Get a repirator

General Inspection Topics General Inspection Discussion
1

Just a warning.
We spend time talking about ladder safety however as of this writing I am sitting here with my left ear bleeding and woke up spitting blood.

Heres the story.

Last week I entered a building scheduled for demolition to do a inspection for a Bank wanting to make sure it was not salvageable and upon entering immediately noticed the heavy smell of fungus or mold and feces which though gross was not my main concern as it was in a bad drug and gang area plus my main worry was the danger of falling through a floor board and a stairway collapse.

Ooops should have worried about the air and worn a respirator as well.

Went to the ENT Doctor paid him ,and right now waiting for my prescription which in this case is costing me $260 for the ear drops alone.

Spent the last week mostly in bed tired and dizzy plus have lost income not working so bear all this in mind before not bothering to wear a mask in those nasty places we all go.

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2 Likes
2

I agree. If you don’t have one in your tool box, you shouldn’t be scheduling inspections.

Hope you’re back to work soon.

3

Holy ahi.t Bob, this sucks to here. Let us know if you need anything at all.
Be well my friend.

Jim

4

Thanks for the reminder Bob . Hope you are soon better … Roy
This mine and it went on before It went into any attic or crawl space .

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5

WOW, sorry to hear your not doing well…hopefully your woes will help another HI stay safe. Get well, Bob.

6

Wish you well Bob.

I have my respirator on every job, as well as N95 masks with me at all times. I think Jeff mentioned this the other day, and is great advice.

No job is worth your health. You never know what you are getting into.

7

Every job ?
That must look odd in $1,000,000 homes…lol,I know what you meant though.Read that as wearing on every job for a sec.:slight_smile:

Thanks for the get wells guys not much pain today though the other night it felt like a sewing needle was being jabbed into the ear canal and I was actually screaming.

Hopefully a few newbies or older stubborn immortals such as myself will read this and go spend the $150 or so .

8

My mask would be on the entire time inspecting that dump.

9

Thanks for the reminder Bob. I have mine with me but admit get very lax in using it most of the time. Great wake up call.

10

Damn Bob, I hope you’re feeling better.

Thanks for posting & reminding us that our job, in many ways is dangerous, and that one can never be to cautious.

11

PPE is very important and should be used.

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12

Yes in deed. One must be on before entering an attic, crawlspace or an area that we believe to be infect. A MUST!!

13

Get well Bob! I’m the world’s worst at not wearing a mask, even though I have one :roll:. I’ve got to do better.

14

Get well soon Bob.

Mine on Tuesday was pretty cool crawl.

Climatized Crawl.

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But with one of these at the entrance was like being on I-95 on your back. ;):slight_smile:

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15

Been running into a few of those things this summer.
They are fun…:slight_smile:

16

Had one of those myself … Van was in shop and so used HHR to go to job to check it out. Owner had a little moisture get into their house and they thought they might have a little mold issue. I forgot to grab respirator. Drove 63 miles to get to site and only remembered the respirator when I was about 5 miles out.

Stopped at a hardware store / all they had was paper masks. Bought a couple.

2 days after the inspection I woke up coughing my head off; bloody nose; raw throat; dizzy; nauseous; etc. Took 5 weeks and 3 dozes of I think “Z-paks” and antibiotics, etc to come down.

As I walked into the house I knew I was gonna have a moisture & mold issue.

ASk me how I knew … Just age and experience I guess.

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17

Strange wallpaper Dan.
Now that we are in the same club should we have a secret handshake or just a head shake.

18

I think it was in 2002 at OctoberSpec, a speaker, Ken Young, told everyone he had cancer and it was because of going into attics without a respirator. I immediately bought one and told every termite inspector they should get one as well. Unfortunately, Ken died, a year later if I remember correctly.

Clients ask me why I wear one, and I am more than happy to tell them and if they plan on doing anything in the attic or the home, it is cheap insurance.

As for the mold, it is not to be taken lightly. I ended up in the hospital for a week, with every respiratory infection known to man. When they drew my blood, it was purple and my O2 sat was somewhere in the 80s…98-100% is normal. It is also what is believed to have triggered my gluten issues and if it didn’t trigger it, it certainly didn’t help.

Get well Bob!

19

Get well soon Bob.

20

Good reminder for us all.
Get well Bob…