Check your towels, people

[catherineajt]

So we had the respiratory flu this Lent. We were “well” in time for Easter, but I kept getting worse. It felt like my sinuses were permanently clogged with pus (yellow-orange-red, like a pretty sunset in my tissue), and my chest was wheezing and I couldn’t smell. I have a very acute sense of smell, so this was like an orchestra conductor going deaf.

Just when i was ready to go to the doctor, my DH noticed that one of the towels in our master bath “smelled gross”. I apologized for not washing towels that day and told him to just put it in the washer, I’d wash it with hot water and borax or bleach. Which I did.

The next night he said “It still smells moldy, I’m throwing it out.”

The next morning I woke up and my head wasn’t pounding and I wasn’t blowing my nose every 2 minutes to clear my sinuses. My wheezing was significantly reduced.

Did I mention I’m highly allergic to mold? (insert “D’oh!” here)

We threw out all our towels–nine years old towels, with bleach spots where I had tried to disinfect them–and I went out to buy all new, white (bleachable) towels at the store.

I can smell again. My wheezing and coughing is gone. And my sinuses are returning to normal.

Many people are sensitive to mold without being allergic–my husband is, for one. Some are allergic and don’t know it. I didn’t know until I had an anaphylactic reaction and ended up in the ER five years ago, and got tested.

So, especially in the rainy season, make sure your towels and bathmats are hung up smooth to dry well–if you don’t have windows in your bathroom, run the exhaust fan to draw out moisture! And wash with hot water, bleach, and use the dryer. And replace bath towels at least every nine years, as we did.

 

[hasikelee]

It’s painful! The house our university gave us has visible mold everywhere…dripping down the walls, on the floors, counters, tub, etc.

We are in the process of buying a house and changing universities because of my mold sensitivity. It takes about 10 minutes of standing in the house for me to get dizzy, start wheezing, feel weak, etc.

It comes in handy when looking at a house! lol. One sniff and we know if it’s worth looking at or passing.

 

[puzzleannie]

very good suggestion, plumber that came to fix a leak also told us for a regular bathroom fan to clear moisture from a room it has to run for 20 min. after a 5 min. shower. since our closet is off the bathroom, we were getting a problem in their. the fan vent was rerouted and situation is much better. i washed everything in the clothes closet and linen closet, and under-sink cupboards and put those moisture traps (plastic cups with white crystals that absorb moisture), pulled up the closet carpet and tiled the floor, no sign of mold and allergies I used to get when sleeping in that bedroom are gone.

and i am sorry, mold and bacteria will not be killed in cold water washing, towels, sheets and underwear have to be washed in hot water, hanging on the line in sunshine is even better.

 

[Brenda_V]

and i am sorry, mold and bacteria will not be killed in cold water washing, towels, sheets and underwear have to be washed in hot water, hanging on the line in sunshine is even better.

Ah, hanging on the line - this works really well so long as you don’t have pollen allergies!

Hot water and hot dryer are what I have to rely on. I so love the smell of clothes hung on a line but when the sneezing and itchy eyes and clogged nose start up, it isn’t worth it.

Never thought of towels and mold though but I do live in one of the dryer climates. Hmm, must run the fan though in the bathroom more, never think to run it as the bathroom is so big and the mirror never fogs up so I never think of it.

Brenda V.