We had the whole house checked, top to bottom, for issues and possible allergens after Martin started having these reactions. Overall, our house is doing pretty well. Mold in the air is low. Mold in dust samples (dust? what dust?) is normal-to-low. Mycotoxin sample shows barely perceptible positive for tricothecenes. Total VOC air sample is ideal, and mold VOC air sample is low.

The consultant did notice “some mold on the floor joists in the basement,” which he speculates is leftover from before we bought the house. It does not appear to be affected air quality or spreading.

So here’s the question: How far do we go? Before we moved into the house, a couple years ago, we had basement mold remediated. That mold had a clear source; the previous owner had left a ground-level basement window open during Superstorm Sandy—evidently she thought the basement would be better with “circulation”—and water poured through the window, leaving ickiness in its wake. Remediating that mess was like those scenes at the end of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. You know, when scientists and government officials are obscured in protective gear, and plastic sheets cover everything. That was how our house looked, to annihilate the Sandy mold. You can imagine the cost.

Do we do that again now, to go after some petty bit in floor joists not affecting air quality? Not at this moment, no. I’m going to put that mold onto the “monitor” list instead. Autism recovery, however you approach it, can be a highway to the poorhouse. Chasing after a bit of mold, right now, seems like a voluntary move into the fast lane on that highway.

Martin, as Donald Duck, trick-or-treating with friend.