Alexx Stuart from Low Tox Life shares her experiences of toxic mould exposure and offers some advice on how best to keep your home healthy and mould free.

Interview with Alexx Stuart

As an educator and change agent, Alexx Stuart founded Low Tox Life in 2010 as a response to the lack of transparency in our food systems, personal care goods and cleaning products. The impact to our health and wellbeing can be significant and so Alexx created the Low Tox movement to help educate people on how to make better choices for our health and our planet.

“It is simply about presenting ideas to step through life in a healthier way and leave less of an impact behind as we go – to allow the next generation to do better.”

In this chat, Alexx shares how her own experience of mould exposure led her to focus a section of Low Tox Life on the impacts of mould. She shares the best approaches to test, tackle and prevent mould in our own homes, but explores the importance of empowering those affected by mould to advocate for the medical care that they need and deserve.

Exposure to mould can impact health

In 2010-2011, Alexx noticed her own health going down hill despite having a balanced diet and exercising regularly. It began with respiratory problems, fatigue and brain fog; just an overall unwell feeling. At this stage she was unaware this was due to mould. However, after moving to another flat (which she later discovered had more severe mould problems) she began to experience autoimmune/neurological symptoms such as twitching, tremors, electric shocks, metallic taste in the mouth and involuntary muscle spasms. These were then followed by cardiac symptoms such as ectopic beats.

“When you get chipped away at and you feel sick, you feel brain foggy, you feel lethargic. It’s almost like mould becomes an abusive relationship where you don’t know how to fight for yourself, stand up for yourself and get out of that.”

At the time, Alexx was still unaware that the invisible mould in her apartment was causing these issues and despite many trips to a variety of doctors to try and solve the problem, she was left with no answers. Medical research was not looking at the effects of mould on human health and the medical professionals she was talking to were not trained in this area either. It wasn’t until she came across a veterinary journal that was exploring the health impacts of mould on animals, that it became clear that her symptoms were being caused by her environment. After working out that toxic mould exposure was most likely the cause of her illness, Alexx hired a mould specialist to test her apartment and the results indicated a very high level of mould toxicity.

On Alexx’s website she shares a list of symptoms which may indicate toxic mould exposure.

Mould thrives in damp and humid conditions

Alexx explains that in order to understand how to get rid of mould and stop it returning to our homes, we must understand how it operates and what conditions it requires to thrive:

“Mould is many things, it’s fungi and fungi’s job is to decompose things. When they have food, such as paper, drywall, moisture and dust, they get to work growing and spreading in order to decompose the materials so it can become something new somewhere else. There are different moulds that act differently when it comes to humans. I use the mushroom example. They can be extremely poisonous and toxic or extremely delicious on pizza. So it’s a very big spectrum and we don’t have to panic about all types of fungi, but there are certain species most commonly known as black moulds that are damaging to human health. Chaetomium, Stachybotrys, Aspergillus, Penicillium and Willemia are the best known ones to the current science, but there are many more that can be damaging.”

Different types of mould can have different impacts on your health

Chaetomium has a neurotoxic impact.
Aspergillus has a respiratory impact – Aspergillosis.
Cladosporium is linked to congestion, lung infections, coughing and a general feeling of being unwell.

Not all mould is visible

There may be clear signs that your house has an issue with mould, with the most obvious being visible mould growth on your walls, floors, ceilings, furniture and even clothes/shoes. Furthermore, signs of water damage allude to a damp environment which can indicate a likelihood that mould will be thriving.

Bubbling paint where there might be a pipe leak issue or a grout failure from external brickwork.

Tea staining on the ceiling where clogged gutters have gone on to cause water leakage into the home via the ceiling, which will eventually result in mould growth.

Depending on how a building has been treated, there may be no visible signs of mould or water damage. This was the case in one of the apartments that Alexx got tested. Once a leak was fixed, the building owner had recarpeted and repainted, giving it a facelift and ultimately masking the issues. Sometimes a damp and musty smell might be the only indication of mould.

A building biologist can test the mould

Alexx recommends a multi-pronged approach when dealing with a mould issue to ensure that you get a complete picture of what is going on.

Moisture mapping will identify the source of moisture

This test will help you pinpoint where moisture is coming from, to what degree, and how it is moving through a building.

Get to know which mould species are present

A PCR based ERMI test will identify what mould species you are dealing with and give you an indication of the levels that they are operating at above normal. This information will also aid your health care professional advise the best treatment.

This is an extract from an ERMI report that Alexx commissioned in 2020.

Tape lifts and vacuum collection tests can help show what is happening in specific areas of your home

Tape lifts give a surface impression of what is happening on your floor, wall or in the damp corner just behind your wardrobe. This is a good method to use alongside an ERMI test as it will give you a clearer picture of a specific area. Tape lifts will allow you to identify the species present in that area but also how much of that species is living or dormant. Dead mould can still be toxic and therefore impact your health, but live colonies will be constantly growing and spreading which makes them much more of a risk.

If you suspect your carpet to be the main area of concern, there is also a test where your mould specialist or building biologist will use a mini vacuum to agitate the content in your carpet and collect a sample. Alexx reflects on a situation she had recently where her air conditioning unit leaked. After doing all the right things and using a dehumidifier to get as much of the moisture out as fast as possible, the tape lift came back clear but this vacuum test showed that there were live colonies of Cladosporium under the carpet, thus highlighting the importance of using a multipronged approach to ensure you don’t miss anything.

Air samples could also be collected

Air samples are good to supplement the testing, but make sure you are also using the other methods too. Alexx warns that insurance companies are known for not undertaking thorough testing during a claim and will likely only take an air sample which is not enough to really understand the whole of the issue. Therefore, it is always best to go to independent and reputable professionals such as a mould technician or a building biologist when testing to make sure you are getting the most accurate readings possible.

Fixing your mould issues will always be case specific

Alexx recommends getting a well-qualified professional to help advise you on what actions you will need to take. The main reason mould problems get so bad in buildings is because they can often be quite expensive to fix, particularly if it is due to a structural issue, lack of adequate ventilation, waterproofing or even just a design fault from when the house was built. This is often why rented accommodations are badly affected by mould as landlords will quite often seek to make internal/cosmetic repairs to hide the problems and avoid paying to fix the root of the issue.

Undergoing sufficient testing will help you identify the problems and provide you with enough evidence to understand the bigger picture, which can be useful to take to your landlord. If you are the homeowner yourself, knowing the full picture of your building’s health will help you target the root problems and rectify them to create a healthy environment for you to live in. Fixes should mainly be looking at replacing damaged waterproofing in areas such as bathrooms or kitchens, structural adaptations to improve ventilation/reduce humidity and maintenance of drainage to ensure that there are no blockages which could be causing flooding.

Although these improvements may be expensive, the illnesses that mould can cause are also often expensive to treat (never mind the cost on your health) but also won’t be successful in curing your symptoms until the actual issue is dealt with. The health of your home directly affects your own health, and being able target the root of these issues will often be the solution to your health concerns aswell.

Fast reactions and humidity monitoring are the best ways to keep mould from coming back

Once you have been able to fix your mould issues, Alexx highlights that it is crucial for any future issues of water damage and prolonged humidity to be dealt with as quickly as possible. Alexx recommends having dehumidifiers on hand so that in a case of a flood you will be able to activate them to remove as much of the moisture as possible. It is important to act fast to catch the water before it causes any permanent damage, but Alexx also recommends double checking with your building biologist or mould specialist to see if your crisis management has been successful in avoiding the return of mould. Because many of the toxic mould species can be growing below the surface of your home, this may include repeating an ERMI test, tape lift or a vacuum test to ensure that you don’t have a hidden problem re-emerging.

Alexx also recommends investing in some hygrometers for your home which will monitor the humidity levels. 40% – 60% relative humidity is the sweet spot (not too dry and not too damp) so if your home is exceeding 60% humidity regularly it is a sign that the conditions are perfect for mould growth.

“Act fast, know your indoor humidity and know that no matter what you’re dealing with, there is brilliant support and great resources now, so don’t panic!”

Recovering from mould exposure can be more than just removing the mould and physically getting better

Although some great research is now being done on the health risks of living with toxic mould, the majority of GPs aren’t being trained in this area. When looking to treat your symptoms make sure you find a specialist that has undertaken further training and has an understanding of how mould affects the body.

In addition to physical illness, mould exposure can have a deep psychological impact and Alexx explains how you can best try to recover from this:

“When you’ve been really traumatised, either by abuse or by illness, your amygdala and your insula parts of your brain that are designed to keep you really safe, get really good at their job, and unfortunately, a little bit too good, where they set off all sorts of alarms to keep you safe before you’re actually even in legitimate danger. PTSD might be a way that a lot of people know that and so the same thing can happen with biotoxin illnesses. You’ve recovered, you’ve moved somewhere where you’re no longer exposed every day, or certainly not at any dangerous levels, but you might then be re-triggered by the natural levels of mould that are actually good to have present. A lot of people who become chronically unwell often don’t just need to physiologically or biochemically recover, they also need to do a lot of work in meditation, relaxation, feeling safe and building a trust that things are actually generally okay. Because you lose that trust mentally. It’s the subconscious parts of your brain no longer trusting environments.”

Alexx also has a wealth of resources on her website that share tips on recovery and highlight possible foods and environments to avoid that can re-trigger your immune responses.

Find out more

Join Alexx at Low Tox Life to find over 10 courses, her two books, the celebrated podcast with over 5 million downloads, heading into its 9th year and over 250 recipes and blogs to inspire change.

The Low Tox Life Podcast can be subscribed to on ITunes, Spotify, Stitcher and wherever else you listen to podcasts.

Join the Low Tox Life community: @lowtoxlife (Instagram) or the Low Tox Life Facebook page.

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