I have completely renovated my house (added insulation and plastered, as well as new windows and new window trims), and when everything was finished and my wife and baby moved back home, both suffered from asthma. The little guy feels better, but my wife gets asthma after about 1 minute at home. We have done numerous air analyses, mold, particle measurements, and formaldehyde measurements, and have several professional air purifiers without results. I believe it's the window trims that are made of MDF board and painted, but is there any way to test sealing in emissions? Like covering all windows completely with construction plastic, or is there an impenetrable paint that can be applied? I'm completely at a loss and have probably spent 100k trying to find the problem.
I don't really have a good answer but how much hassle is it to just replace the smygarna? I've gotten a bit of itching sometime when I've sawn in MDF but I don't know what's in it.
Have you checked the interior, furniture, rugs, etc.? Tried changing detergent/fabric softener?
If there's something they react to in, for example, the sofa, it wouldn't show up in a test unless someone jumps on it at that moment, right?
If there's something they react to in, for example, the sofa, it wouldn't show up in a test unless someone jumps on it at that moment, right?
It could be as simple as it being too warm and dry indoors! Do you have underfloor heating, if so, which spackel have you used? Many spackel and cement products are really allergenic. The paints on walls, especially in bathrooms and basements, are more likely to cause allergy-like symptoms. Boil water on the stove and have your wife stand near the boiling water, see if it eases, a good test to see if the air is too dry...... What have you insulated with, could there be a risk of insulation particles "leaking in"? If it is a mechanical irritation, it will pass over time! (mineral wool)
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1. I have measured particles in the air and checked there is no insulation. Have used rock wool but it is covered with plaster now.
2. We have tested with a humidifier running it up to 70% and tried to dry out the moisture and had 25%, doesn't help.
3. Have no underfloor heating.
4. We have had the same furniture all along, and I have tested washing the sofa covers. Don't use fabric softener for anything at home.
5. Have scrubbed walls, ceiling, and everything probably 100 times.
I have renovated everything else before without my wife noticing anything, so we have lived there for 2 years but only now it has become like this after new windows and additional insulation, and if you search for formaldehyde and MDF, you see others have reacted to it. My last guess is if it's possible to temporarily seal in emissions? Replacing the reveals is a mega job, probably 2 weeks around the clock if I'm going to switch to plasterboard, and I don't think it might work since I propped up 20cm behind the reveals. If we switch to plasterboard, we have to prop up in more places otherwise the plasterboard will bend.
2. We have tested with a humidifier running it up to 70% and tried to dry out the moisture and had 25%, doesn't help.
3. Have no underfloor heating.
4. We have had the same furniture all along, and I have tested washing the sofa covers. Don't use fabric softener for anything at home.
5. Have scrubbed walls, ceiling, and everything probably 100 times.
I have renovated everything else before without my wife noticing anything, so we have lived there for 2 years but only now it has become like this after new windows and additional insulation, and if you search for formaldehyde and MDF, you see others have reacted to it. My last guess is if it's possible to temporarily seal in emissions? Replacing the reveals is a mega job, probably 2 weeks around the clock if I'm going to switch to plasterboard, and I don't think it might work since I propped up 20cm behind the reveals. If we switch to plasterboard, we have to prop up in more places otherwise the plasterboard will bend.
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· Stockholm
· 605 posts
It should not be ruled out that it could be psychosomatic either; the feelings and symptoms can be just as real without there being an actual allergy behind it.
If it is insulation and MDF that are the main suspects here, isn't it reasonable to expose oneself to these materials in the hardware store to see if the reaction is the same? It seems simpler than tearing down half the house on a whim. If these things are the problem, it should be difficult to be in any newer unrenovated houses.
http://www.prevent.se/kemiguiden/up...rodukter-och-amnen-/hardplaster---utbildning/
Asthma or allergy?
If she only reacts when she is in the house, I would think it is an allergy. That you've lived in the house for 2 years without noticing anything doesn't really say much, I didn't become allergic until after 50 and to some mold spores from mold fungus that are in the soil according to occupational medicine, according to the doctor I have asthma and take medicine for it. Whether they have to do with each other I don't know, if an allergy can develop into asthma, I mean, but I notice it as soon as I'm out digging in the soil and even if we have animals in the house, ( when we take care of the children's pets ), It is a misery especially when you don't know what triggers it and in many cases it is hard to figure out what it is.
Has she been to the doctor with the problem?
Asthma or allergy?
If she only reacts when she is in the house, I would think it is an allergy. That you've lived in the house for 2 years without noticing anything doesn't really say much, I didn't become allergic until after 50 and to some mold spores from mold fungus that are in the soil according to occupational medicine, according to the doctor I have asthma and take medicine for it. Whether they have to do with each other I don't know, if an allergy can develop into asthma, I mean, but I notice it as soon as I'm out digging in the soil and even if we have animals in the house, ( when we take care of the children's pets ), It is a misery especially when you don't know what triggers it and in many cases it is hard to figure out what it is.
Has she been to the doctor with the problem?
Read a bit from the Asthma and Allergy Association, they recommend that at least 4 weeks should pass after extensive renovation before considering moving in. The reason seems to be everything from formaldehyde to materials that have been damp, such as during painting, releasing allergens! It seems to subside over time... Pollen levels are also high right now, so in conjunction with other allergy-inducing substances, it can be too much even for those who are not hypersensitive!
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I have also developed allergic issues since we built a custom MDF bookshelf this spring. You mentioned that you've done formaldehyde measurements. How do you do that and what did the measurements show?winzhangout said:
For us, I can't be too close to the bookshelf and definitely can't open the cabinets and retrieve anything. I haven't had the energy to do anything about it, but I thought that now in the summer we can open up a lot and air out, so I hope it dissipates.
I've considered tearing out the bookshelf if there's no other solution, but it's really frustrating to have to do that.
For me, it's formaldehyde, because I also react to hair dye at the hairdresser, certain nail polishes, and new clothes among other things (wrinkle resistance contains formaldehyde).
I bought a new bedside table for my son, which came in a package. I panicked when I opened it because it was dusty with chips. I thought it might be made of MDF, hadn't checked. I got a cloth and started wiping it down, but realized quite quickly that there was no danger at all. I didn't feel anything from the bedside table.
When she is away, she blows about 425l in a breath tester and at home 300, and then it decreases to 200 after about 3 days and at that point, she can't take it anymore and leaves, but she starts complaining after 10 minutes at home. I've thought I found the problem a few times, so she should be faking if it was hypochondria too? I really don't know if it can be so psychological as to decrease breathing with the psyche over several days? I really hope not, because with all the work I've put in, I'd go crazy.
Unfortunately, I don't think the hardware store works the same way since, for example, the insulation might have been wet and formaldehyde is released, same with painted MDF boards. Also, the level of adhesive can vary.
How do you react to formaldehyde? Do you have trouble breathing? And how quickly does it feel and go away? Very curious about that.
I ordered a pump and sample from Pegasus Lab, cost about 5000, unfortunately, I probably placed it too low and too far from the windows but got 0.03 I believe.
Unfortunately, I don't think the hardware store works the same way since, for example, the insulation might have been wet and formaldehyde is released, same with painted MDF boards. Also, the level of adhesive can vary.
How do you react to formaldehyde? Do you have trouble breathing? And how quickly does it feel and go away? Very curious about that.
I ordered a pump and sample from Pegasus Lab, cost about 5000, unfortunately, I probably placed it too low and too far from the windows but got 0.03 I believe.
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· Skåne
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I don't have that kind of troubles. Mine are more like those people describe who have troubles with house mold - a discomfort in the body, sneezing and nasal congestion, itching, feeling exhausted, and the worst is that it's completely impossible to sleep.
It seems highly unlikely that your wife is imagining it, you can rule that out. Only someone who has never had any allergies themselves would say that.
It seems highly unlikely that your wife is imagining it, you can rule that out. Only someone who has never had any allergies themselves would say that.
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· Stockholm
· 605 posts
At the same time, health anxiety and anxiety are dismissed a bit too quickly by many; if you've never experienced it yourself, you have no idea how convincing the symptoms can seem.Marlen Eskilsson said:
I'm not saying that TS's wife is imagining it, but it can't be ruled out with the information we've received so far.
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· Skåne
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Is it statistically proven that many cases of allergies to building materials are imagined, according to you? It would be interesting to see that study.