Lungs and eyes pain - how to test for air quality (Corona negative)

4 years ago

I moved to my new house (built in 1959, Gainesville, Florida) two years ago. Since I am working home in my room (40 days) I feel something wrong in my lungs, especially when I breathe deeply. And my eyes are sore in the morning, it gets slightly better during the day. The eye pain actually started probably 1 year ago and is always there in the morning, except for when I do not sleep in my house, I have no eye problem. I do not think it is a polen allergy, since my eyes have this problem since 1 year. The three big culprits are (I ruled out the forth):

1) Pool. My room faces the pool (standard Chlorine pool), with my bed edge 12 feet away from the pool. So I wonder if it is the pool that gives me the problem, but I asked around people say its unlikely. Is there a way to test my room for Chloramines? The feeling I have in the morning in my eyes is similar to what I feel when I dive in any pool. But I didn't jump in my pool for 7 months (since October)!

2) The new furniture I bought, so I am planning to test my room quality for VOCs, formaldehyde, Legionella etc.

3) The carpet? I vacuum regularly though. Planning to get tiles.

4) Radon. Very unlikely the cause. House tested positive for radon. I did the radon remediation (a fan blows air out of the crawling space), so it should be fine, and radon should not give this symptoms.

I tested negative to Covid19. I am planning:

a) To sleep in the guest room opposite side of the house for a few days
b) To sleep at a friend house for a few days

to see if symptoms stay or go. Any suggestions for testing air quality? Any similar experience?

Thank you!
Best

Alberto

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Comments (6)

PRO
Austin Air Companie
4 years ago
What type of HVAC system do you have?
Are their any IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) type products tied to it like an air cleaner? Any UV lights used in the home?

Are pool cleaning products stored anywhere on the property? I assume the pool is maintained professionally... what products are used to clean the pool with. Many times these are really caustic / corrosive type products so I think it's best to eliminate the possibility it could be related to the pool.

Has there been any construction or changes to the function of this property? (like non living spaces like a garage / sun room or porch converted into a living space?

Does it help any to sleep in a different room?
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mle0782
4 years ago
Have any areas in the house been rehabbed, specifically drywalled sometime between 2001-2009? The symptoms you describe are some of the ones that have been reported in houses that had Chinese drywall installed during that period.
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venexiano
Original Author
4 years ago
Thank you mle0782, I never heard of them before. I know my bedroom was not built in 1959 but more recently. Is there a way to find when online? I emailed Alachua County asking for the permits. Chinese drywall problems are for constrcuction in the 2001-2009 timeframe, so if my room was built outside that range I should be fine.

As for the AC: I have a fancy brand new Trane 2-stage. No UV light And it is off in the winter since house stays in the 65-70 degrees, but I still had itchy eyes all winter (no chest pain yet). Pool is maintained by a company, and no chlorine or else is stored here. I forgot to say that 7 months ago I woke up at 3 am with a crazy rash in all my body, run to the hospital, got a shot and I was fine within 24 hours. Never happened in my life. I thought it was unrelated, and could be, I might have eaten something bad. It never happened again.

I will try to sleep in another room this week and I update you. Any suggestion is welcome in the mean while.
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lyfia
3 years ago
Could you have mold in the house? Could be allergies to the mold spores. Any signs of leaks in any bathrooms or from the roof. Could be it is going into a wall so you don't see it.
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irma_stpete_10a
3 years ago
Your eyes... just itchy or actually painful? I recently realized my eyes were tearing and itchy at bedtime because I was adding a product to my face after my pre-bedtime shower. Eyelids can be very sensitive.
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irma_stpete_10a
2 years ago
venexiano, Did you solve this problem from last year?

Per Regina Tikhonova's "Chloramines indeed cause such a reaction, but only during swimming or immediately after it."

Incidental info, but... I think the timeline may vary:

I do not have particularly sensitive skin, and rarely am in a pool or hot tub. I have 2x had a rash develop on my inner thighs several days after being in a pool or hot tub when I followed by walking every 2nd day on a treadmill; my skin was rubbing together.
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