* most likely affecting her in her home environment. Also, Hope has been having some allergic reactions. Clean out the basement- quick!
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