Newbie dealing with mold illness and chemical sensitivity

[Lipinski113]

Hi everyone, happy to be here and that you’re checking this out.

My girlfriend and I are recovering from a nasty toxic mold exposure and hoping that living in a van will help us heal.

Just got my drivers license a few weeks back in Arizona, bought a 2002 Chevy Express, and we are beginning to outfit the van.

Would love help from other Moldies or people who are sensitive to chemicals. 

Trying to figure out insulation, flooring, and walls right now.

 

[rvwandering]

Welcome to the CRVL forums Lipinski113! Several forum members have chemical sensitivities and have found that vandwelling gives them a more easily controlled environment. Hopefully, they'll chime in with some tips for you.

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[Lipinski113]

Thanks, that was helpful!


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[travelaround]

My daughter and her family were in a mobile home for about five years. The last year it was sprouting fungus from the walls, with black mold in places. Everyone in the family was sick.

She bought an old schoolbus to live in. Before long - maybe a month later - they were all healthy again.

I feel sure living in a van will be a healthy move.

 

[Lipinski113]

Yeah I’ve heard mold can be a real problem in RVs and even these conversions. Hoping to use materials and methods that help avoid that from happening.

Good to hear your daughter and family are feeling better!


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[tamewolf]

A van is a good choice for controlling the creepy and unseen funguses — both because you can get everything out of it to scrub and chemically cleanse, and because, once that is done, you can take it to where heat and sunshine will kill what organisms are left, in the body of your van and in your own lungs, skin, and digestive tract.
A 15 year accumulation of crud means that you need serious hazard protection gear. Be fully suited, taped, and respirated. Sure, it’s uncomfortable, but not nearly so much as the experience you’ve just been through.
Pull out everything—seats, carpet, visors (do you see dirty fingerprints on them? That’s mold) everything fabric and everything that will come out. Throw it away. If you must retain the front seats, take them out and give thorough upholstery cleaning at least twice.
Now hose and scrub every bit of the interior. When dry, thoroughly disinfect. Set fans. It may be a week before you can breathe comfortably in there, but you will be able to breathe.
Now you have made a safe bubble for the two of you to live in.
I would wait before reintroducing anything that has a place to grow mold. Just the very bare minimum. Remember that your bodies are still excreting mold spores, which are looking for insulation, wall hangings, comfy blankets, and clothing to make their nests in. Air bedding every day (can be done in a hot dryer). And keep clean clothing separate and sealed.
It is just as well to hold off on the interior build, as you’ll be putting a lot of energy into the engine and transmission.
You will be able to recover from this in tha southwest desert, but Tucson has its own special problems.