Can you say, "Toxic Mold"?

Another project has been consuming my time and it isn't nearly as fun as writing a book. MOLD!

My DD has always battled low immunity, colds, stomach flu, and allergies - except for a brief time when we lived in a new house that only had mold in the vinyl windows. As long as I cleaned those windows on a regular basis she would stay VERY healthy! I think in a 2 year period she had maybe 2 colds - period.

Then we moved. I could smell the mold in the basement (I had become an expert "sensor" of the stuff) but hoped it was only my fearful imagination. It wasn't. After a little over a year in this house she has suffered illness after illness. Since November she has not been healthy one full week! She has had the stomach flu 3 times, too many colds and fevers to count, and just never feels good.

I finally declared WAR! The main problem is that we don't own our home. We live in a parsonage and that means it is owned by the church my husband co-pastors.

The church was so wonderful and gracious in doing a ton of remodeling before we moved in. We practically have an entire, brand new upstairs - new carpets and floors, new bathrooms, new kitchen, and all new paint. It is hard to think of all the work we now need done in the basement and asking for their help to do it. But we cannot ignore it any longer.

I have been spending a lot of time tearing out moldy sheetrock and treating walls and floors with bleach. We also are trying out some heavy duty air purifiers and arguing over the purchase of them. Of course I think we need one for the main house and another one for our daughter's room. My husband thinks one will be enough.

My most discouraging moment came today when I used a mirror and light to look in the wall behind the bathtub/shower. I am so afraid that what I see is mold and the only way to get to it and clean it is to rip out the surround. This would also mean taking out the toilet. We have already had help to take out the old sink and vanity, clean the mold, and put in a pedestal sink. But, the mirror shows the same blackness that I saw in a corner that I could reach and when I bleached it the blackness disappeared indicating that it was mold. It is only along the floor and not the whole wall, but still, the only way to reach it is ripping things apart. And what if I am wrong? Or what if that little bit doesn't matter (although I have a hard time believing that).

Please pray that we make the right decisions, that we present it accurately to the church, that it is received well, that they are enthusiastic to help and that God provides the expenses needed. I am SO willing to take out a loan to fix everything so that our daughter can be healthy even though we don't own the house.

Well, off to get lunch for my crew and then put the dryer back in place so I can wash and dry clothes (the wall behind the dryer is shared by the tub on the other side - so I moved the dryer to tear out the sheetrock).

Later -