Can any of you gentlemen advise me on what kind of outfit one would contact
to come in and test for mold or some other pulmonary irritant?

Since enduring all of this damn smoke from "Forest Fires"..

There is something in the house, that is making me cough like some old coal miner.
almost like having emphysema... it goes away if I spend time in the garage...

I don't have a clue who to contact, the type of business that specializes in that...

any hints will be helpful...

can't even sleep thru the night at the moment...

Link below is your area, I believe.

https://getprokleen.com/mold-removal-remediation/mold-inspection-testing/

Home owner's insurance may help as well.

Do you have a central air system or wall/window units?

Air out the house.

Rockinbar has it. Mold inspection/remediation outfits.

ANother way to go would be to have yourself tested for allergies, it might not be mold causing your problem.

Because asking a mold abatement company if you have mold in your house is like asking your barber if he thinks you need a haircut.

Truth. Lot of schiesters in that business.

Order one of these. They send you the machine and you send it back and they analyze the sample.

https://homeaircheck.com/products/

If you haven't done any remodeling lately, get the version without formaldehyde. I had the same problem 2 years ago. Turns out my HVAC system balance was off and was creating negative pressure and pulling air and dust from the garage. I could tell because the test showed elevated levels of gasoline and paint in the VOC analysis. I had the system balanced and coughing quit. I'm not saying that is your problem, but the test is almost the same quality a professional will do for a fraction of the price. Most times you can figure out the source of the problem based on what is elevated. If it comes back with elevated mold, then have a professional look at it.

COPD ?

Had mold in my office in 2013. Worst sickness I ever had. They found three different types, Aspergillus (sp?), Penicillin, and one more. It was nasty bad. I was at the doc taking blood tests since two of the three could cause death. They found the levels @ 10X normal in my bloodstream and ordered the office shut down, cleaned, and I was treated for three months before given the "all OK". Two weeks later I was elk hunting.

Headaches, nausea, weak as a newborn kitten, felt brain dead all the time...could not concentrate. And the coughs....God knows the coughing was 24/7 no matter the cough meds I was taking.

Get out of there, get it identified, get it fixed...my best advice to you!

Good luck.

Seafire,

It may be the smoke has simply been the "straw that broke the camel's back" regarding your lungs and made you aware of a growing respiratory problem.

I would definitely look into checking your house for mold -- it is DAMN serious, and often not diagnosed nearly soon enough!

To ensure that you don't get a mold-removal company trying to sell you something you may not need, ask your insurance company for a few recommendations for a few good companies.

Your insurance company will have lots of experience for this common householder policy problem and they want your house fixed up properly the first time to save them money (if your house needs it, that is).

John

Seems like in western Oregon you'd need a whole lot of mold in the house before there was more than is in the air outside. Especially in Fall/Winter/Spring.

When I saw the title of the thread, I thought you were referring to the House of Representatives. I thought it might explain a few things. Oh, well. Carry on, and good luck.

Not sure what kind of heating/cooling system you have? If it is ducts, I would have them professionally cleaned ASAP. It could be mold or just plain dust that is causing your problems. I worked in an office for 10 years that had something in the system that bothered me. I developed a dry cough in early November of each year that lasted until April. Sometimes the coughing fits brought me to my knees. It never occurred to me what the problem was until I changed jobs and the coughing fits stopped. I am a slow learner I guess.

I'm the reverse, had something in garage that was practically killing me every time I went out. Ended up doing a full sweep/dust/mopping out and it got better. Got bad enough doc put me on an inhaler and Breo (good stuff!) for when I got into it.

Last couple of weeks, though, had a couple of minor flareups while inside the house. Hoping it's just the smoke we've been getting or something, because I don't want to go through that again. Not being able to get a good night's sleep was the worst part, even worse than the coughing.

Double down on that!!

I don't know who's worse down here. Them or the termite clowns.

Where there's smoke there's fire and where there's mold there's water. Getting rid of the water gets rid of the mold. Every single successful mold remediation ever conducted first solved a water intrusion problem.

If your house is dry look elsewhere.

nope, no reason to have COPD....

Partly true. Mold , if present, stays present, whether or not the moisture problem is resolved. It needs to go also, by remediation. Drying it out may resolve the symptoms when it goes into dormancy, and no longer producing spores, but it is still there. It doesn't "go away".

Once gone, and sans moisture, it won't readily come back.

We aren't disagreeing. Every single successful mold remediation ever conducted first solved a water intrusion problem. In some cases additional remediation might have some benefit.

However, dormant mold and spores are everywhere just waiting for moisture. Nothing short of a full tear out or encapsulation has even a remote shot at preventing recurrence if the moisture returns.

We aren't disagreeing. Mold spores are everywhere, and will grow in favorable conditions. Meaning moist and warm.

I was thinking about the extent of the concentration of current mold that may be present, producing the spores which is causing the respiration, etc. problems. If he has it growing visibly, it needs the moisture remediation , then drywall replacement, or whatever, IMO. It may not even be visible, but inside the walls or under the carpeting, etc. Air and other sampling will tell.

But we can arm-chair quarterback this to death. If he has an active mold problem, he needs reputable professional help to find it, evaluate the extent, and take it to whatever level remediation needed. It could be just solving the moisture problem, which , as you say, is the first vital component, or it could be more.

In western Oregon, Mold is a constant problem.. stuff grows everywhere

Its bothering me like crazy, but doesn't seem to effect my wife or son..

I'm going to see a pulmonologist... check out the condition of my lungs

I inhaled some spores, which you couldn't see, back in 2009.

Could get any sleep last night due to the coughing...

only sleep I got was sitting up in a chair...

earlier this evening set up a cot in the garage, camping stuff...

but laid down and slept like a baby.. problem isn't in the garage...just the house..

its just been getting worse with the high level of toxic smoke we've had this summer..
my lungs, not the mold...

I keep thinking about this, I have never heard of this:
"Turns out my HVAC system balance was off and was creating negative pressure and pulling air and dust from the garage"

How do you balance a AC system?

What do you mean by "Negative pressure"

And you are saying storing gas cans in the garage, caused your AC to suck fumes into the house? with the house door closed 98% of the time?

Reason I am asking, is I have been dealing with a stuffed up nose that happens at about 3am each night.

-Jason

Pretty sure black mold id the state flower of Washington.

If your house is dry and well vented, I'd not suspect mold. Not sure if you have a central air fan. You can get good filters that will trap spores and other allergens if you do.

John, things leaning against the walls for long periods of times, bedding, backpacks, blankets, sleeping bags, can create mold situations. Crack a window in every room to get some ventilation. I suspect carpet issues. That stuff is a petri dish for sheit.

Every house has mold... the issue is overrated IMHO... just remember that. and the companies ain't generally coming out to find "nothing"

OK just for chits and giggles, I just took all the gas out of my garage (35 gallons hurricane backup). we'll see if my early morning stuffed up nose continues...

I guess my post was a little confusing. My HVAC system has a heat recovery ventilator (exchanges fresh air with inside air). When they install it they are supposed to balance the airflow so that the volume of fresh air coming in is exactly the same as the volume going out. The installer never did that to mine, so there was more air being pumped out than was being replaced. In the winter when we didn't have windows and doors open, it created a slight vacuum in the house. The negative pressure pulled air from the attached garage (which isn't heated) into the house. I thought I had mold because I had a constant cough so I rented a mold/VOC test machine and it showed gasoline and paint fumes but no mold. I don't think it was the gas fumes causing the problem, I think it was dust from the garage getting into the house, and I'm allergic to dust. The point of my poorly written post was that when the gas and paint showed up on the test, I was able to tell that somehow air from my garage was being sucked into the house. In my case, the relatively inexpensive test was worth the money. I think I still have the report at work. If I can find it I'll post it. It was pretty informative.

Thank you for you reply, this stuffed up nose has me looking everywhere, thanks again

didja try pickin' it?....grin

lol yeah that don't work