MOLD!!!

Window frame after spraying with bleach mix, before scrubbing . 

Bleach, scrubbed, air dried over night. 

Elizabeth has been coming upstairs every morning with the sniffles. She insists on an allergy pill. Last summer she was tested for allergies and found one of her allergies was mold/fungus, mild, but still present.

The last ppl who owned our home didn’t take good care of it or know how to use the air exchanger in the wintertime apparently. The basement bedrooms get a build up of condensation in the corners in the winter. Every morning we turn on the exchanger, open the drapes, and it goes away. I truly believe the previous owners didn’t do this.

Anyhow, I checked her sleep number bed for mold (common per the internet) and didn’t find any. Shampooed her mattress and carpets. Vacuumed like crazy. Still - sneezes and scratchy throat in the morning.

I opened the windowsill and this is what I found. It became darker once I sprayed it with a water/bleach mix. I scrubbed all 4 windows, ledges, hinges, etc like crazy with a toothbrush and rinsed with clear water. I’ll let dry fully today and repoly everything. I’m hoping this helps her sniffles. I didn’t tell her what I did so as to assess her allergies w/o her knowing. But already this morning she sounded better, less blowing of the nose and watery eyes.  I’ll also wash her drapes as well to rinse away any lose spores, but I pray that we found the source. I know I needed to get this done before winter so I could work inside and outside the window and allow it to open and air dry before doing the polyurethane. Now to check Felicity’s today. I may just end up putting plastic on their windows this winter to avoid the humidity all together!

Glad we caught it now, but totally feel like a MomFail that I didn't think of this before now!