**How do I go about hiring someone to detect and clean mold in my apartment?**
EDIT: To be clear, **I am asking if mold specialists exist in Japan.** I can’t find anything on Google and wanted to see if anyone else here had more information.
**tl;dr** Started getting serious cognitive issues, found a bit of new mold on my windowsill, cleaned it off, almost a week later and still suffering from cognitive issues. Went to a doctor, got diagnosed with a mold allergy. Can’t find any more mold in my apartment. Want to hire a professional to find and clean the mold but can only get Google results for mold cleaning products.
**Full situation:** 6 days ago I started developing a bad headache, breathing problems, fatigue, body pains, and cognitive issues (brain fog, forgetfulness, etc.). I found a little bit of mold growing on my windowsill and cleaned it off with rubbing alcohol until there was no mold left. The mold looked white; the windowsill is black and made out of metal.
Today, I am still suffering from those same symptoms. They haven’t gotten worse but they haven’t lessened either. I went to the doctor, who diagnosed me with a mold allergy and sent me away with meds. The meds make the symptoms go away when I am outside of my apartment, but they return when I am inside. (EDIT: The symptoms already went away when I went outside, but the meds just make them go away faster. Bad wording sorry)
The thing is, I have had mold problems with my AC before—that time, I had more “common” allergy symptoms such as sneezing, coughing, and a stuffy nose. This time the symptoms are seriously impacting my cognitive function, to the point where I’ve been unable to do anything productive at home this entire past week.
I can’t find any mold in my living room (or the AC). The only mold that showed up was on the windowsill, and it was such a small amount I’m honestly shocked it’s impacting me this much. I keep the room dry year-round using a dehumidifier, but I failed to keep up with the condensation on the window, which was what led to the mold developing there. The apartment doesn’t smell different or strange. Since cleaning off the mold 6 days ago, I’ve been keeping my window open and constantly running the fan. It doesn’t help.
I don’t think the problem is the bathroom, because the symptoms stop when I go in there.
I want to hire a professional cleaner to find and take care of the mold, but all of my Google searches have only turned up results for mold cleaning supplies that I can use on my own (which I’ve already tried). Does such a cleaning service exist in Japan? Does anyone have any recommendations if so?
I live in north Osaka Prefecture, if that helps. Thank you for reading.
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You can try an ozone generator (Amazon have them for ~¥8,000’ish).
Ozone should eliminate the mold odor and spores, but it won’t eliminate the source. So you need to ensure you still find the source of the problem.
You can do your own research for the effectiveness they have on mold.
If you decide to use an Ozone generator it’s important to make sure to research how to use them properly. Make sure no People, pets, or plants are present in the room, and make sure the room is sealed as much as possible. And leave plenty of time and ventilation after.
Self diagnosis does not seem to be a good idea to me. Why don’t you go to a doctor first rather or spending hundreds in a mold cleaner?
Have you done a COVID test first
“The meds make the symptoms go away when I am outside of my apartment, but they return when I am inside.”
Seems like it’s not the meds, but going outside that helps your condition.
You mentioned having a living room. So you’re affected in every room except the bathroom?
If you have guests, do they experience any symptoms?
Try an air purifier?
Or maybe it’s not a mold issue since you said there was so little of it to begin with. Gas leak? Issue coming from a neighbor?
> 6 days ago I started…
It sounds like you caught the cold or the flu.
Hypochondriac?
First of all, I’m not going to advice you on your current health conditions, as others seem to have done that for me already. Second, I’m assuming that what you mean by “mold specialists” is “professinal cleaning services that specialize in mold detection and removal”
I ran some google searches, and there are services such as “[Haezclean](https://haezclean.com/30140820200405813/)”, who allegedly have appeared on national news etc., that specialize in
mold removals. They accept consultation requests via phone, email and LINE, and they have a Kansai division covering Osaka. Disclaimer, I have no experience with them or with other mold-removal services, but I am happy to help if you need assistance in searching other companies.