My health started falling apart In 2018 at age 51 after having been an active and healthy runner my entire adult life. Months of doctor visits netted no answers and the sudden back pain, joint instability, panic attacks, insomnia, rashes, sinus problems, food intolerances, and severe fatigue remains unexplained. It took a functional medicine doctor to suggest testing our home for mold after identifying some major inflammatory and CIRS (chronic inflammatory response syndrome) markers. Turned out that mold WAS a major problem, but without water stains, odors, or other obvious signs of mold, we needed the help of an expert to find the mold and how it was contaminating our home. We hired a few different recommended mold experts from late 2018 through 2020, Including an engineer and an environmental company who did air sampling. None could find a significant mold source and ended up suggesting things like an HVAC and duct cleaning, small particle cleaning, removing carpets, and adding whole home dehumidification. We did all of these things over a period of 3 years where the house would test okay for a short period of time, but then return to its previous unacceptable moldiness.
It wasn’t until Ron Young with the JARDY Group came on board that we finally started getting real answers. He had the knowledge of both building biology and construction methods to see the source of mold and moisture intrusion PLUS the equipment and advanced testing methods to precisely find it. The mold was all hidden in our exterior walls — from brick that was too porous and improperly installed to a lack of a proper drainage plain in some areas to multiple failures of the waterproof barrier system. It took months to identify the full extent of the problem and completely remediate, but we FINALLY now have the healthy home that has eluded us for years! During the initial years we spent with the wrong mold professionals, my illness morphed into major complex chronic illness that ultimately affected just about every single body system. I am talking sick to the point of being unable to work and needing the care of a national level integrative medical doctor specializing in environmental illness. It has also cost me some permanent lifelong conditions that will persist long after mold illness resolves. My work toward wellness is ongoing and already more than 4 years long, and has cost tens of thousands of dollars out-of-pocket as medical insurance simply will not cover most of it. The lesson here is to NOT mess around guessing, experimenting or working with the wrong people. You need to find it and fix it quickly, and, in my opinion, not many professionals who say they can do this really can. I strongly believe had we found Ron Young sooner, my health would not have suffered to the degree it has.