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By Brian Dillon
Home & Travel Reporter
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A Texas mom has told Newsweek how toxic mold was "killing" her and family for years, as they grappled with numerous health problems.
Lauren Lowenstein, 35, and her husband, Logan, along with their two young sons, were forced to flee the home they owned in Houston after experiencing frightening health issues such as hair loss, insomnia, leg cramps, migraines, heart palpitations, and "so many more."
"My health was so bad off we were on the path to a diagnosis of MS because all my symptoms aligned," Lowenstein said. "We performed an ERMI (Environmental Relative Moldiness Index) dust collection test on our home.
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"This provided us with useful information that there were elevated numbers of concerning molds which we then furthered our investigation with inspections. The inspections confirmed we had colonies of toxic molds under our master shower, and within walls due to HVAC [heating, ventilation, and air conditioning] condensation dripping between the walls and duct chases. Almost nothing was visible aside from very small moldy spots in the shower grout."
In a video posted by Lowenstein to Instagram, which has been viewed over 10 million times, she shares photos of herself and her children looking unwell, along with photos of areas where mold was discovered in their single family four-bedroom home.
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The mom shared the video with the text overlay, "When you *thought* your home was your sanctuary and safest place for your family... But MOLD was killing you slowly for 5 years."
Lowenstein and her family had only been in the house a few months when symptoms started to develop over five years ago, but "didn't know at the time it was all related to mold exposure." She only thought to do a test when she came across a social media post about CIRS (Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome), realizing that her children's symptoms aligned.
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When the family received the ERMI results, they were on vacation and upon returning, they felt so unwell that they had to leave after one night at home. "We lost almost all of our belongings aside from select nonporous items that could be cleaned," Lowenstein told Newsweek.
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But disaster struck again, as she explained: "We found a rental that was brand-new, but within five weeks I became even worse. We discovered the structure of the home was riddled with mold and we had to start all over again."
Lowenstein explained that she asked maintenance to remove the baseboard in their initial rental home, and that they then discovered mold. "The backyard flooded and water seeped under the siding of the house from the exterior," she said.
"We finally found a rental home that was safe enough for our healing journey to begin and that is where we have been for the last four months. We have been out of the home for six months total."
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, exposure to toxic mold can result in health problems such as cognitive impairment, emotional disturbance, respiratory complaints, and muscle aches.
Meanwhile, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health says that around 47 percent of residential buildings in the U.S. have visible mold or mold odor.
To remediate their home, the family had to spend $135,000, the mom explained. "As demo began we started uncovering more area's of mold and it just kept going. The humidity levels of our home were too high and promoted mold growth in almost every room behind the walls.
"We had to correct the humidity issue, replace all HVAC and duct work, add a dehumidifier and UV light system to the HVAC, correct ventilation and insulation issues."
The family's health issues started with things like headaches, fatigue, IBS symptoms, and body hives, but began to progress to things like rage and behavioral changes, brain fog, skin issues, and "absolute overwhelm."
"I also struggled significantly with depression," Lowenstein said. "I started having difficulty breathing and always feeling shortness of breath. Severe allergies that I never had before, which led to a sinus surgery."
The mom of two told Newsweek that works to make their family home in Houston livable again are costing around $150,000 and they are able to claim around $3,000 from insurance.
"We should be moving back within the next couple of months and although we are anxious, we are also eager to return home," she said.
Social media users took to the comments of Lowenstein's video to share their thoughts. One person with the username @divinelyhannah shared: "Mold exposure is so serious, I was suffering from it for who knows how long in my old apartment. I had lost 20 pounds in under a month, and my throat began to start bleeding when I swallowed."
Meanwhile, @finding_hilary_ commented: "No one believes me when I tell them I am chronically ill because of mold in my house."
@sarahhlancaster said: "I think this might be happening to me in my apartment bit I have no place to live other currently, what do I do?"
Has your home ever turned into a nightmare? Whether it's a burst pipe, unexpected renovations gone wrong, or any other house disaster, we want to hear your story. Let us know via life@newsweek.com, and your experience could be featured on Newsweek.
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