Handyman Staff asked 2 years ago
This question does not appear to be about home improvement within the scope defined in the help center.
Closed 1 year ago.
There is something in the house in which I live that gives me and my partner itchy eyes, aching joints and extreme fatigue.
Extensive medical examination excluded allergic reactions to dust, pollen, cloth detergent and a few other medical conditions. Moreover, all symptoms disappear for both of us within 24 hours whenever leave the house for holidays or business trips.
We then thought our symptoms were cause by some type of mold, so we thoroughly cleaned the house with anti-mold detergents, installed de-humidifiers and constantly monitor humidity, which is always < 50%. There is no visible mold spot in the house. We purchased a high-quality air-purifier, which helps a tiny little, but not enough.
We have a feeling (but no certainty) that it is somehow related to fabric and organic surfaces: clothes, mattresses, couches, divan bed. Being in the same room as drying laundry makes things even worse, and instead the bathroom – which has tiles and ceramic – is the least irritating room. We deep-cleaned the washing machine with all kinds of commercial products.
We have not conclusively excluded mold as the irritant – but this is what we did so far.
We have excluded carbon monoxide leaks, because our boiler was recently checked and we have several CO detectors at home. We ventilate the house a lot and have no A/C unit.
As a last bit of info (it's a lot, I know, I'm sorry): we likely brought this issue into our current house from the previous one in which we lived, where we also suffered from this problem. We moved into our current house before all our belongings were moved (across country), and we had no symptoms until the moving company brought our stuff from the previous house and we unboxed.
What can the irritating agent be? What can I test further? Any help is hugely appreciated.
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