It's super cheap, no patent, and yes I'm paid by big blue!
I installed a HRV system in my (well insulated) house, and I love it - air quality indoors is noticeably improved.
Only downside is that there’s lots of wood burning in my particular (and densely populated) area of Europe, so I was quickly drawn into the rabbit hole of particulate matter sensors and how to automatically shut the ventilation system off when the neighbors turn on their fireplace.
And when it comes to mold, our bathroom used to have black spots on the walls after a while, but with improved ventilation it stays amazingly clean and everything dries much more quickly. Almost no condensation on surfaces like mirrors and walls anymore either.
I see that they're saying 24% of the population, not the 1-in-6 I recall reading from some other source. Also, I seem to have been wrong about the test's needed to be ordered by a doctor (except in Pennsylvania).
Also, for whatever its worth house molds (black molds) are not the same as the fungi that infect us (like candida sp.), and if you somehow did get infected with a fungus that usually isn't part of our flora (like aspergillus does), you have a very severe underlying medical condition and need medical attention immediately.
I don't believe I am infected but mold spores did 'something' and MB helps. I wasn't trying to use it for candida but it was just scraping my tongue as usual and noticing there was nothing there.
I wish there was a good intermediate class of doctor that knew about non patent medicines more besides YouTube. They're not taught "yesterday's" medicine that might have worked better.
If someone doesn't mind the winter air, I also practice the German way of airing my house too, twice a day. It's called lüften.
https://www.politico.eu/article/germanys-energy-efficiency-o...
This is the kit I recommend for testing for mold: https://www.envirobiomics.com/product/hertsmi-2/
Only costs $130. Buy the Swiffer kit. Vacuum is not as accurate. Clean the whole house, then wait 2-4 weeks, then use the Swiffer kit to collect dust that has settled in the bedrooms and living room. Don't do kitchen or bathrooms.
Interpreting a HERTSMI-2:
0-8: Excellent
9-10: Good
11-15: Possibly dangerous. Deep clean the whole house, especially locations that are rarely cleaned and have settled dust like the tops of ceiling fans, door frames, blinds, etc. Wait 2-4 weeks and retest. If the score is still 11 or above, you have a significant mold problem that needs to be found and remediated by professionals.
16-50: Dangerous. You have a significant mold problem that needs to be found and remediated by professionals.
One way to vet a mold tester is to go through a property management or landlords' association, even if you're not either of those things (even if you're a renter!). They often refer or have a list of vetted local contractors publicly available. Nobody likes wasting money on property less than a landlord.
NY and Ontario landlords and I’m sure elsewhere have a high tolerance for leaving terrible mold situations in rentals, I know someone who had permanent nerve damage and a condition for life from how the black mold behind her shower that the landlord wouldn’t fix and the state wouldn’t help resolve
To clarify, they were not a factory worker, they were corporate (not that it makes it better but it means that exposure to stuff wouldn't have been a part of their employment agreement) and the root cause was that it saved money
The biggest problem with apartments or condos that experience severe water damage is building management or condo associations that don't want to take on the expense of bringing in experts to repeatedly inspect every apartment for this kind of mold growth. As a resident you and your neighbors, landlords... end up with a significant part of the burden of keeping your domiciles mold free.
As I said, I was told the apartment was repaired and cleaned and led to believe it was safe to move back in so no I didn’t dedicate the hours to cleaning the place myself. Would have been for naught regardless, as the landlord never brought fans and dehumidifiers in (supposed to be done within 24-48 hours) so allowed moisture to fester for weeks
Initially looked like severe allergies but then I started coughing up blood, waking up gasping for breath, really bad nausea and other GI issues. I was already pissed off with management at this apartment so we moved out about 4 months after the hurricane. While moving out we found all this black mold hiding behind furniture and in corners. Took pictures and then made a point to do mold air quality test before handing over the keys. Saw my PCP who had been overseeing my care the whole time, probably dozens of visits, and mentioned what I found. He then had zero doubt that the mold was causing everything
He ordered a blood test that shows the immune system’s response to mold and it indicated my body was dealing with quite a bit of it. The air tests showed the presence of 3 types/quantities of toxigenic mold and correlated with blood tests
I think it took nearly two years for me to fully recover after moving out of the apartment. Was at least fortunate that all of that documentation allowed me to get a settlement. I had literally emailed the landlord saying I have asthma and the apartment must be safe for me to move back into. I now do mold air tests before I move anywhere
Oddly the house we are about to move into passed the mold air test and then we found a ton of mold in the insulation once we ripped all the drywall out of what is going to be my bedroom