To follow up on the most recent live stream I filmed on March 22nd: I believe I've discovered the cause of my sudden bout of fatigue and not feeling as motivated as usual. The crawl space under the house I bought is in bad shape -- it doesn't have a vapor barrier or insulation, and even worse, there's fungal mold on some of the joists and subfloor due to plumbing leaks the previous occupants didn't bother to fix. I filmed several remodeling vlog Shorts on my channel throughout June of 2023 showing the extent of some of the damage and neglect I inherited by purchasing this fixer-upper house. After I moved in, I upgraded the home's entire plumbing system myself. I replaced the water pipes under the crawl space with new PEX pipes and I dug up the well pipes in the backyard and replaced them with new, correct-sized PVC pipes. I also upgraded all the cast-iron waste/drain/vent pipes with ABS and replaced every plumbing fixture (new bathtub, shower valve, bathroom vanity and sink, toilet, kitchen faucet and sink, water heater, well tee, pressure gauge, and pressure tank).
That effectively ended the water leaks and backed-up plumbing problems in the house. However, the damage that had been done to the crawl space still existed, and it still does. The other day I had a metallic taste in my mouth. My throat and glands felt sore, I had a mild headache, and I felt pain in my chest around my lungs. When I researched these symptoms online, I found that mold inhalation was the prime suspect. A musty smell in your house is another indicator, and even though I've painted all the walls, trim, and ceilings, and cleaned the floors and furniture really well, this house still has a musty odor to it I notice every time I enter it. I learned that the mold in your crawl space can find its way up into your home through areas like gaps in my hardwood flooring. While it may seem "out of sight, out of mind" underneath your house, it actually poses a threat to you and anyone else inside. Along with a metal taste in your mouth and body aches, other symptoms of mold exposure include dizziness, fatigue, loss of memory, lack of motivation, and depression. When I was upgrading the electric system in the house in December and January, I would feel light-headed every single time I stood up from crouching down as if I had stood up too fast. I've also been concerned about why I've been having trouble remembering how many sets I've done while working out or recalling what I had for dinner the night before. I've never had physical or cognitive issues like this before. I didn't have any of these symptoms during the summer or autumn seasons I was here, but that's likely because I was venting the house with fresh air by opening the windows. Also, the house still had the original windows it was built with at that time and there were major air gaps around all of them, so the home was still getting some ventilation even while they were all closed. I've since had all the windows replaced with new ones and they're airtight, so during the winter when the windows were shut, there was no ventilation for the mold entering the home and I was breathing it in. I scheduled a professional inspection and assessment for my crawl space to I can have the mold killed and the area insulated. In the meantime, I replaced the MERV 5 (basic dust/lint protection level) air filter for my heat pump with a MERV 12 filter, which is rated for mold spores, bacteria and viruses. The filter is good for 3 months so it should help protect me until I can have the mold taken care of. I've also been opening my windows during the day while it's warm outside in order to circulate fresh air through the house. I've been wondering what's wrong with me lately and thinking it might be caused by new supplements I started taking when the answer was below me the entire time. If there were pets, babies, or people with weaker immune systems living here, they could have been hospitalized or worse from exposure to this mold, but thankfully I'm the only one living here and I live and eat really healthy, but it's still had a major effect on me that requires immediate attention. If your body tells you something's wrong, listen to it and work diligently to find the cause of it and the solution to fix it. We only get one life to live and one body to enjoy life with, so take care of it so it'll last you as many years as naturally possible!
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