Personal Protection Equipment for Entering Moldy Areas

Hi All, this is for the extremely mold sensitive...

I am highly sensitive to molds, and I have a cellar that has a little dampness in it with a few areas of visible mold that has been there for years.
I have found out from trial and error that I should not go down there unprotected, as it causes me allergy symptoms. So, I have not been going down there, except to get something that is in storage.

My cellar is not a bastion of mold, you can't smell it, but I know I should stay out of there.

For when I do go down there I where a 3M respirator, with the replaceable pink filter cartridges - one on each side.

My question is this:
Is it ok for me to go down there with this respirator? I have been under the impression that this mask should fully protect me. It does not include goggles over the eyes, it does fully protect the nose and mouth. Are goggles important? Can I be exposed through the eyes?

Do I need to stay out of there completely, even with full protection?

Thank you!
Mike

Hi Mike,

I too am extremely allergic to mold. It sends my asthma through the roof. What I would suggest you do is get someone to clean all the areas that have mold with a solution of bleach and water. You can see the mold because it is usually black. It would be far better to stop the mold than let it continue to grow and spread. If you have a house that you

might want to sell some day, anyone who sees mold will stop your sale right away. I had a few mold issues in my old house and my realtor said to have the wood replaced and repainted. So all the things that contained mold were cut away and new dry wall and

wood frames put up. My realtor wouldn't even list my house without the mold gone.

See if you can find someone to at least use the bleach solution to clean away the mold.

The bleach will stop it from growing more. Also if you have a dehumidifier it will help the

situation. Hope this helps you.

Aurora

Thanks for the replies.

I removed the drywall with the visible mold. I need to go back and remove the framing. I wore the 3m respirator and goggles and went for it. May have been dumb to do, but the days surrounding the removal were my best in a long time.

What is really dumb is that I allowed this mold to grow in my basement for years. I know now about mycotoxins that get released from growing molds and I'm very sure that this is the biggest contributor to my illness, living in a house with mold in the basement for around 7 years. I didn't think it would have any effect on the living space upstairs. I understand now how wrong that thought process was. Those toxins get spread around in the air and make their way upstairs through all of the gaps in the floors, walls, and ofcourse the heating ducts.

Old houses...gotta love them.
Mike