Now the Move: Choosing Health Over Everything

• Part 2

Read Part 1: The Hidden Mold That Was Making Me Sick.

When I moved to Florida in 2020, I decided to start fresh with all new furniture. My family had just sold our family business. I worked with an interior designer at Walter E. Smithe, who helped me choose the furniture, rugs, and decor for the house.

When Carson and I moved into my son’s condo, I had to go back to the moldy house to pack for our move to Chicago. I could only pack for about 20 to 30 minutes before my throat started to hurt. I had been living in the condo, which was clean, so going back into the moldy house made me feel sick again. Deep down, I knew my home was making me sick. It felt like a risk I wasn’t willing to take.

The ERMI mold test showed a score of 18 on the second floor. Not good.

I used a mold candle (Remedy) when I was packing my things. It worked… kind of.  It uses tea tree oil.

In June 2023, I sold my house. By the way, I informed the buyer by filling out the seller’s disclosure paperwork about the mold issue under the kitchen sink, but my builder had already repaired it. The buyer didn’t question it.

Living in Florida taught me that mold is everywhere in that state. We eventually moved back to Chicago to start over. I sold almost everything.

My mom hired an estate sale company.  I ended up receiving about $25,000 to $30,000 for the furniture, rugs, and decor. Far less that I spent 3 years ago.

And including my eight air purifiers, my vacuum, TVs, and books! I can’t read because of my stroke, but letting them go was still hard. Even my kids’ stuffed animals. That was one of the hardest parts!

My 4-year-old son didn’t know what I did with his old stuffed animals. I told him we’re moving, so we don’t have everything right now. I bought him new ones in time. This is Carson’s bed now.

My daughter had a blue teddy bear she really wanted to keep. So I took out all the old stuffing, washed it in the mold detergent and then sewed in new stuffing to make it clean again. The rest of the stuffed animals I threw out. My daughter is so mad at me but she got new stuffed animals!

I used a mold detergent called Remedy, which used to be called EC3. It’s expensive though. And it’s tiny—just 32 ounces!

Borax and baking soda can also help. I use 1 cup of baking soda for moldy clothes. For regular laundry (not moldy clothes), I add about 1/4 cup of borax. For moldy clothes, Borax didn’t work very well for me, but it still helped a little.

 

Letting go of everything was heartbreaking, but it felt necessary.

Mikhaila Peterson shares her experiences with mold and natural health on YouTube and her podcast. She has talked about dealing with mold in multiple homes, including Nashville and Miami, and choosing to leave belongings from Miami behind to start fresh in a clean environment. Now she lives in Arizona.

Packing for the Move

My mom started packing our things. I asked her to pack clothing, glass, and metal items, and to throw away or donate the rest. I specifically asked her not to pack books or other porous items.

But she didn’t listen. 😩

I agree with being careful about porous items. But when it comes to non-porous items, I see it differently. And wood, in my experience, always holds onto mold. Read on!

I packed two PODS—way too much! I packed everything from my garage, and I also packed my outdoor furniture since it had been outside.

I also packed items from my son’s condo, including the kitchen table, desk, bedroom furniture, and dresser. After I left, he went back to the moldy house and brought over TVs, desks, tables, and more. But I kept thinking about how some people are not affected by mold. I remember reading that about 25% of people don’t react to it the same way. But I do!

Moving In

By the way, James and I got divorced. I bought a townhouse while I’m waiting for my new house to be finished, and James bought a new four-bedroom house. He thought the kids and I should live in the four-bedroom house while he stayed in my townhouse, so I agreed. But honestly… I love my townhouse! 😩

When I unpacked the boxes, I found a lot of things that weren’t supposed to be there. Stuffed animals, a Christmas tree, Christmas decorations, books, picture frames, half-open supplements, papers, and things like that. My Christmas tree and decorations was still in his basement! I bought a new Christmas tree and decorations.

I couldn’t go through it without getting sick, so I put it in the garage. I also put half of the boxes in the basement. I told my ex-husband to get rid of it. He didn’t. 😩

Can the sun kill mold? ☀️

The sun can help dry things out, and UV rays may kill some mold on the surface, but sunlight does not usually remove mold completely, especially from porous items like wood, fabric, paper, or furniture. Mold spores and mycotoxins can still remain even after something sits outside in the sun.

When I lived in that house, I would sometimes get dizzy, and I sometimes experienced brain fog while washing clothes and unpacking boxes. It was overwhelming trying to figure out what was safe to keep and what wasn’t.

So I put some of my wood pieces outside, hoping it would help.

I was wrong. It did not fully remove the mold contamination.

I had a headache for three days while I was leaving my items out in the sun. My daughter also had headaches for three days, and Carson had a headache for two days. That’s not normal. I brought the wood pieces back inside at night and set them next to the kitchen table.

Then on the third day, I went to a lighting store to look for fixtures for my new house. My friend Leyla came with me. She’s an interior designer, and she’s really good!

I had a headache, and the sales guy was wearing cologne. It smelled so strong. About 15 minutes later, I had to run outside and threw up. 🤢 When I got home, I grabbed the wood pieces and threw them out. No more frequent headaches!

Researching Mold Illness 

I don’t take chances when it comes to my family or my life, even if my kids don’t always understand why.

Every single day, I pray, “Thank you for not taking my life.” Because I know that if something had happened to me in 2021, my kids would have had to go live with their dad😳 … and that’s not something I wanted.

That’s why I took mold seriously. I wasn’t willing to risk another stroke. My life and my health are too important to take chances with.

I researched it daily for nearly two years. I read books, Facebook groups, and real stories from other moms. The most valuable information didn’t come from experts. It came from moms who had lived through it.

If you’ve never dealt with mold, you might think I sound crazy and that’s ok.

Mold illness is something people don’t truly understand unless they’ve experienced it.

In those Facebook mold support groups, I finally felt understood. The moms were walking through the same thing.

Clothes

I washed everything! Every single item for all five of us (me and my four kids). It was, by far, the hardest part of getting out of the mold! 😩

Winter coats, hats, gloves, bedding, sheets, towels, dresses, socks… everything!

After washing, I still had to fold it all, and my kids didn’t help me! 😩

Do not wash clothes before you are out of the mold environment. Before we moved, my mom used Borax (about ½ cup) with regular detergent. Borax is cheap you can get it at Walmart. Baking soda works too. A friend used 1 cup of baking soda for years. Some mold detergents are very expensive.

Hot or warm water is best, but sometimes I used cold. I would soak the clothes for about an hour, then wash them sometimes twice. The more you wash, the cleaner they get.

Luckily, my kids are growing, so sometimes we just replaced items with new clothes.

I washed everything straight from the garage, one bag at a time. I didn’t want anything moldy coming into the house. No boxes or bags inside. I needed to know exactly what we were keeping. A lot of porous items had to go.

Some people say clothes aren’t worth saving (very few) but I kept most of mine because I liked them! 😀

If it couldn’t be properly cleaned, I said goodbye to it! 👋🏻

Shoes

I threw some away, and replaced most of them with new ones.

Toys 

 I threw away lots of toys. 😩 There were some toys I kept because their dad wanted to keep them, but they are not coming into the new house. I kept those toys at their dad’s house instead.

Suitcases

I donated them to Goodwill and bought new ones. Duffel bags went straight into the washer.

Picture frames

No, those went in the garbage.

Old photos (2000–2015)

I kept them, but stored them in my ex-husband’s basement not in my house. My kids can have them when they’re older. Maybe, if they’re not allergic

My ex-husband washed some of his clothes with Borax (not recommended 🙄), but not everything. Some suits, jackets, and hats were never washed at all.

Car

We had a Toyota Sienna and brought it back to Chicago. After about six months, once everything was sorted, I bought a new minivan. I didn’t really need a new car—it was only a few years old but I didn’t feel comfortable keeping it. I also bought a new car seat for my son.

Moving into my new house

I stayed at my ex-husband’s house for 13 months.

The boxes with mold-contaminated items were not allowed in my new home. I asked him to call a garbage company and get a dumpster. I would have paid for it. I couldn’t call because of my stroke.

I told him to throw everything away. I didn’t even want to go through it.

Mold is like a fire, you don’t mess with it!

But he never made the call. About two years after we moved, he finally started putting some of the boxes into his garbage can.

When it comes to mold exposure, getting out of the mold is a good first step. But if you take anything from the moldy house with you, be careful!

Spiritual attacks

Mold is actually mentioned in the Bible. In Leviticus 14, it talks about what to do when mold is found in a house.

If mold was found, a priest would come and inspect it. The priest, not a medical doctor or a carpenter. Interesting. 🤔 If it spread, they would remove the affected stones and scrape the walls. If the mold kept coming back, they were instructed to tear the house down completely and remove the materials from the area.

There can feel like there’s an evil presence associated with mold.

A Facebook user posted this:

“I often prayed and commanded the demons to leave in Jesus’ name. I don’t know if they were real or if the mold toxins were affecting my mind and making me think they were there. If you’re dealing with mold exposure, get away from the mold if you can.”

Kidney Stones? 

A couple of weeks before the move, I had severe back pain. I thought it was kidney stones.

Around 2 p.m., I called my ex-husband in tears and asked him to take me to the hospital. I couldn’t drive because I was so much pain. He did, but he had to leave to pick up the kids from school.

So I sat there alone in the waiting room, crying my eyes out. I waited about an hour and a half by myself.

When he came back, I asked the hospital staff if I could lie down in a bed. They told me no. I had to wait until my name was called. 😩

They finally called my name. I was so relieved. I thought it was kidney stones. It wasn’t. It was a cyst on my left ovary. It had ruptured, but I didn’t know that until after the surgery.

The pain was unbearable. I’ve had five home births, and this was worse than all of them.

They gave me morphine, but it didn’t help. I had to wait another 30 to 60 minutes, I don’t even remember how long, before they tried something else. The next medication finally worked. By then, I think the cyst had already ruptured, because the pain suddenly stopped.

I followed up with my doctor, and he scheduled surgery for April 15 just two days after my move. 😩

Now, moving into my new house!

 

April 13, 2024

Move day. Two days later, I had surgery so I was trying to get everything moved in before that.

I had to get all new furniture. Some of it had already been delivered. But the clothes, food, and everything I had bought over the past year, I brought into my new house.

My builder looked me straight in the eye and said there wouldn’t be mold in this house. He said it with confidence, like it was a guarantee. Like this house would be different. Safe.

Right… 🙄 Florida may be mold heaven, but Illinois has mold too. Mold is found in all 50 states.

My 17 year old son needed to take a shower on move day, but I hadn’t had time to hang the shower curtain in his bathroom yet. So I told him to use my daughter’s bathroom instead. He did.

I went downstairs to keep working on moving things in. Around 8:00 p.m., I noticed water coming out from the mudroom bench. It wasn’t a lot, but it was definitely water… and that’s never a good sign.

I called my builder, and he said he would stop by tomorrow to take a look.

At 10:30 p.m., I noticed a lot more water coming out from the bench. I called my builder’s wife because I couldn’t go to sleep with water leaking and no idea where it was coming from.

She said her husband was going to come over right away. Right now? I said okay.

By 11:00 p.m., my builder was at my house.

He said he thought the upstairs shower might be leaking. Then I went down to the basement and saw water on the floor there too.

My builder explained that all the water lines run through pipes behind the mudroom bench. My bathroom and Brooklyn’s bathroom are all connected through that same area.

So now I have to wait for someone to fix it. Of course, the plumber is on vacation in Mexico and won’t be back until Tuesday.

Great. 😩

The next day, my builder sent someone out to take a look. He told me it was Nick, a newer, young carpenter. It turns out Nick accidentally put a hole in the pipe while installing a drawer in the mudroom bench. That’s what caused the leak.

Nick was the one who built all the cabinets in my house, which honestly explains a lot! Not long after this, he was let go. Good!

So my builder had the plumber come out on Tuesday the day after my surgery. He cut into the wall and fixed the hole in the pipe.

I also had mold inspectors come out to make sure nothing had started growing from the leak. Thankfully, everything came back clear. No mold! Good!

But honestly, if I hadn’t noticed the water coming out from the mudroom bench, I would have never known Nick put a hole in the pipe.

The pipes are all hidden behind the walls. There’s no way I would have seen it. It could have been leaking for who knows how long just sitting there, quietly causing damage. Thank goodness I caught it! Praise Jesus! 

October 2024

After my basement was finished, I had someone come in to build wooden shelves in my storage room. He was really nice, but he used wood from Home Depot that looked moldy to me.

I asked him, “Is that mold?” He said no, it was just dirt.

So I ignored my gut and had my daughter paint the shelves.

I thought my storage room had a moldy smell, but I kept brushing it off because my mom said it was just dirt. But I could smell it.

I had to go into that room often every three months to change the air filter, and also to grab things like hot tub supplies, the Christmas tree, and decorations.

Almost every time I went in there, I would end up with a headache, pink eye, or trouble sleeping probably about 75% of the time.

March 2025

Six months later, I finally had the wooden shelves removed… and yes, it was mold.

I had someone come take them out, but instead of removing them through the basement door, he carried everything through the house. 😩 Why?! It should have gone straight out of the basement.

That was on Tuesday.

By Wednesday night, Carson was sick. I can’t help but think it was from the mold being carried through the house just the day before.

He had a sore throat and a fever, so I took him to the doctor since we were leaving for Florida on Saturday for spring break. She checked him—no strep. Just a virus. She said he should feel better the next day.

Saturday morning, he did seem better. Meanwhile, James left for California that week.

But by Sunday morning, Carson felt worse again. 😩

Then by Wednesday, I got sick too with a fever and a sore throat. I never get sick.

On Thursday, I had to drive an hour to the airport. Carson was feeling better, but once we got on the plane, he started crying. My daughter and her friend were not sitting right next to us. She was a couple of rows ahead.

I tried to help by having him chew gum and drink water, but he didn’t want the gum. He cried the entire flight home, about two and a half hours. 😩 Then he kept crying in the car for another hour.

I tried to give him children’s Advil that I had in my suitcase, but he spit it out. 🙄

I took him to the ER on the way home. My mom met me there. It turned out he had double ear infections. The nurse said he needed Advil, and I told her I had already tried.

So my mom, the nurse, and I all held him. It took two tries, but she finally got him to take it.

Never again will I take Carson on a plane by myself, and never again will I be the only one driving. Next time, my mom or a babysitter is coming with us!

Still to this day, I don’t go into that storage room. About 75% of the time, I end up with insomnia or a headache. I haven’t had pink eye since then, thankfully 🤞🏻, but the headaches and insomnia still happen.

I honestly don’t know what to do about that storage room. Has anyone else dealt with this?

Mold Illness 

Mold illness can show up differently in each person. Symptoms can include a sore throat, cough, fever, headache, vomiting, dizziness, earaches, nosebleeds, pink eye, insomnia, and more.

(By the way, I would get nosebleeds every now and then when I was exposed to mold. When I got back from the library with the moldy books, I had a slight nosebleed.)

For me, the most common symptoms are headaches, a sore throat, insomnia, and pink eye. For Carson, it’s usually headaches, a cough, a fever, and a sore throat. My ex-husband gets headaches and dizziness.

From what I understand, when mold is in the air, breathing it in can irritate the throat and airways, which can explain symptoms like a sore throat or coughing. It can also irritate the eyes, leading to redness or pink eye. Everyone’s body reacts differently, and sometimes that includes things like headaches, dizziness, or even a fever as the body responds.

It’s clear that we each react in our own way, but there’s definitely a pattern depending on what we’re exposed to.

Now Carson gets headaches when he’s at his dad’s house, which I believe has mold. It happens about once every week or two.

Carson also eats off his usual diet when he at Dad’s house. At my house, he is gluten free and dairy free. So I think both the diet changes and possible mold exposure may be contributing to his headaches.

His dad has been trying to cook for him more, which I do appreciate.

His dad says there is no mold in his house, but I don’t agree. He gets a lot of headaches and is often dizzy. I can’t even go in there without getting sick. I notice the smell right away.

He also has a lot of items from the old moldy house. I have told him that. And he is not washing the clothes the way I asked, using the proper cleaner, not just Borax.

He had someone come out to clean the vents in the house, and the guy said there was mold in them. He even had pictures. I saw the pictures, and it looked like mold to me.

He charged $1,800 to clean it. My ex husband says it was a scam, but I don’t agree. It was mold.

I did go into his house when we were dating, but only a few times because I felt sick every time I was there. (We are no longer dating. The same issues came up again.)

My ex husband had a family gathering at his house, so I went.

By Wednesday morning, I was throwing up after small group the night before. We had ridden in his car, and I had also been in his house over the weekend.

For me, mold exposure can affect me right away or sometimes 3 to 5 days later.

I threw up Tuesday night while I was sitting in small group. I ran to the bathroom and just made it. I got sick. My ex-husband had driven us there.

So I started researching. Why do I keep throwing up?

At first, I thought maybe it was a duodenal ulcer. I’ve been taking aspirin every day for the last four years, so that seemed possible. I decided to stop taking it. The last time I took aspirin was September 10, 2025.

Then I looked at my diet. I cut out pork… yes, even bacon. That was hard. But I had read that pork can carry parasites, so I thought maybe that was the cause.

But then it happened again. Even after stopping aspirin. Even after cutting out pork.

So now I’m left wondering… why do I keep throwing up?

It’s frustrating when you try to do all the “right” things, and the symptoms don’t go away. Clearly, it’s not the aspirin. It’s not the pork. So something else is going on, and I need to keep digging.

I went to a holistic doctor. She took my blood, and everything looked good to her. She said it didn’t look like an ulcer, especially since I don’t have other symptoms. But I’m still throwing up, and she said she’s not sure why.

I asked her about mold, and she said yes. Mold exposure, especially the kind I had in Florida, could be causing my symptoms.

I threw up on August 16, September 9, and September 24. Three times in six weeks. I hate throwing up. 😩

So I stopped riding in my ex-husband’s car. I told him maybe his car was making me sick, but he said no. He insists his house does not have mold.

It’s the same car he had in Florida. He keeps it parked in the garage, and the boxes that were supposed to be thrown out are still in there. I even offered to buy him another car. I said I would pay for it. He said no. He likes his car. 🙄

It’s been 8 months now. I haven’t been in my ex-husband’s car, and I haven’t been in his house. I stopped throwing up.

Well… almost.

I did throw up on March 8. The day before, I let my ex-husband and my son use my HBOT (hyperbaric oxygen chamber). The next day, I went in it myself. I had a headache, and when I got out, I threw up.

So… interesting. I told him he can’t use my HBOT again.

I’m very sensitive to mold!

February 2026

I had an appointment with Life Line Screening. I won’t go there again! I had already paid for it, so I went anyway. They were checking the blood flow in my neck since I have a stent.

They were set up in a golf clubhouse. As soon as I walked in, I smelled mold. A lot of mold! But since I had already paid, I thought I could handle it.

I was wrong.

I figured I would be in and out. But an hour and a half later, they finally called my name. An hour and a half with mold. 😩

The next day, I was leaving for the Bahamas with my sister.

But I couldn’t sleep. I had terrible insomnia. I think I slept maybe two hours total.

I couldn’t sleep on the airplane. I couldn’t sleep when I went to bed that night either. I finally fell asleep around 2 a.m., and after that, I slept well.

It really made me wonder if the mold exposure triggered it. It felt like my body just couldn’t relax enough to sleep.

March 2026

I love traveling! 😀 The next day, I left for a cruise with my daughter and my mom.

It was warm outside that day, and I needed to drain the hot tub. The last time I drained it was in November, and it was gross. So I knew it had to be done.

So I went into the storage room to get the hot tub cleaner and the drain pump.

So I drained the hot tub.

That night, I couldn’t sleep. 😩 I think I slept maybe one hour. I couldn’t sleep on the airplane either. When I got to the hotel, I still couldn’t sleep and didn’t fall asleep until around 2 a.m.

After that, the rest of the cruise, I slept well.

But mold… 😩 every time.

And that’s the story of my moldy house. 😀

It wasn’t easy. It was overwhelming, exhausting, and at times heartbreaking. I listened to my body and trusted what I was feeling, even when other people didn’t understand. 

Moving, healing, and starting over after my stroke was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. But by God’s grace, I made it through, even while struggling with mold exposure.

Now I understand that “just move” is not always realistic or even possible for everyone. Mold illness can affect your health, finances, emotions, and your ability to function day to day. I don’t have all the answers. But I do know this: pray.

I constantly prayed everyday that the mold would be removed from my house. I also prayed that if there was any evil presence there, it would leave in the name of Jesus Christ.

Ask God for wisdom, protection, strength, and a clear path forward. And if possible, get away from the mold exposure.

James 1:5 says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally.”

Psalms 55:22 says, “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you.”

And if you don’t know God, ask Him into your life today.

“Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God.

I believe You died for my sins and rose again. I repent of my sins and surrender my life to You. Please forgive me, wash me clean, and make me new. Come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. Guide me through the Bible and help me follow You each day through prayer. Thank you for saving me.

In Jesus’ name, amen.”

John 14:6 – “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Acts 3:19 – “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out.“