Thursday, May 19, 2011

Black Mold

DO I HAVE TO MOVE WHEN STANLEY STEEMER COMES?
Liam went off to day care and I waited for Stanley Steemerhttp://www.stanleysteemer.com/Home.aspx
Love the Steemer spelling. Like the Beatles it is beginning to look correct.

Liam is terrified of vacuum-like sounds. They are right up there with fireworks and thunder. I thought a spa day was a good way of removing him from his fear zone. He would be out of the way of the Steemer guys. Liam was going to be cleaned also. They call it a "full groom."  Wash, nails cut, teeth brushed.  Liam would be "steemed" and so would our rugs, couches, chairs.
I had also added in tile and grout cleaning of the upstairs bathroom. Why? I was convinced we had black mold.
MY BLACK MOLD
Here is a YouTube explanation of black mold.


I have tried every cleaner to remove the black dots and they were only growing.  My fear of black mold is deep and might be worse than Liam's fear of vacuums, thunder and fireworks. The descriptions of its effects are dire. Terrible respiratory problems ending in Death. Read up on it if you like.  Readers, you do not want black mold near you.
.http://blackmoldexpert.com/
When the Steemer Captain checked the bathtub where I believed the mold to be growing, he informed me that there was no mold.  That what I was seeing were cracks in the caulking.  They were black holes not black mold.
NOT MOLD, HOLES
How could I have made that mistake? A hole, not a mold.   I realized that my multi-tasking self always attempts to clean this mold while showering,  And I do not have my contact lenses in when doing this. The holes looked like black dots to me. And by scrubbing them with my bristle brush, I have been making them bigger.  I was enlarging my own black holes, growing my black mold!
Whew!!! No mold. Mr. Steemer explained that I must caulk those holes.  Home Depot.  Caulk, to caulk, have caulked, will caulk, caulk gun. No mold.  Joy!

I picked up a freshly scrubbed and manicured Liam  Gleaming teeth. Buffed nails. Fluffy fur.
The house smelled of cleaner. Liam smelled like oatmeal. That is the shampoo they use.  And no black mold.
LIAM STEEM CLEANED

Woof, Woof