Does Toxin-Free Living Matter After Mold Exposure?

We thought that a couple months in to the blog it would be a good time to dive in to one of our "why's" here on the site. Why does toxin-free living matter? Why should you care? Why do WE care?
*updated Jan. 16, 2020

We were exposed to toxic mold for a little over a year. What does that really mean? It means that our home was not safe. It was constantly having issues, issues that were causing us physical and mental harm. That isn't us being whiny millennials; it is proven and verifiable health issues from mold exposure. We are among thousands across military bases facing these issues. We were being bombarded daily with toxins, toxins from mold (mycotoxins) that were affecting our health and we were basically clueless about it. This is the first reason it matters--these toxins in our environment were harming us.

We escaped. And it truly was an escape. If you have ever been in military housing before it is a vortex that is hard to escape. It is conveniently located, fits your budget, and is sometimes cheaper and safer than the surrounding cities. After leaving that home behind we polarized to the other side of living where we wanted the safest environment possible. How could we accept anything less after what we had been put through? I read a headline the other day and the gist was that trauma is not our fault but healing is our responsibility. Read that again friends. It is my job to have the safest home possible and we cannot accept anything less. That is the second reason it matters--what happens after you leave the mold is your choice, a choice that you didn't have before.

We dove in to so many cleaner, greener products after becoming a healthy home advocate. We learned so much and a key thing that leaped out to us, that we had been ignorant to, were Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) and even more beyond that was green washing, products that are falsely advertised to be non-toxic. We wanted to have clean air and a safe environment but through 1-not knowing and 2- green washing we were still not doing the best we could for our home. Now, is that to say that it was bad? Perhaps not. In a good/better/best ranking we were hanging out in the "better" category. Many of my cleaners were from Seventh Generation and would fall under "better" instead of "best". If better is where you can achieve or where you are now, don't feel bad. We don't want to get too soap-boxy here, we just want to explain why toxin-free living matters after exposure and why we aim for "best". As possible for your family, work your way up the good/better/best chain and make your environment truly toxin-free. There is your third reason-- you deserve the best for your home and life.

Your body, life, and family have been through enough. Healing after mold exposure can be a long and difficult road. For some it isn't and I am so happy that it isn't following you. Body burden is real. The harm that mold can do to you is great. Mold toxicity and mycotoxin illness can change the way your body reacts to chemical properties. You may have never reacted to lotions, cleaners, soaps, etc and after being exposed to mold your body can develop sensitivities to these items. Eliminating the toxins decreases the burden put on your body and allows you to do more than just survive. Toxin-free living matters. It doesn't have to be difficult or expensive or some pipe dream that feels unattainable. If you aren't sure where to start, come back on Thursday to see how we have made small, simple changes like changing our shower/bathing routine. If you have started switching to a non-toxic routine, comment below with what has been the easiest and hardest areas for you.

Here's to moving on,
B&R

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