| Marnia He Sapa 2005-05-02, 5:47 pm |
| Nice to meet you, too. The scooter for trails is a very good idea. If you
get to Glacier (take all the dogs medical records esp rabies shots so you
can go up into Canada to Waterton, too) there is a very good wheelchair
accessible trail in the West Lakes District, called Trail of Cedars. Many
of the trails would probably be accessible to your scooter, but this one
has wooden walk-ways over the deep old growth marshy ground -- really fun
and spooky in there if you can be quiet, not talk, just look and
listen. That was one of my sketchwalks, so I love it particularly even 17
years later!
Getting away from the mold is amazing -- is your basement concrete? If it
is, if you own the place (even if you don't) and it is old enough, this
temperature differential driven dewpoint condensation/mold production can
be remediated by insulating the outside of the concrete foundation (if you
rent, your landlord may be interested). I personally think there should be
tax credits given building owners who use this building remediation to
bring their properties into healthy indoor environment status. Breathing
activated mold is a burden on everyone's health, just because we're the
gasping canaries doesn't mean we're the only ones effected. The process is
not a quick fix like slapping on some kind of sealer, that absolutely will
not work. The earth has to be excavated away from the foundation, then
specially designed rigid foam insulation panels are "glued" to the
foundation with polyurethane foam, then the panels are covered with
specially designed panels (vinyl? metal?) which go up under the last bit of
siding on the house and down below grade to protect the foam from UV
damage. Then the earth is put back, and the poor flowers or whatever.
In the case of my bedroom, a layer of the rigid foam should have been
installed against the inside of the foundation before the slab was
poured. That would have prevented the problem. But the building is old
enough they likely did not know.
This remediation to my public housing apartment, by the way, would not come
out of the landlord's profits, but out of a special tax-payer subsidized
fund especially for repair and upkeep to public housing. They just don't
want to be bothered, and clearly (if you could read the tone in the
letters) get a charge out of saying NO to their vulnerable residents. I've
learned a great deal through this experience.
The other thing, if you can swing it, is to get a vacuum with a disposable
HEPA filter. The EPA and Certified Industrial Hygienist etc all said not
only does the mold have to be killed, it has to be removed. I even spray
the nylon carpets in the effected periphery with rubbing alcohol, let it
dry, and then vac with the tools that can reach under furniture since I
can't move it. It helps a lot. Also, I've found the alcohol doesn't hurt
the paint in my apartment. It smells strongly for a minute or two, but
that goes off very quickly. Happy Summer! Marnia
At 11:54 AM 5/2/05 -0400, you wrote:
>For the past 5 years or so I have
>had an electric scooter (insurance provided) to be able to go on some of the
>paths and trails and visit around at the 4 various campsites we all have.
|