Carpet offgassing?

[PamNY]

The building certainly could have mold. It's an old building converted to condos, and they have many unexplained leaks.

Off to read about mold.

[sookiesue]

Carpet offgassing can cause all sorts of health problems. I had to take a class several years ago that was being held in a new classroom with new carpet and it made me so sick I had to drop out and take the class during a different term in a different location!

When I bought a home with brand new carpet several years ago, I discovered a product that worked really well for me

http://www.afmsafecoat.com/products.php?page=5

The Carpet Seal worked wonders. You have to shampoo the carpet and then scrub the carpet seal into the fibers. I did this before we moved in and I never had any more negative effects from the new carpet.

There may be other products out there like this, this just happens to be the one that I found first. I would think that there would be several out there by now since offgassing is such a problem for so many people. There may be a product out there for use with new upholstery, too.

I know you can't very well clean and seal the hallway carpets in your friend's building, but if you know now that new carpet can cause this reaction for you, at least you can try to prevent it from happening in your own home in the future!

[OakLeaf]

I'd suspect mold too. If it was building materials of any kind, I'd expect two things: (1) that your symptoms would get less pronounced over time as the concentration decreases, and (2) that you'd react in other buildings too.

[Crankin]

Pam, didn't you have some type of allergic reaction last year to a food? Forgive me, if I am confusing you with someone else.
I have a mold allergy and also some food allergies (certain shellfish and peanuts). Sometimes just a smell walking through a store will set me off.
Sounds like mold to me.

[PamNY]

No, I don't have food allergies.

The more I think about it, the more I think mold makes sense.

Crankin, what do you do about mold allergies? Do you tolerate it, or is it necessary to avoid completely?

[shootingstar]

My partner does have mold allergies...he gets pounding headaches. For instance he can not be in a greenhouse or plant conservatory.

We cannot have hardly any potted plants indoors because of his mold allergies. It's naturally occurring in the soil.

1 container plant for herb or pointisetta is ok. That's it.

Who knows, could mold be in the walls...then get into the HVAC system.. Or mold underneath the carpet overlay, etc.

[PamNY]

One question for allergy-knowledgeable people: I don't have any allergies to mold (or anything else) outdoors -- does that make it unlikely I'd be reacting to mold indoors?

Shootingstar, you comment is interesting. I recently started feeling lightheaded in a greenhouse. I thought it was because I'd been walking slowly though the botanical garden -- slow walking (like in a museum) makes me exhausted. But now I wonder if it was mold.