"Dear Home Air Purifier Expert, my husband and I seem to be allergic to EVERYTHING since we moved into an older home last year. But I don't know what's worse, the allergies or the side-effects from the drugs we take for them.

We've never had much trouble with allergies in previous places we've lived. But after coming across your page about Sick Building Syndrome, I suspect our current old money pit of a house may be the cause of our allergy symptoms.

I am pretty sure our house is a sick building because I've noticed our allergy symptoms like fatique, sinus irritation, skin rash, runny nose, itchy eyes, sneezing, and headaches often decrease noticeably within a few days after leaving this home to visit relatives.

My husband suspects the boiler in the basement may be poorly vented and fears Carbon Monoxide might be escaping into the basement. We have someone coming to check on the blower and pilot light this week and we plan on getting a quote to have the air ducts cleaned. Not sure how much that will cost but it won't be cheap.

I wish we could afford to scrap the entire HVAC system, ducts and all, and have a brand new modern air handling system installed. But unfortunately right now our finances are so strained that we have to make the best of what we have.

As far as the moisture and mold problem in the basement goes, a house inspector said it was very serious since it looks like Toxic Black Mold is on many surfaces and a mold spore test was off the charts. He suggested the installation of an elaborate outside drainage system plus an inside sump pump system in order to collect ground water that may still seap into the basement. This will be very very costly and I'm not so sure it will be able to stop the mold and mildew problem.

We also clearly have a rodent problem in the attic. My husband said it has obviously been a shangri la for mice up there and the bats also seem to be at home in their man-made cave. I am afraid of what diseases may be carried by these critters and what damage or fire hazards could result. So yet more worries to add to the long list of needed home repairs and renovations.

Do you have any further advice for us which will help us to find and control other possible sources of our allergy symptoms while living in this torn down palace?"

Thank you for sharing your Sick Building Syndrome horror story. I am sorry to hear you and your husband are struggling with allergy symptoms likely related to this older home.

It sounds like you may already have identified the major causes of your Building-related illness - Toxic Black Mold and indoor air pollutants resulting from a faulty or delapidated air handling system.

Your story reminds me of my friend Don's encounter with Nasal Allergies. He and his family suffered from allergies for a long time until they learned how to minimize their allergy symptoms without using medications.

They were able to control their symptoms with life-style changes and by using environmental controls.

Don created an entire website (Avoid-Nasal-Allergies.com) to help people learn from his experiences with fighting Nasal Allergies at the sources rather than at the symptoms. I think you'll find it to be a very valuable source of information for continuing to battle your symptoms and fixing your toxic home conditions.

Avoid-Nasal-Allergies.com snapshot

Don's website is one of the most extensive and comprehensive sources of information about identifying and controling your allergy symptoms. I highly recommend you pay him a visit and let Don show you how to avoid Nasal Allergies.