DeconGreen Inc.

Decon Green and it's cutting edge technology saved my health, and my home. I've never in my life written a testimonial before, I've always been too preoccupied, and not really motivated enough to take the time to write something like this down.  No kudos, complaints, or letters to the editor; nothing in writing to a any single Company, place, product, or person, but then, I've never had any one thing help me so much as Decongreen Inc.'s technology/service, and for so little cost.

Haven unknowingly taken up residence with a "serial killer" - black - "toxic mold" (including today's infamous "poster child" for mold Stachybotrys Chartarum,  Aspergillus Niger, another lethal mold known to be carcinogenic, etc.,), I became sick as a dog and so did my husband.  It was a long journey before we suspected our problems were the result of a silent but deadly enemy thriving inside our wall cavities and beneath our wood floors. And it was another 7+ years after that before we found Decongreen - and there, the solution.  

Though back before all this happened, we were  "OAQ" (Outdoor Air Quality) focused and IAQ clueless. I'd spent my whole life living in urban landscapes, staring at concrete in Chicago and Detroit.  When, decision made, we left behind the familiar smokestacks, gray skies and particulates for the natural setting and "more fresh" air of one of Marin County's idyllic hamlets, there were no doubts or regrets in our mind.

We were convinced our luck was amazing, after conducting what seemed to us, an impossible search - our "dream home" came to us unlisted and for sale by "auction," on the very day we  "quit." It was in taking a stroll, our  "last look" at houses behind us, that we came upon what was to our home. Having barely had a glimpse of the structure (painted avocado green) I stopped to point above and beyond a large ivy hedge. It was then that I announced loudly "THIS is the type of house WE need!"… (... the only way we could afford to buy a house in the San Francisco Bay area was to find one needing TLC)… It was the worst, most disheveled house on the street, but from the moment we saw it, it was "destined" we felt to be ours....

And from there things continued to fall place in this manner. From the small hand-painted sign saying "open today" to learning a) all bids were to be viewed at midnight, b) the house was in Trust to a church, c) landlord in the City was a best friend of the former owners (only just then deceased), and d), as such, he was also, their Head Trustee on the "estate," the situation, to us, couldn't have seemed more serendipitous.  Our first hitch came with the return of 2nd bidders -offering more money (in cash), and willing to waive any inspections and sign all documents. And, without the twist of fate of having our honest-to-the-bone-landlord present, there's no question, the house would now be owned by them.  While we were willing do all required (including signing a legal doc which stated roughly - a) we were purchasing the house "as is", and were b) we felt we must have an inspection. As first-time homebuyers financially tapped out by our purchase, we could ill afford any big surprises.

With only 24 to have our inspection, our only choice was fish at the bottom of the barrel, and though now we now this to be a "no no" we got our recommendation from our realtor. The inspector's report gave us a "clean bill of health" for our house, telling us exactly what we wanted to hear - no major repairs needed, cosmetic work only, and the roof? "new condition, should last  7-10 years"...) But after signing on the dotted line was over, our "house of cards" began to tumble, and, starting, with the first rain, the roof.  The condition wasn't like new, it was shot...and spots I had questioned on the ceiling?  Not "old leaks" after all.... and, so it went, on and on, with one thing after another, until it nearly all fell down.

Like they say hindsight is 20/20 and we're living proof of that.  Our day of awakening finally came, in the form our City building inspector; whom had been beckoned to our house by my husband, for permission to tear down a rickety, leaky front entry room addition to our house (built seemingly without plan or thought in the 70's), beginning to show signs of what I know now to be mold.  As many times as we tried, we couldn't get permission from the City, until my husband had the idea of going to the head inspector with photos he shot documenting the room, and it worked. The inspector upon arrival the next day, took one step inside this entry, and then stepped back out very quickly.  As he explained, his lungs were scarred badly from mold exposure at a former job.  It was at that moment that that the "M" word first reared its ugly head for us, as the inspector asked whether or not we had heard of "toxic mold," and suggested further that we have our room professionally tested? It was less 24 hours later w/ demo permit in hand, that the City inspector again arrived at my door, this time unannounced, also with him was a stack of papers, all printed out for our benefit, with information on "toxic mold." But my husband, ever the skeptic, ignored any advice to test for mold, stating "what does it matter what kind it is, if we're going to get rid of any way...." Then at long last, our visual and olfactory- offensive entry room was taken off, and away, and with it (or so we thought) was the end of the "M" word in our lives.  But as we later discovered, our battle was not even close to the end; in fact his was only the beginning.

After the entryway had been gone for some time, and also with it, or so we thought, were any possible "mold" problems in the house, we hadn't gotten any better.  We had not only been catching more and more colds and flu than ever, but my husband who had had seasonal allergies  ("hay fever", which seemed to improve upon moving to California but got worse when we moved into the house), then started repeatedly coming down with raging sinus and ear infections. I, on the other hand, had never had allergies or sinus issues of any kind, had developed severe sinus issues. Not a minute went by when my nose wasn't dripping, then, it got to the point where I was so stuffed up I couldn't breathe at all- out of either nostril -particularly at night, which meant I couldn't sleep well either. I also started to feel short of breath and chronically fatigued - (which I chalked up to not sleeping enough)...Not long afterwards, I was diagnosed with a lupus, an autoimmune disorder.  I was baffled as to why all this was happening.

While I seemingly had no control over my "major" health issues, I was "dead-set" on ridding myself of these sudden so-called "allergies." Most puzzling to me, was the fact that, when we'd travel (which we used to do frequently) no matter where we went, I could breathe freely, day and night; until that is, we returned home again when & where the blocked sinus syndrome would start all over again.

Friends and doctors had told me a person can develop allergies at any time of their life, so while it didn't seem logical, the only factor I could think of that was different between home and travel, was my cat - of 10 years. I decided I must have somehow, developed a raging allergy to her. Operating on the "cat theory" I locked my poor Daphne (cat's name) out of my bedroom, banning her from sleeping with me. From there, I did everything I could to make the bedroom a "clean room," allergen-free zone. I also did my best to keep things immaculate elsewhere in my home, but, it was the bedroom that was my true focus - I was determined to try and get a good night's sleep.... I fully encased the pillows, the mattress, and all our bedding; vacuuming the room, the bed, etc., every day, and scrubbing the floor once a week. I then proceeded to buy every single different type of air purifier I could find, i.e., electrostatic, ozone machines, ultra violet lights, giant air cleaning machines with HEPA filters; but none of them worked. During the winter it occurred to me, that, we seemed to build-up more condensation, so then I bought a dehumidifier, first for the bedroom alone, then another larger one for the whole house.  Still, my sinuses didn't improve at all unless I slept somewhere other than home. My husband, fed up with the sound of all these machines in our bedroom (he couldn't stand the all that racket - but I did not want to turn them off...), opted to sleep separately in our guest room on the first floor. It was there he contracted the infections; they got to the point I had to drive him to emergency more than once.  And my poor cat? Her eyes were running. I was told cats could develop "allergies" too, so I began to make jokes about her being allergic to herself... then her fur dried out, it felt really rough to the touch, but I thought it must have to do w/cat old age.

I finally decided I should see an allergist, and by the time one was recommended to me - Dr. Vincent Marinkovich, I had begun to wonder if perhaps we weren't rid of potential mold problems after all... (When I called to make an appointment w/Dr. M (a well renown allergist/immunologist, and expert when it came to "all things mold" who has now passed on), the receptionist explained that the doctor would need to perform some tests, including blood work. She said I could either take the tests first, so that Dr. M could study them prior to our appointment, or, I could have my appointment with him, then have the tests, meaning I'd have to come back a second time before I had any results. I chose option one.

As my appointment neared my husband had "heated disagreements" about whether we could actually have a mold problem.  More than skeptical, he was convinced that the house was mold-free, after the suspicious entry was disposed of, but I wanted to make sure. We finally came to a compromise - he would "investigate" 2 places I suspected (located on the exact opposite side of the house from the ex-entry). We unfortunately hit the "mold Jackpot" in the first place he looked.  There was no more disputing that black mold had been growing profusely inside our walls and under our floor boars, we had visual proof. When I left the house he, without telling me, cut out a bulk sample of sheetrock (or as I call it "mold" food - the favored snack of Stachybotry Chartarum) and took it to Em Lab for  "rush" testing.  He had run the tests in secret because he was thought it couldn't be harmful mold, and that the whole "toxic" thing was just a scare tactic, so he was waiting for the results to prove he was right.  I actually was the first to get the fax and read the report when I stepped out for a while. This was one time in my life I did not want to be right, but there it was in "black" & white - we had "Stachy".  He actually couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the report, but there was no arguing these results.

This first lab report on our mold had come within days of the results of my blood tests.  I brought the other report along with me to my doctor's appointment, and could have been knocked out of my chair when I saw the results.   The blood panels showed (without my yet having explained or shared any info with Dr. M, about my house, or me....) all my allergy tests had come back clear, except for mold!!! But what really blew me away was that but the types and levels of mold found in my blood, echoed the report for types and levels of mold in my house!!!  Freaky!

After this, there were a few more shocks that came in waves.  First, I was told I had to leave our home immediately - that same day. I was not to set foot in here, not even to retrieve a piece of clothing or a toothbrush.  Unless and until we'd fixed any/all leaks, the mold had been remediated, and the house was retested to make sure it was safe for me return, I could not go back.  From that point on, my husband and I had, from that point on, to sleep in various Sf & Marin hotels, sneaking out cat in with us when the mold inspector told me that we couldn't wait to find a rental before removing her that environment, otherwise she might die.  We had to snuck her into where ever we stayed, even to the extent putting her inside a soft back and riding up the elevator while other passengers wondered what the heck we had in our squiggling bag. Then, more bad news, Dr. M's initial suspicions that I had mold growing in my lungs, were confirmed to be true. I had had pneumonia as a teenager and the mold had found a dark, moist home in resulting, moist scar tissue. I had the tests run at UCSF and had to have my breathing capacity re-checked thereafter every time I saw Dr. M....

This spooked me enough to demand that we have our house professionally inspected and tested, my husband finally relented.  Not only were his test results again confirmed, but also, since our Stachy was in such high concentrations, they found it in the air (which, as I understand it, is pretty darn rare).  It was the inspector who explained what the numbers meant in the report (they showed the concentrations of all molds found; the lethal molds in our case were in the 135,000-150,000 & up range (that's a lot).  At the same he told us what put the word "toxic" in "toxic mold" - the answer? - mycotoxins.Invisible to the human eye, mycotoxins(prior to the development of DGI's method, which annihilates them), are the reason people, fled their homes- leaving behind all possessions (like we ended up doing post-orders from Dr. M).  Though our mold-traumas began so long before -prior to any headlines about "toxic mold" (or news about "celebrity" mold, i.e., Erin Brokovich and Ed McMahon getting sick in their homes, and so on...), the general public has, thankfully, become more and more mold aware, but sadly, far too many became ill first, (like me & worse); some even burned down their homes to the ground because: a) it was "sure-fire" way to destroy mycotoxins, b) pre-DGI, other remediation methods were SO pricey, they didn't offer any warranties or any future protection, and there was SO much tear down/ rebuild necessary, hardly anyone (let alone us), could afford this, many felt it cheaper to start from scratch and re-build than remediate this way... (We actually tried to have our home burned by petitioning our fire department, but they refused, as did our neighbors).  And, there were also many people (us among them), who ran into roadblocks with their insurance companies (insurance cos. were savvy about "toxic mold" - even way back when we tried to make our claim).  Our insurance company (as we learned the second I blurted out the words "toxic mold") had”air tight" small print exclusion against all mold.  We were refused coverage unequivocally, to either remove this threat, or restore our home. (but Erin and Ed? They're claims were both honored, but Ed I heard had to sue first.  And Erin sued too since the first mold abatement company she used did a shoddy job....)  

(The above reasons represent only a handful why, when Decongreen's superior way to remediate mold became available in California, we were among the first to use it).

It was only all these years later, that, having completely run out of money and hope, and after having moved every year from rental home to another, that we felt we could take it no more... We finally decided we had to sell our "dream home turned nightmare;," we were never able to re-build enough of a cash reserve to remediate the homes traditionally, and our home, had just been sitting there, unoccupied year after year getting moldier and moldier.  And, despite suggestions to the contrary, we couldn't in good conscience rent it out when we knew they would get sick, even worse what if they had a baby that died? We would feel responsible. So despite needing the money, we continued to pay our mortgage for an unlivable house and rent a separate place to reside.  By that time, my husband had finally come around and so did our "macho", type-it's-in-your-head-that-stuff-is-just-made-up-to-scare-you-friends-&-acquaintances. But they all first had to experience getting sick, no matter how much I warned them against it.  Anyone and everyone who spent time in the house then, came out thinking they were coming down with a terrible flu (happened apparently to my husband when he cut into and removed that piece sheetrock for testing, as in so doing he released tens of thousands of spores undoubtedly breathing in a large number).  Although now, when someone has heard the facts, but still doesn't believe that "toxic molds" are deadly.   I ask them to look at the difference between other funguses like mushrooms. Consider a shitake mushroom, delicious to eat and is found in many tasty dishes, there are also claims that eating them is good for your health, psilocybin mushrooms instead will bring nausea, and/or vomiting, then put you in a hallucinogenic state, but a death cap mushroom, this is a "toxic" mushroom if you them, no matter who you are, they will more than likely KILL YOU.

 There are still too many people with doubts, from real estate agents to contractors, etc., who tell people to "spray a little bleach and water on black mold, then there's nothing to worry about" -they're spreading disinformation, however unknowingly - this is the wrong thing to do and it doesn't work!  If there's black "toxic" mold on the room-facing dry wall side for example, it will bleach out the blackish color but (some even try to paint over this, yet it keeps coming back again and again, why?) an inside sign of mold is more often than not just the tip of the iceberg, the real problem is on the backside of the sheetrock inside the wall, where mold can feast undisturbed, and undetected. For years - without anyone knowing it.  Or, there are those who think it's- media hype, they don't believe because they know where was this before & why there's seems to be a sudden "epidemic."  But the answer is simple, and it only makes common sense.  It's just they don't know that it's been around for centuries (with resulting illnesses first recorded in Iceland), and they do they stop to think about how the drastic changes made in building materials and techniques in the 50's, and again in the 70's - (when we had to "tighten up" & save energy to meet newly imposed codes), all helped to encourage these "bad molds” to flourish.  We sent them countless edible invitations into what are the the sealed boxes many of us now live in - (they no longer breath, and are filled to the brim with mold food, i.e., cellulose. Just add a little water & Voila! Something WILL grow! - Insidious armies of mold invade before you know it...); Besides mold doesn't discriminate; it doesn't care if you're a believer or not, I promise it will make you one, should it ever move in with you and not be treated and/or nipped in the bud).

So we finally gave up.  We were in the midst of interviewing realtors, when I stumbled upon Decon Green Inc., and it's new technology - just in the nick of time. After all the money, sweat and tears we had spent this whole time trying tooth and nail, to hang on to our home tooth, here was a method so simple, a technology so advanced, for such a reasonable price, that I, at first, had trouble believing it. I thought it had been proven to us years before that if something seemed to be too good to be true, it was, but this time around, it was true and, post-application, it would continue to aggressively inhibit re-growth. I thought maybe we were too late and the product wouldn't be effective against a house in which biological warfare had been taken place for at least 10 years, but no that didn't matter; our home could still be saved over night, all the mold & mycotoxins, neutralized and eliminated at the molecular level, and the same formula at the same time, kills mites, anything in the HVAC, and a laundry list of viruses and bacteria on contact, and at a fraction of the cost for other inferior methods. So when the DGI solution became available in California, it didn't take much to convince me, in fact I was already waiting, and was one of the first CA customers.

Flash-forward to present, where my health is much improved. I can breathe again -no more blocked sinuses and no more mold growing in my lungs (my autoimmune disease? downgraded to "non-specific," while I still have a lowish white blood cell count, that's it; I feel fine…) My husband the former skeptic has never had another sinus or ear infection, and my cat? She finally died of old age, but before she did, her eyes stopped running and her fur became soft and fluffy again.

Next >