Finding a place in warm weather without high levels of mold?

Van Living Forum

Help Support Van Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

[email protected]

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 8, 2016
Messages
105
Reaction score
12
Hello Guys and Gals,

I was just curious my section 8 lease on South East Florida will be up in January and was looking for a place to transfer the voucher too that won't wreck me

What i have attempted so far
1.staying at My section 8 apt and 8 just couldn't tolerate the mold as it would wreck my brain and immune system
2.Trying a bedroom in a family's house in the same area in a nice gated community.Couldnt tolerate it either
3.My parents house in woodbridge,VA
Same thing
4.My friends house in Redondo,beach CA
Same thing
5.BLM land around Sedona,Felt isolated and woke up short of breath.
6.Parking in a beach lots in Palm Coast,Fl near mansions.At the Sametime nobody seemed to care.This was in may and it didn't feel to hot right along the oceans

Felt good there then for some reason I went to my parents in VA.I didn't see the summer in Florida.Probably couldn't have waited
Not sure how sustainable it would have been with heavy thunderstorm,rain,hurricanes

Then I learn that mold can grow in low humidity desert climates from the AC system.

I'm in temescula,CA now and not sure what to do between now and when the lease is up on the section 8 in Florida

I have headed north above 32 latitude as I have some mental blocks about cold weather coming in the winter

My doctor in Georgia wouldn't refill my benzo as im not a resident of the state.So I'm considering to go to Mexico

Just seeking a place that is warm,doesn't have a high population,indoor air is tolerable so that I can live a normal life with my disability of 900/month

I understand that living in a vehicle is not optimal but I may need to do it if there are no other alternatives

I appreciate any suggestions

Warm Regards,
Dave
 
Last edited:
Try to find out if it is possible to buy effective air filtering equipment that would work in your FL apartment. Even if you have to buy several to get good protection. They may be expensive but you might be able to get financial help with that. You seem to be wasting your savings travelling back and forth.
 
Last edited:
Take Salt Lake City off the good list. People with respiratory problems already have problems with the particulates in the air during winter and with the Great Salt Lake shore lines drying out the centuries of things like arsenic and metals in the dust normally dissolved in and under the water are becoming airborne during high wind events which has some predicting very potentially harmful health results. Just so you know!
 
I'd say something similar to slow2day -- take a long, hard look at what you can fix about the home(s) you already have access too. And at what on your wish-list is really a "need" vs. a "want." These are very tough times for housing. Even people with much higher incomes are scrambling. There's not likely to be one ideal place. There will always be something to cope with.

I wish you luck. But for good luck to find you, you'll probably have to do a hellofa lot of hard work yourself -- like picking a place to settle down and working/adjusting/researching/figuring it out/keeping your nose to the grindstone till you can make a go of it.

And like s2d said, beware of using up your resources while you bounce around the country. (Though I do understand the temptation.) There is no Shangri La. (If there was, we'd all be parked there messing it up ;) Homes are made not found. Good luck!
 
Try to find out if it is possible to buy effective air filtering equipment that would work in your FL apartment. Even if you have to buy several to get good protection. They may be expensive but you might be able to get financial help with that. You seem to be wasting your savings travelling back and forth.
Yes.

It would seem that eliminating mold in an affordable residence you already have would make the most sense.

You float a lot of possible living ideas here, Davsey, but having snagged a Section 8 apartment, in Florida, on an apparently emergency basis that is where I would put my efforts.

Most of us work with and make work the less than ideal, that is just life.

I would think that if mold allergies are such a huge issue for you, already being on disability should make you eligible for financial help with equipment to eliminate the mold.

Having affordable housing is huge. You have that, so perhaps try to work with it.
.
 
Try to find out if it is possible to buy effective air filtering equipment that would work in your FL apartment. Even if you have to buy several to get good protection. They may be expensive but you might be able to get financial help with that. You seem to be wasting your savings travelling back and forth.


Appreciate the suggestion slowday,

And everyone else about the equipment,
The thing is that this isn't a mold allergy as it is a disease.An allergy causing runny nose,wheezing.This is more like severe muscle weakness,lethargy and brain on fire

There have been a number of occasions where I got very sick from mold and thought it may have been covid with flu-like malaise and weakness so just continued to rest it out.And it only resolved after leaving the building(friends house and parents house)

I tried a.good air purifier at the Florida apartment and it didn't work.The place tested positive for 10 times the normal amount of stachybotrys(black mold) confirmed by an Ermi test.I tested my friends house and hers also tested high

Prior to living in that apartment the level of urinary mycotoxins I got were almost non-existing.During this time I spent a good bit of the winter car camping in Ft Lauderdale near the beach.And they shot up a couple months after moving into the apartment

Stachy is also a bioweopon used in the military All the humidifier did is recirculate my toxin spores increasing symptoms.It literally felt like my head was on fire

My friend In redando beach,ca who also got sick from.mold has 6 expensive air purifiers,got the place inspected when he purchased the home and I still felt unwell in his place.

People spends thousands of dollars on remediation and it doesn't seem to bring relief from what I heard on the mold avoidance groups as well as experience at my friends house who has his ac running all the time +6 expensive purifiers all over the house and it still inflames me.The only thing that has brought some relief to those is being out of mold.

Because of what I experienced over the last several months in housing I believe I may have some ptsd from the effects the mold had on me.
 
You mentioned in another thread that your father was willing to purchase a Rv for you. I would think an empty new cargo van would be your best bet. Limit cutouts in the roof so you avoid leaks as much as possible. You could start out mold free and be able to control your environment. It doesn't sound like anywhere else you've been has been able to be free of enough mold.
 
Last edited:
I'd say something similar to slow2day -- take a long, hard look at what you can fix about the home(s) you already have access too. And at what on your wish-list is really a "need" vs. a "want." These are very tough times for housing. Even people with much higher incomes are scrambling. There's not likely to be one ideal place. There will always be something to cope with.

I wish you luck. But for good luck to find you, you'll probably have to do a hellofa lot of hard work yourself -- like picking a place to settle down and working/adjusting/researching/figuring it out/keeping your nose to the grindstone till you can make a go of it.

And like s2d said, beware of using up your resources while you bounce around the country. (Though I do understand the temptation.) There is no Shangri La. (If there was, we'd all be parked there messing it up ;) Homes are made not found. Good luck!
Good point on looking out for the finances

The wishes as far as being in very little mold is a need at the moment
 
Then you need to sit down and figure out how to get the information you need -- e.g., from a doctor, social worker, caseworker, mold specialist -- to start working on this problem one small step at a time. 90% of the solution is going to be your own effort. There is no magical geographical cure.
 
You mentioned in another thread that your father was willing to purchase a Rv for you. I would think an empty new cargo van would be your best bet. Limit cutouts in the roof so you avoid leaks as much as possible. You could start out mold free and be able to control your environment. It doesn't sound like anywhere else you've been has been able to be free of enough mold.
On a side note: How does someone who qualifies for section 8 housing afford to travel across the country like you do?
I had some savings from disability which has gone down quite a bit

Down to a little less than 7k.I haven't applied for food stamps in Cali and sometimes pay 15-20 bucks a day since I haven't committed on a county,state having been Nomadic.Probably should apply for food stamps even if I get cut off for leaving California

Appreciate the Cargo van suggestion,

Good observation on unsuccessful housing attempts.Although at this point I need to spend the majority of day outside I intend to see if I can detect better buildings in respect to Mold and spend more time there to see if I can better train myself to detect good housing

I had this impression that the rv was as simple as living in a home with the comforts of a kitchen,toilet,bed,being free from elements of cold and not having to put much money in

Seems like more space is what I'm looking for as I have been taking a leak in bottles and haven't been motivated to do much in the CRV
 
Yes, an RV can have all those comforts but can you afford them? And would you be able to definitively determine if an older motorhome was mold free before you bought it? New ones are super expensive.

Depending on where you travel to and the weather in those places, you could end up having a mold problem in an older MH.

A standard cargo van has much more room than a CRV and it would be easier to prevent mold from growing in it. It also would have doors that can be positioned so you can discreetly stand and wizz behind them :).

You can also use a urinal at night to just roll to your side and go. I've had 3 knee surgeries, so I have that action down pat. So it doesn't matter that I can't fully stand up in my van.
 
Last edited:
Then you need to sit down and figure out how to get the information you need -- e.g., from a doctor, social worker, caseworker, mold specialist -- to start working on this problem one small step at a time.
Yes, Davsey.

This is a vanliving forum, and while we can empathize you have very unique medical and environmental needs that cannot be resolved here.

And I don’t believe you can get food stamps anywhere if you have $7,000+ in savings.
 
Yes, an RV can have all those comforts but can you afford them? And would you be able to definitively determine if an older motorhome was mold free before you bought it? New ones are super expensive.

Depending on where you travel to and the weather in those places, you could end up having a mold problem in an older MH.

A standard cargo van has much more room than a CRV and it would be easier to prevent mold from growing in it. It also would have doors that can be positioned so you can discreetly stand and wizz behind them :).

You can also use a urinal at night to just roll to your side and go. I've had 3 knee surgeries, so I have that action down pat. So it doesn't matter that I can't fully stand up in my van.

Good question Slowday,

I am not sure if being frugal I can afford it with 900/month of ssdi and a little under 7k in savings.I don't have experience with owning a smaller RV or much skills to replace anything unless I paid someone to do it...

Would owning an RV eat into disability checks more than a cargo van would?

That I not sure of

I can barely watch 10 minute tutorial clips on YouTube without getting brain fogged.Learning new tasks has been a challenge

Id probably lose Medicare part B premium that medi-cal (state medicaid ) pays if I declared another state home and only qualify for a dual ssdi/ssi if assets dropped.

Thanks for the urinal tip,I'll look into that as well as some kind of bucket for #2 as im getting older in mid 30s I'm noticed that I'm having difficulties holding it
 
Yes, even a small MH would be more costly to operate than a van. An older one way more costly. If you're unable to afford a new one and not able to do a basic conversion to a van, then you need to face the fact that you're not a good candidate for the mobile lifestyle. But then with a cargo van you would at least have a lot more room than a CRV. A no-build build wouldn't be too hard.

You should work with whatever agency in FL you can rustle up that can help resolve the mold problem in your present apartment.

I guess it's working for you but I don't see how you can keep Cali benefits while you're a FL resident. That may catch up to you some day.

As Rose said, you need local help.
 
Last edited:
If you only have problems inside don’t stay inside! If you go inside wear a protective filtered mask. People wear oxygen/filtered air/pressurized masks for all sorts of ailments like sleep apnea. You will probably need to make major lifestyle changes to survive. Maybe a hammock on the porch or balcony outside. Even a stripped out basic build cargo van has to have vents you will need to seal to insure only filtered clean air can enter. Basically creating a bubble you can sleep in. I imagine there are very few structures built from present day materials where some form of mold doesn’t grow or that use chemicals which can cause problems for people sensitive to them. Sounds like you need more intense testing and more specialized doctor’s advice.
 
I know there are expensive air filters available, having sold a number of them. But a cheap alternative might be getting a standard box fan and attaching a HEPA filter made for central air to the back of it with no openings. That way you can change the filter as needed and have the filter/fan pointing in your direction. Cheap to buy, cheap to run, cheap to replace the filter.

And might move enough air your way so that the mold is displaced and isn't coming your way. And I think it would actually move and filter more air than most of the air filters on the market.

The moving air might be a bother, but if it helps you sleep and live better, it's worth it.
 
How much would it cost to hire someone to help vent the cargo van for filtered air,
and install insulation to allow it to be ready for hot/cold weather?

Thank You
 
Top