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Marcel Scrivener | Mould and Moisture Inspections

@themouldprojectnz

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Certified Mould Inspector
IICRC WRT, AMRT
Bay of Plenty
Book your FREE discovery call in link 👇🏼

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I had always thought that to get sick from mould your house had to look like the first photo- black mould staring you in the face

But mould can be a master of hiding. That slow plumbing leak behind a wall, the high humidity in the roof space, the water making its way through the cladding or joinery. Often these issues will show little or no signs or water damage from your living area. When areas like houses are renovated, often the mould that is discovered isn’t dealt with properly- meaning you may have a great looking bathroom but mould is still hiding behind the walls.

A thorough inspection is always the best place to staty. Contact us to learn more out our home inspection process

#mouldy #mouldillness #invisibleillnessawareness #mycotoxins #healthyhomes #toxinfreehome #moldtoxicityawareness #moldtoxicityrecovery #mouldtoxicity #moldtoxicityawareness #holistichealthpractitioner #moldsickness #holistichealthtips #takecontrolofyourhealth #moldsymptoms #moldremediation #ermi #airsampling #mouldtesting #hiddenmold #mouldtesting
#flooddamage #waterleaks #airqualitytest #waterdamagerestoration #moldplates taken in Mount Maunganui by @themouldprojectnz

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2 years ago

What are Mycotoxins?
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Mycotoxins are produced by some mould species, as a defense weapon to defend its territory against other mould species.
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Although very small (around 0.1 micron), they are extremely toxic and carcinogenic. They are easily absorbed into the body through inhalation as well as through the skin and eyes.
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They are one component of a water damaged building that can affect your health
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Comment 'test' to receive our free guide on testing your body for mould exposure and mycotoxins

#mouldillness #mycotoxins #cirs taken in Mount Maunganui by @themouldprojectnz

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2 years ago

The real mission of The Mould Project is to create more awareness about the full impact of mould, mycotoxins and water-damaged buildings. This includes renters,landlords, homeowners, business owners and health professionals. It also includes builders, architects and anyone in the building industry as they play a massive role in both the prevention and cure of this challenging health condition. I would almost consider builders, plumbers and architects to be in the "health profession" as the health of your home is one of the biggest factors in overall health.

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There are many great builders and companies who take mould seriously when building, renovating or remediating. Our hope is that this becomes the norm throughout NZ so our homes become healthier

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Massive thanks to @buildingtoday for running this article in their November magazine.

#buildingnz #buildingtoday #mouldillness #healthyhome
#buildingnewzealand taken in Mount Maunganui by @themouldprojectnz

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2 years ago

Always tired? 🥱

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Fatigue was main of the main symptoms I was dealing with for years. Not so bad that I couldn't do anything (which some people have) but it just felt like I was dragging my feet and lacking energy even though I was sleeping and eating well. I tried alot of things including Adrenal support, mitochondrial support (and extra coffee) but nothing really helped significantly
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It wasn't until we realized that mould was impacting our families health, and addressed our indoor air quality and house, that i was able to feel real improvement. These days I'm feeling more energy than 10 years ago, but if I spend time inside a mouldy building I almost instantly feel fatigue and brain fog come on
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A study by Wu et al (2022) found that in 236 people with chronic fatigue, 93% had elevated levels of mycotoxins in their urine with ochratoxin being the most common (which is what showed up on my test). Another study by Brewer in 2013 found similar findings.
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So how does a mouldy house make you tired?
👉🏻 mycotoxins can interfere with cellular and mitochondrial function
👉🏻 mycotoxins can interfere with brain function
👉🏻 mycotoxins can mess up the breakdown of protein, carbs and fats for energy
👉🏻 by creating chronic inflammation (think long covid)

Mycotoxins can also create the Cell Danger Response where the cell protects itself by shutting down ATP (energy) production

If you are tired and want to look more into mould, DM us or comment TEST to get a guide to testing your body. In our bio is also a link to our site where you can do a mould questionnaire

#chronicfatigue #tired #mouldillness #mycotoxins taken in Mount Maunganui (mountain) by @themouldprojectnz

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2 years ago

& Learn the big mistake we made....

5 ways we maintain a healthy home

Firstly I'm not saying mould free home because there is no such thing. There is a healthy fungal ecology which is a healthy balance of mould spores in your home

There are also other factors that influence air quality and home health like VOCs, bacteria, viruses, Pm2.5 and ultrafine particulate

Here's what we use in our 30m2 home

👉🏻1. Air Purifier
We run the Intellipure Compact which is a great little machine for up to 30m2. It can filter down to 0.07m2 microns and catches pretty much everything

👉🏻2. Dehumidifier

We aim to keep humidity levels between 40 and 65% as this helps with mould growth and dust mites.

👉🏻3. Heat recovery ventilator
This is the lungs of the home pulling out the old air, and bringing in fresh outside air (through a filter). This is a much better option than popular systems which draw air from the roof space

👉🏻4. Leak detectors
We have these below the kitchen sink and in the bathroom to catch those leaks before they become a big problem

👉🏻5. Bathroom extractor fan
This is located in the shower and clears the humidity really fast

But wait...
Why did we not put in a rangehood?!

To be honest it was a mistake not too put one in at the time. We assumed that because the oven was by a window it would be enough but we were wrong. Yes they are noisy but extractor fans are essential for not only removing moisture but also all the other things that get produced by cooking and frying.

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It's on our list this summer to install one 🙂

#healthyhomes #airpurifiers #ventilation #dehumidifier taken in Mount Maunganui by @themouldprojectnz

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2 years ago

Building 4 Tiny Houses in 4 years..🏡💪🏼
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#1 "Teeny Tina"❤️

Work office/clinic >> ended up living in it for a year >> back to being a work office/clinic
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Check out our blog in our bio on how we built it and how it has performed. Or COMMENT 'Tiny' to get the link sent to you

#tinyhousenz #tinyhouseliving #livingbiginatinyhouse #tinyhouselife taken in Mount Maunganui by @themouldprojectnz

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2 years ago

When 90% of your symptoms disappear in a week…

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I did a support call with a new client the other day. He had been fairly healthy, and then moved into a new place. Within a few months he developed a lot of symptoms – muscle aches, pins and needles, as well as chest tightness and a cough. He noticed the symptoms worse in his bedroom so he looked under the house and found substantial mould there. If mould is under your house, the air moves upwards through the house and will contaminate the living space

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His landlord didn’t take any action, so he ended up finding a new place. Within ONE WEEK most of symptoms were gone.

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Recovery from mould illness isn’t always this fast,, but it shows the power of both being aware of mould and then avoiding the exposure. He still has some work to do to fully recover, but his life has changed within a week just from moving out of mould

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In his case, the cough and chest tightness was a good clue that the air quality in the house was poor. But sometimes mould can be a problem and you wont have any respiratory symptoms. Maybe you will just have fatigue, brain fog, anxiety or one of the many symptoms that you might not link to mould exposure

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This is why we want to create more awareness around mould illness and the full range of symptoms. If you have symptoms you are dealing with, and have struggled to overcome them, its worth looking into mould.

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The quickest and easiest way to start is the mould questionnaire. Comment ‘test’ below to get sent the link, or just go to our website through the bio to access it.

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You can also book a free 15 minute support call to discuss whether mould is affecting your health. taken in Mount Maunganui by @themouldprojectnz

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2 years ago

HOW I GOT A SHRINKING DISEASE

Ok so I didn't actually shrink but I once heard the term 'shrinking disease' and it resonated with what was going on with our family, but also what happens alot with people dealing with chronic health conditions
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First you may start cutting out things foods, exercising less as you don't recover well. Then you may start socializing less as you don't have the energy or it overwhelms you. Slowly, your life starts to shrink as you attempt to control aspects of your life to feel better
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And I think there is a certain wisdom in this. Breathing has a cycle of breathing in and breathing out. Nature has cycles of more growth and decay. Your body wants to slow things down to help healing and that's OK. The problem is when this 'shrinking' cycle carries on and on with not enough healing to allow things to expand again
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We found ourselves in this cycle for a long time. Our diet was restricted, we didn't socialize much or do many extra activities as just the basic routines of life would be all we could handle as a family. In a way, when we moved from our home into a tiny house, closed our physio business and simplified our life we moved more into the shrinking direction and complete the exhalation (letting go).But this also allowed us to heal from mould exposure, regain some energy and start expanding our life again
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I think mould illness can cause this shrinking and restriction in life because mould is a force of decay and breaking things down. But in that breaking down there is also the creation of new life. Even though it was very hard to deal with, I feel I have come through this as a better person with a more purpose in life
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If you are struggling with your health, and you want to know if mould is causing or contributing to your symptoms COMMENT 'score' below to get a link to our free online mould questionnaire. This will give you a Mould Score which will tell you how likely it is that mould is a problem for you, and can help guide further testing

##chronicillnesslife #chronicillnesssupport #mouldillness #restrictions #moldillnessrecovery #expansionlife #innerstruggle #toxicmould taken in Mount Maunganui by @themouldprojectnz

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2 years ago

MOULD LOVES DUST, AND DUST LOVES TO GO BEHIND YOUR FRIDGE

Dust is a great food source for mould. Mould spores and mycotoxins can attach to dust particles and move around your house with them (it like a sci-fi movie inside your house). Dust eventually settles which means that if we keep on top of dust in our house, we can use this as a way of not only reducing the amount of mould we are exposed to, but also for preventing mould growth.
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Places like behind, and on top of, your fridge often get ignored or missed because it's a bit of an effort to move your fridge out and clean there. Try and clean behind there every 3 months, and it will not only make your house healthier but it will make your fridge run better as well (the dust can clog up the coils in the back)

If you are wondering if mould is affecting your health, you can do our online mould questionnaire on our website (link in bio) or COMMENT symptoms and we will send it to you 🙂

#mouldillness #cleaningdust #moldtips #mouldspores #homecleaningtips #dustbuster taken in Mount Maunganui by @themouldprojectnz

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2 years ago

THE 4 SIGNS OF MOULD ILLNESS I MISSED ON THIS TEST IN 2017

Back in 2017 I was learning functional medicine to try and uncover the reasons why we were struggling with our health as a family. I was tired a lot of the time, getting a cold every few months, and still had low platelets.

I had learnt about a test called the Organic Acids Test. It’s a urine test and tests for 70 different markers related to gut health, energy production, metabolism, neurotransmitters, detoxification and vitamin levels. We ran this test on myself and our daughter, who was dealing with food sensitivities and skin rashes.

This was the first time running this test and it gave us some great info. However, there were some big clues that mould was behind our health challenges that we overlooked. Back then, there wasn’t as much awareness of mould illness and we didn’t look into it as a possible cause.

1. FUNGAL MARKERS

My daughter and I both had 2 elevated fungal markers which can indicate mould colonisation into the gut by Aspergillus. This was a sign that we had been living in a mouldy house for a while and the mould species had made a home in us!

2. OXALATES

We both had high oxalic acid on our test, which indicates excessive oxalate intake in the diet or from oxalate production within the body. While we reduced oxalate intake, and did some gut work- we didn’t realise that aspergillus overgrowth can often cause this

3. REDUCED DETOXIFICATION

High pyroglutamic acid is a sign that we weren’t producting enough glutathione. Glutathione is a master antioxidant and while supplementing with glutathione can help, mould toxicity can often be reason for lowered glutathione production

4. REDUCED MITOCHONDRIAL FUNCTION

This explained why I was feeling tired! Supplementing with a mitochondrial formula gave me a boost of energy, but it wasn’t until I addressed the mould issue that I was able to heal my mitochondria and get back my energy

#mouldy #mouldillness #invisibleillnessawareness #healthyhomes #functionaltesting #organicacidstest #candidaovergrowth #oxalates #moldtoxicity #chronicfatigueawareness #mitochondrialhealth taken in Mount Maunganui by @themouldprojectnz

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2 years ago

PREVENTING MOULD AFTER FLOODS

I can’t imagine how devastating it must be for Wairoa and the east coast of the north island to have a massive flood again, only 2 years after Cyclone Gabrielle. Our hearts go out to those communities.

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There are some great professionals who are trained in flood damage restoration, and ideally they can get in asap to these homes to start work and remove the chance of mould and bacteria growing in the home. However, if there are delays- there is more chance that you will develop mould problems so action needs to be taken asap (when its safe to back to your house)
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I have put a link (in our bio) to a great talk between Australian mould expert Sandeep and Building Biologist Nicole Bijlsma. This goes through some steps you can take to start drying out your house, and reduce the risk of mould growing. It also goes through signs and symptoms that suggest that mould is impacting your health.

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If anyone in that area has any concerns around their health moving forward, please reach out and I’m happy to provide free consults and help where I can. Please share this with anyone you know who is affected in this area

#moldsymptoms #mouldillness #moldremediation #weatherevent #housingcrisis #flooddamage #waterleaks #waterdamagerestoration #plumbing leaks #floodsafety #floods by @themouldprojectnz

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2 years ago

5 WAYS YOUR HOUSE CAN GET MOULDY

So how does mould grow inside our houses? Mould needs oxygen, the right temperature, a food source and a water source to grow. Our modern homes are full of yummy mould food- but without a water source, we wouldn’t have the mould problems that we do.

So how does water get into your house?

1. FROM OUTSIDE (LEAKS)
Leaks can occur from a roof, but also from cladding and window problems.

2. FROM OUTSIDE (FLOODS)
Floods can be devestating (our hearts go out to the east coast of NZ right now) and many houses have been damaged by huge amounts of water flowing through their house.

If dealt with quickly and in the right manner you can prevent mould from growing in many cases.

3. FROM INSIDE (LEAK OR FLOOD)
It is common for a plumbing pipe or join to leak, which often results in a slow leak. There can also be leaks around a bath or shower, or under a kitchen sink which may result in gradual water damage over time

4. FROM INSIDE (HUMIDITY)
If there is enough humidity over a long enough time mould can grow. NZ is already quite humid in many areas, and if you add to this cooking, showering, and breathing things can get really humid!

5. FROM UNDERNEATH
‘Rising damp’ is a term used to describe how humidity can rise from beneath a building, and from the earth up into the indoor area. Surprisingly, humid air is lighter than dry air and moves upwards.

Additionally, If there is mould growing under the house in the subfloor then this air moves up into the indoor area and can affect the indoor air quality.

If you are concerned you have mould problem in your house , comment below and we can give you some information about testing your house.

Or if you are concerned mould may be affecting your health, check out our free guide to testing your body in our bio

#moldremediation #leakyhomes #healthyathome #housingcrisis #hawkesbay #flooddamage #waterleaks #waterdamagerestoration #plumbingleaks #mouldcleaning by @themouldprojectnz

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2 years ago