I'm allergic to my beloved silver bullet!

[LMDesigns]

Hey y'all,

My 1977 Airstream Overlander sent me to urgent care due to an allergic reaction the day I started interior demo. Since then I've stripped most of the interior including carpet, kitchen, cabinetry. I've covered the subfloor with plywood and painted over the vinyl walls. Yesterday I spent the entire day working inside and today I'm experiencing all the same allergic symptoms as I did on Demo Day 1!

The only things that haven't been stripped are the vinyl walls and the bathroom. Do you think there's hope to remediate the allergens (potentially mold, formaldehyde, etc)? Is there a way to resolve this without stripping the bathroom and the walls?

Have you experienced an allergic reaction to your Airstream? Did the issue resolve itself, or did you need to do more-- mold remediation, cover everything with bleach, etc? Thanks for your help!

[Lumatic]

I would think that any off gassing from any of the materials would have stopped years ago. Maybe mold. Maybe mice. No telling what is hiding in your walls and especially belly pan. There mold test kits available.

[Hittenstiehl]

Could it be the dust you are stirring up. Is a mask helping.

[Masondood]

I'm assuming that you're wearing a high grade particulate mask? I know a little about mold remediation from my work days, and it can be very toxic. Many people have suffered serious lung and respiratory infections from mold and mildew. I would suggest that you purchase the best particulate mask you can, and wear goggles not glasses. the other thing is to keep any potential infection sites protected, and I would recommend sturdy nitrile gloves under (or by themselves) your work gloves. A thorough blowing off with compressed air after working on your rig, and the work clothes right in the wash.

I hope that these recommendations help, I too suffer from severe mold/mildew allergies and know the discomfort you must be feeling. All the best with your project, hope you are feeling "back to your old self" again!

[SuzyHomemakr]

Maybe you're reacting to the new paint off-gassing? There are potentially tons of air leak points where the nastiness in between the skins is wafting inside.

If it were me, I'd tape off the bathroom, making it air tight. Then, see if you get the symptoms. Keep taping until the symptoms don't re-occur. You can then seal everything with Big Stretch caulking. Maybe spend a few nights in the trailer before building any new stuff...

Probably the best thing would be to hire some local talent to remove the interior skins and old insulation. Check the archives for all of the gross stories of what folks have found in their walls!

I had not-fresh odors in mine, but painted the walls with Kilz and then Zolatone FLEX, which sealed up all the seams. No more stinky!

[Jekerrville]

It's not your trailer, it's Travis County.

[perryg114]

I expect it is some sort of mold growing between the skins. The vinyl coating on the interior walls can still outgas. Try rubbing some of the sticky oil from the walls on the inside of your arm and see if it turns red. If it does, you found the problem. I expect it is mold of some sort.

Perry

[kendrick.l.j]

I would do as Masondood suggested AND get yourself a high quality air purifier with HEPA filters, get the expensive ones as it is much cheaper that another trip to Urgent Care. I seriously doubt it is anything else but Mold and mildew and both can be very serious to those that are allergic. All the demo you are doing is great but it is also stirring up all that stuff and you are breathing it in. Once you are done with demo I bet your issues resolve quickly but keep that air purifier in the AS for a while. Hope you feel better soon.

[Rocinante]

I'd get an allergist to run a panel test on me to see exactly what kinds of things I'm allergic to. Without a test, there's no way to know for sure. Meanwhile, I'd hold off spending quality construction time in that trailer until I had a sense of what's causing my reaction.

What have you found in there so far? Make a list and maybe share it with the doctor to give them some ideas of what they should test for.

As for relieving / preventing allergic reactions while in the trailer, it really does depend on what they find in the test and what you've found in in the trailer. Worst case, it could be necessary to do a full shell-off restoration to get all the nasty stuff out.

[perryg114]

Not a bad idea to get tested for common allergens. To some folks molds can be deadly.

Perry

Originally Posted by Rocinante

I'd get an allergist to run a panel test on me to see exactly what kinds of things I'm allergic to. Without a test, there's no way to know for sure. Meanwhile, I'd hold off spending quality construction time in that trailer until I had a sense of what's causing my reaction.

What have you found in there so far? Make a list and maybe share it with the doctor to give them some ideas of what they should test for.

As for relieving / preventing allergic reactions while in the trailer, it really does depend on what they find in the test and what you've found in in the trailer. Worst case, it could be necessary to do a full shell-off restoration to get all the nasty stuff out.

[LMDesigns]

Thank you for all your valuable feedback!! Testing the trailer, getting myself tested, and doing some trial & error moving forward is the plan for now. Much appreciated!!! Hopefully the indoor air quality in the trailer will improve once construction settles down. Thanks!

[ericpeltier]

Nothing get's through this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you feel you might be sensitive to airborne "junk", wear this.

[ericpeltier]

Also, run the roof vents continuously?

[ColoradoLady]

FWI, mold, rather in a home, business, and certainly in a closed in trailer is very bad for anyone, even worse for those with allergies or lung disease. I hope you will be able to find the culprit and end it. Good luck.