Mould is Mould

I think it is pretty clear that the HNZ house we have been living in has quite a bit of mould that has been caused by the flooding under the house creating a damp environment. The mould is not just on the walls and ceiling but is also in the new underfloor insulation recently installed.

Now I was under the impression that i only had to worry if the mould was Stachybotrys but it turns out that this is not the case and that I had been feed a bit of a red hearing. Mould is Mould and although Stachybotrys produce toxic compounds all moulds should be treated the same according to OSH, and from the CDC's website in the US its pretty clear that any mould can pose a health risk.

http://www.level.org.nz/health-and-safety/mould/
http://www.cdc.gov/mold/stachy.htm#Q7

While living in this house every morning I would wake with a blood nose, problems breathing and quite often it would feel like I was breathing with a plastic bag over my head and something sitting on my chest. I would often after waking be pretty lethargic and my motivation over the last 3 years had pretty much vanished. In addition to all this I was diagnosed with a Petty high level of depression.

Now according to Housing New Zealand this house is acceptable to them.

Its only been a week in the new place we have moved to and I have not had one blood nose other than the first night here and not had one headache. I am hoping that breathing gets a little better and some of the other issues sort themselves out in the near future.

I will be sure to take some recent photos of the mould and publish these before we hand over the house.