Windowsill mold

[springmum]

About a month ago we had to run a cold mist humidifier for our then 7 month old's cold. That caused condensation on our bedroom window and living room window. (condensation gets heavy every winter)

When I was cleaning the other week I noticed some black mold running along where the window and sill meet.

I cleaned it with vinegar, sprayed TTO on it (and let it sit) and have continued to spray with TTO every week.

Of course I googled and am now paranoid that our whole house is contaminated and we are going to get sick.

Our baseboard under the window also has some water warping from the condensation so we are getting that replaced today (I'm hoping there's no mold behind it!!)
Some of the mold got onto our the bottom part of the curtain, which I have sprayed and we will replace anyway.

How serious is the window mold?
Is testing it the only way to know?
I'm worried because it's in the bedroom where we all sleep - is there anything else I can do? (besides the cleaning of the mold should I vinegar/TTO everything in the room?)

We are able to keep it dry as long as we don't need the humidifier, so I know that is important.

Thanks for your help!

[springmum]

Ugh - there was a little bit of mold behind the baseboard, it wasn't much, but it's just enough to freak me out!!

The drywall was wet - not moldy, so it's getting completely replaced.

I have to admit I am freaking out a little about the mold - I know no mold is good mold, but how do I know if this is the scary stuff???
I have visions of these little mold spores infecting more poor baby!! (slightly dramatic I know)

I guess DS and I will be sleeping on air mattress in the other room until I stop panicking......

Am I way overreacting?? I don't even know what to do - everything is getting replaced, no more moist windows, I've sprayed TTO everywhere I can, I will spray bleach tomorrow.......is that all I can do?

Anyone with any experience with this stuff?

[Rebecca]

You could call a company like Servepro that does disaster recovery and have them spray for mold, but really, all you need is a spray bottle with a bleach solution. Air out your home a little, run a dehumidifier, look under any carpeting to make sure it's not damp or moldy too. Is your window (or heater or pipes) leaking? It seems like that's a lot of damage from just a humidifier.

[springmum]

we live in a condo, and the handyman found evidence of water damage on the ceiling above the windows...so it does look like there's more to it. We're getting it looked into, and sleeping in the other room for now.
What a pain in the butt!!

[janasmama]

do you own the house? We have some mold on our windows and the landlords are replacing them because it's caused by condensation.

Sleeping in a different room probably won't really help much since mold spores travel all around the air but if it makes you feel better than go ahead.

I freak out about mold too so I feel ya...

Getting an air purifier would be a good thing to do but you need to make sure it says it filters mold since the spores are microscopic.

The only way to know whether it's the black mold is to get it tested and yes, that costs around $1k. I did see some online places that offer do-it-yourself kits that you send in for 200-300 dollars.

Do you have a university where you live? You could contact the science department and see if they can do any kind of testing like that. If it turns out to be black mold and you rent you should get reimbursed for the cost.