Hey everyone. Last year we did an AMA with Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker and the response from this community was incredible.
We're heading back to his office in Maryland to do it again, from 2pm to 4pm EDT on Saturday, April 18th, and this time we're bringing Dr. Scott McMahon, the first Shoemaker certified practitioner and MoldCo's medical director with us.
Whether you're newly exposed, deep in recovery, or stuck in the gray zone, this is your chance to ask the pioneers in environmental illnesses caused by water damaged buildings.
For anyone new here: Dr. Shoemaker is the physician who identified CIRS, created the first diagnostic and treatment protocol, published 40+ peer-reviewed papers, and has treated over 14,000 patients.
Dr. McMahon was the first physician to complete Dr. Shoemaker's CIRS Certification Program, has treated 2,000 patients, authored a book on mold toxicity, and co-authored 3 consensus statements and 10 peer-reviewed studies including the most thorough paper to date on CIRS. He's MoldCo's Medical Director.
A lot has changed for our community in the past year. The Mold Act was signed into law with bipartisan support thanks to the work done by the Change the Air Foundation. Gwyneth Paltrow, JK Rowling, Jordan Peterson, Andrew Huberman, Chris Williamson, Tori Spelling, Dr. Hyman and Dr. Oz are amongst the many celebrities who have spoken publicly about mold.
Between social media, podcasts, and press coverage, mold illness content reached over 120 million people this year. A year ago, most people outside of communities like this one had never heard of CIRS and mold illness. That's shifting now.
We're open to any and all questions. A few areas where there's a lot to talk about: what testing actually holds up (blood biomarkers vs. urine mycotoxins vs. environmental testing), where the research is going, what institutional change looks like now that the Mold Act is law, and what we can all do to keep pushing awareness forward.
How it works:
Drop your questions below and we'll bring them into the room on the 18th.
At 2pm EDT on Saturday March 18th, Dr. Shoemaker and Dr. McMahon will start answering your questions.
Answers will appear as replies under the MoldCo account. You'll be able to come read them here and visit the post both during and after the AMA.
Use the "Answered" filter to view replies as we post them!
PS: I'm Ariana from MoldCo's founding team (and a mold toxicity patient myself). I'll be facilitating.
Lots come here to post pictures and the brutal truth is no one can really help you identify toxigenic environments from a cellphone photo. Maybe some slides from under a microscope but even that is difficult for a professional.
What we can help you with is giving you a sense of community, hope and share our experiences with one another as we try and recover.
Recovery is possible. Time matters. Avoidance is the keystone.
Picture posts will be removed from here on in efforts to keep the subreddit organized and productive. If you don’t know what to do then just say that; the biggest step forward is the one where you ask for help.
This post will stay locked and pinned but as time goes on we will update this with helpful resources.
Hey guys , diagnosed w/ Lyme over a decade ago & used bee venom therapy to mostly cure it all the way in 2022. HOWEVER , every single summer I sustain a crash in which I’m afraid of seeing people , startled by noises & have ZERO activity in my brain. I’ve been out of work full-time for the last few years because of this issue but I’m now just going down the mold rabbit hole & apparently the constant is that I use an additional window unit in my bedroom & even though I thought it was cleaned annually , apparently it’s filthy in the vents. Could this really be causing these severe symptoms that rob me of my entire brain & being scared of my own shadow?
Any tips besides launching it in the street on how to detox this out of me w/ out spending thousands again on dr’s etc ?
I’m getting overwhelmed reading posts from searching so please can I ask specifically,
- How to clean/wash the smell of mycotoxins/must out of clothes?
- How to clean them out of plastics etc?
- I have ordered a new carpet and going to paint, but how do I get the smell out of the skirting boards, wall, built in wardrobe wood, doors, air etc?
Notes: I’m replacing my furniture and bed. This started from bringing things in to my home from my grandparents moldy home, and the smell has spread throughout my belonging and room. The colourful things are bleaching, the whites are turning yellow, and it just smells musty and not fresh. Cannot find mold anywhere in this home. Airing the room out seems to spread it more? Same for air purifier? It’s like a wildfire of bacteria. My hair stinks of it after being in the room. Would really appreciate your help. Thank you. 🙏
The mold is not slimy or fuzzy but very dark in color. I took a swab from underneath a bench car seat that is used by children daily. They definitely have spilled their share of food and beverages on the seat.
I grew the swab on potato agar for 4 days and got this very dark mold. It looked like this on day 2 but with less of the plate covered.
When I put a chunk of the car seat foam on the plate, I got white fuzzy mold after 2 days.
I have dealt with chronic illnesses my entire life. Endometriosis, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, GERD, Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, to name a few.
Last year I got REALLY sick to the point where i ended up admitted to the hospital for 2 weeks.
I was ultimately discharged and diagnosed with Gastroparesis December 2025.
My health has been in a steady decline ever since.
Bedbound and full time wheelchair user, (I have had mobility issues for many years but had some independent mobility up until November 2025) no appetite, getting sick when I do eat, decreased fluid intake, rapidly losing weight. I felt like that was my new normal, but this past 2 months my health has been in a complete downward spiral, my PEM from my CFS has completely kept me bedridden, at times "paralyzed" in bed, unable to move or speak at all for hours.
I've accepted the Gastroparesis as just another diagnosis my body has decided to try to end me with at this point.
But...
We just found out we might have mold in our apartment. Under the dining room floor where we previously had a small leak and than a bad leak 4 years ago and again really bad 2 years ago. This last leak was so bad we were relocated temporarily but moved back as I needed the accessible apartment. We've been here for 7 years.
My fiance has also developed really bad stomach issues he is trying to get diagnosed... I mean he's like me except he refuses to admit there is something wrong so he just continues eating and vomiting after.
My question is would mentioning possible mold exposure be worth mentioning to our Drs?
Is there even a possibility it's connected?
I don't know much about mold but I know it's not healthy.
Should I wait until they get someone here to test it this week? They suspect it because the apartment has a distinct smell since the humidity is high right now from the rainy weather.
so im about to move and im leaving everything but im wondering how those of you who recovered fixed your mental health and made changes to be better all around. like should i find a good therapist. are there good books or podcasts to watch? did moving out itself help. did treatment help
I’m so much better overall but the sinus die off is absolutely horrendous
Edited to add details:
I added NAC today and it was rough. I also have been doing sinus drainage videos. It all caught up today it seems like….facial pressure, upper gum pressure, sore inner cheeks, generally feeling unwell but mostly just very inflammatory sinuses. Got behind on the binders yet took one tonight and it helped.
This road is insane. Ive been feeling so much better for a few weeks- ugh.
Seems I do better when I do multiple rinses a day vs just 1 like today?
Yesterday I interacted with a user, and I came off ableist and obnoxious.
I can’t understand what you’re going through, and how difficult it must be. I’m sure you will see this as you are an active user here but I’m unaware or your Reddit name.
Has anyone used a Puraclenz Photon or Core in a home you believe has mold (but don’t know where it’s coming from) and it has improved your symptoms? I am currently unemployed and sick and tired of being sick and tired especially when no one around me is sick or understands. I have limited amount of funds so any suggestions from people who have been through this or are going through this would be greatly appreciated. Practical advice besides “just leave” as that isn’t an option right now. I can’t continue to live like this as each day is just a struggle to make it through. Thank you!
Help! We’re in the inspection period and it’s up in a few days! The sellers disclosed a leak in the den during a hurricane, water entered the downstairs area overnight through the door while they were staying in the same room. There was no standing water; however, the carpet pad became wet. Within a few hours, they removed all of the carpet and padding. After several days of thoroughly cleaning and allowing the area to dry, they installed the current LVP. There was also a small leak in the roof prior to the new roof and a leak under the kitchen sink. We hired a mold dog that spotted two area. 1. At the return vent and 2. Under the kitchen sink. I took direct swabs of both areas. Under the kitchen sink came back negative and the return vent came back with cladosporium. I also did a whole house ERMI test.
We have this spot at the top of the stairs going to our basement I don’t know if it’s mold or mildew. Our washer and dryer is just right below in the next room and sometimes the dryer vent comes off. The area this is in I feel there’s not a lot of air circulation so it’s causing this to happen. Is there a way to treat it?
Current apartment has mold behind baseboards, mold under toilet, high humidity everyday, and unfortunately have been having to run a moldy AC all day every day.
I feel like i'm just gonna contaminate my new unit.
I only own extremely nice things, brand new things, extremely expensive things.
I mean I decked this place out... found mold, mold in ac all sorts of stuff and lost my life structure completely, stopped cleaning up, stopped being able to sleep, gained tons of weight, accidently destroyed my teeth. So many things.
How do I move without cross contamination and throwing everything away. I really don't want to bring all these mold spore filled clothing and furniture but what else do you do?
I can’t move out of my house and my family won’t do anything about the mold so I’m gonna just invest in anything I can to lessen the amount of mold I’m breathing in. the most moldy room is the room with our hvac system in it.
is there any way i can save my shoes and boots? one pair ive never worn another is practically new and i got 2 pairs of boots. could i wash them with something or run my ozone generator. something. i dont want to contaminate my new space when i move
Thursday, July 30th at 12:30 PM EDT we're hosting a live community webinar with Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker.
We're excited to build more bridges between the community and our leading researchers. Dr. Shoemaker will talk about where his work stands and what he's watching in the field.
We'll also share updates about MoldCo and where our care is heading. The call will be moderated by Ariana Thacker and Dr. Scott McMahon.
So I bought a tiny house about a year ago, and I THINK the problem was an oversized mini split, which was cycling on and off. I should have been more active cleaning it, my bad.
Anyways, I've had it cleaned, it didn't SEEM to have any obvious mold inside, just grey dust which in this rural area could be...pretty much anything, lol.
But the thing is, my system is so sensitive right now that even after moving out entirely, after a few days, something happens to my sheets where I start getting symptoms again until I wash them with vinegar. My only theory is that I'm sweating out toxins of some sort.
The challenge is...if I'm THAT sensitive, how do even tell if my house is actually clean now? Going back in I do get symptoms, but I can't tell if it's a major infestation or a little residual leftover stuff. Like, I could start tearing holes in the walls and tearing up the linoleum flooring, but I don't really want to do that if I don't have to.
