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Thursday, February 24, 2011

Sidetracked by Mold

For the past month, every time Jason and I go to bed, he sneezes uncontrollably.

 I was convinced he was allergic to Maggie, since she sleeps in bed with us.

Maybe I thought it would just  help my argument to get her out of the bed before the baby arrives,
but no luck.


A couple of weekends ago, my sister and her friend Lauren visited because my sister was throwing a baby shower for me.  Lauren was sleeping in our sitting room downstairs, just below our bedroom.  She commented that she had to move into our family room because the sneezing was keeping her awake.

It was THAT bad.

I started thinking maybe we had down throw pillows on our bed, since Jason is allergic to feathers, but that wasn't it either.



Jason insisted he smelled a mold every time he went to bed.

But I didn't smell it and I insisted again that Maggie be moved out of the bed.

But she remained . . . and the sneezing continued.







Friday was a beautiful day. It was unseasonably warm and sunny -- a welcome break from all of the cold and snow we've had this winter.


I was exhausted so I turned into bed especially early Friday night.  And the warmth of the day made the stench that much more noticeable.  When I climbed into bed, I smelled it.

Jason wasn't crazy after all.

The moldy smell was seeping out from our bedroom wall above our bed.

I called Jason upstairs immediately.  I couldn't sleep in that room, so I move into Imani's room for a little sleepover (and of course, she was thrilled!)

There was only one way to fix the problem . . . and even though Saturday, we had big plans to address the nursery closet, Jason spent Saturday night tearing down the sheetrock behind our bed.




All of the insulation was damp so it all got bagged up and removed from the house.  




Apparently, when we had our windows replaced last year, the company that installed the window didn't seal it properly, so Jason went back through and re-caulked the whole window and then sprayed it with spray foam to prevent future leaks.  

The foam was huge and bulging out of the cracks when it dried so Jason had to cut it.




Imani and I had another sleepover in her room and I think she secretly hoped the wall would never get fixed.


Of course I figured that while the wall is ripped apart, we might as well make a few changes to it. You'll have to wait and see what we come up with.



We spent a good chunk of our Sunday afternoon wandering around Lowes buying everything we'd need to replace the wall, along with materials to address the baby's closet . . . if we ever get to it. 

I almost fell over when I saw the grand total at checkout.

This wasn't in the budget, but it's a good thing the Coupon Cowboy has been saving us so much money week after week.


I'm happy to report that although the wall isn't finished, I am back to sleeping in my own bed, much to Imani's disappointment.

AND  I'm getting a full night's sleep, since my husband isn't up sneezing all night!! :-)


And Maggie remains comfortable in bed with us, despite my desire to kick her out before the baby arrives.





7 comments:

  1. That's crazy! Are you going to contact the window company to see if they are held responsible? I'm on your side with the dog issue, our dog isn't allowed to sleep with us on the bed.

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  2. I'm so happy to hear that you guys were able to get that taken care of before it got really bad. Btw, Maggie is such a cutie-patootie : )

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  3. Stephenie,

    Poor Jason! I'm glad you got to it before the baby was born. As I was reading I thought perhaps the people that installed the central air may be responsible. It's horrible when someone doesn't do their job right and ends up costing you money to correct. I think I know what you did to the wall.
    Will Maggie sleep with Imani?

    Your Friend,
    Deborah

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  4. good thing you fixed the problem before it got worse! Mold is so dangerous - the window company should be held responsible for all your expenses. We had a similar mold/sneezing problem when we lived in a basement apartment and discovered the wall was leaking. When they removed the drywall, it was completely black - it probably should have been handled with masks and protective clothing!

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  5. Oh, that's terrible. Glad you caught it before it got worse. You can't kick that little Maggie out. She's no bigger than a baby herself. It would be nice though if she got to bunk with Imani.

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  6. I would so get in touch with the window co. and see if you can get them to pay the bill...happy that all is better now.

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  7. That's quite a story...and you have quite a husband! To deal with it, and finish the job all in one weekend. Wow! But thank goodness you've solved it before the baby comes (as you will need all the sleep you can get!)

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