I was not feeling well, and it kept getting worse by the day. Not one thing that simply passed through, but a stretch where I felt miserable and could not put my finger on why. I am not a doctor, and I cannot tell you what caused it. What I can tell you is what I noticed, what I looked at and what I changed. This is my story, and general information, not medical advice.
The conversation that made me look at my home
I was telling a friend about it on the phone. She said something that made me pause: since she and her family had been in Panama, they had been feeling unwell regularly. Then she told me they had found mold in their apartment, and how they were now dealing with it.
It had not crossed my mind before that conversation. Maybe I had only been looking at myself. Maybe I should also look at my home. That was the real turning point: not that someone handed me a ready-made solution, but that I finally knew what to look at. I decided to research it myself, and I started with what I already had.
This is not about Panama
I live in Panama, in a humid, tropical climate, and it was there that I first really looked at my home. But I want to be clear: the point is not Panama. A home has its own indoor climate, wherever it stands. In humid places, moisture problems show up faster and more clearly. But the same conditions can develop in a damp basement in Germany, in an old apartment with poor ventilation or behind a closet on an outside wall anywhere in the world.
And it has nothing to do with being clean. It is not carelessness. It is simply what happens when moisture, warmth and a surface meet. Mold does not care how often you mop.
Where moisture hides in a home
The challenge is that mold often stays out of sight until it has been there a while. By the time you see dark spots in the grout, a fuzzy patch behind furniture or a discolored corner, it has usually been there for some time. Smell is not a reliable guide either. Some types have the typical musty smell, and some do not.
The most common hiding places are predictable once you know them:
- Under sinks, in the kitchen and the bathroom
- Grout and caulking around showers
- Behind large appliances such as the refrigerator and washing machine
- Closets on outside walls, where air barely moves
- Air conditioning units and their drains
What we found
It took a while, but we found it. The ceilings in our studio and the hallway were areas we had barely ventilated. We lived on the 21st floor, the windows had no screens and we had no ceiling fans. Open windows were not really an option, because we worried our cats could fall. The ceiling was covered in white fuzz.
We cleaned it, wearing masks and respirators. Then we focused on the air and the conditions in our home, because mold spores are always present in Panama. We cleared out closets and let go of what needed to go. I lost a few of my favorite leather belts and shoes in the process, which still stings a little.
Within a few days, I felt noticeably better. For quite a while afterwards, walking into a store, an apartment or a house with a musty atmosphere brought back sneezing, sniffling and itchy, watery eyes. These days, that no longer happens to me. We have routines that keep our home in check. I do not claim to know exactly why I felt better, but I know what we changed, and I know I have kept it up.
Four things I did first
- I measured the humidity. A basic hygrometer costs very little and tells you immediately what you are dealing with. The target is below 60 percent.
- I got air moving. Fans, open windows when possible and a bathroom that actually ventilates after a shower.
- I checked for leaks. Under sinks, around window frames and at the base of outside walls.
- I looked at my cleaning products. Strong scents and harsh chemicals add their own load to indoor air, so I chose simpler ones.
The habits I still keep
Once we understood what we were dealing with, we built a small rhythm that we keep to this day. We check the humidity numbers regularly. We run the fans every day, even when we are out. We wipe the shower walls after use and leave the bathroom door open so it dries. We keep closets loosely packed, with space for air to move behind the clothes. We look under the sinks once a month. None of this takes much time, and most of it has become second nature. The key is to make the habits small enough that you actually do them.
Why it is worth a look
We spend a large part of our lives indoors, so the conditions inside our homes deserve a little attention. Moisture is one of the simplest of those conditions to measure and to improve, and it costs very little to begin. Even if you find nothing, you will have learned how your home behaves, and that knowledge stays with you.
Start with one room
You do not have to change everything at once. Pick the room where you spend the most time. The bedroom is a good place to begin, since you spend around eight hours a night in it. Measure the humidity. Look in the corners. Check under the bed and behind furniture on outside walls. Open the window if you can. Notice how it smells. That is it: one room, one look, one small change.
When to see a doctor
If you do not feel well, please speak with a doctor. Looking at your home is a lovely thing to do alongside that, but it is never a substitute for personal medical care. My story is one story, and yours may be entirely different.
Your next step
Buy a small humidity monitor this week and place it in your bedroom. Note the number for three days. That single number will tell you a lot.
If you are curious about what else I am discovering about a home and a life that fit who you are, join my weekly Wellness Notes.
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