I need tips for apartment hunting while COVID cautious!
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I need tips for apartment hunting while COVID cautious!
I’m losing my housing and the stress of it has utterly destroyed my baseline. It’s so difficult to find safe housing as a disabled individual.
I’ve finally found a few units to view, but my concern is if I wear my respirator I can’t adequately assess smells and triggers like mold or VOCs.
My MCAS is very severe. I usually know quite quickly if I’m going to react to a space … but I can’t always tell right away when I’m masked up.
No one is living in the units so they will be empty and it’s just me and one other person going to the viewing.
If I can convince that person to wear an N95 and keep their distance… do you think it’s safe if I remove my mask for a few minutes?
I basically just want to smell around things like the hvac, under sinks, anywhere there’s plumbing and the walls in case there’s been new paint.
I know it might be moderately risky but it would be catastrophic to get locked into a year lease somewhere making me sick.
Appreciate any tips if there’s something I’m not thinking of!
#COVIDcautious #covidisnotover #covidisairborne #longcovid #n95 #disability #ableism
@broadwaybabyto it may limit your choices but asking the real estate agent up front when booking the viewing to wear a mask for the 10 minutes you’ll be in the apartment (with you providing a fresh mask^ for them) and asking them to schedule you first in the day so no one else will have been in there for 12+ hours seems like a decent risk mitigation (YMMV, ofc.)
if they’re not prepared to wear a mask or schedule you in first you can then assess whether or not to book the viewing
^ I know it shouldn’t matter but if you can offer them a black or other “cool colour” ear loop N95 rather than a white over-head N95 you might find them more receptive in the moment – and you don’t have to specify an N95 on the phone call, let them assume surgical mask if they want ¯_(ツ)_/¯ -
I need tips for apartment hunting while COVID cautious!
I’m losing my housing and the stress of it has utterly destroyed my baseline. It’s so difficult to find safe housing as a disabled individual.
I’ve finally found a few units to view, but my concern is if I wear my respirator I can’t adequately assess smells and triggers like mold or VOCs.
My MCAS is very severe. I usually know quite quickly if I’m going to react to a space … but I can’t always tell right away when I’m masked up.
No one is living in the units so they will be empty and it’s just me and one other person going to the viewing.
If I can convince that person to wear an N95 and keep their distance… do you think it’s safe if I remove my mask for a few minutes?
I basically just want to smell around things like the hvac, under sinks, anywhere there’s plumbing and the walls in case there’s been new paint.
I know it might be moderately risky but it would be catastrophic to get locked into a year lease somewhere making me sick.
Appreciate any tips if there’s something I’m not thinking of!
#COVIDcautious #covidisnotover #covidisairborne #longcovid #n95 #disability #ableism
@broadwaybabyto I might have more thoughts after sleep cause brain fog bad but — I remember you said in a post I think you have an air quality meter? If so bring that! Yes consumer VOC zones aren’t great, but you can look at it as a basis of comparison to your current place. If you don’t have one, I recommend getting one asap because the one I got took a week to calibrate for VOCs and some stuff.
Check out the blog my chemical free home if you don’t know it, it’s been a godsend despite bad name
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@broadwaybabyto I hope this goes well for you. I would have hoped that there were sensors for this type of situation, but i am sure you looked into that.
We need to move as well, for various reasons. And viewing new places can be a nightmare. You probably already thought of this, but informing people ahead of time, that you will mask and that you hope that they will do so as well has proven helpful in the sense, that it tells us which place is even worth considering.
@antiaall3s it’s awful. I don’t want to move, my doctor has advised I’m not well enough to move, but I’m being forced out. It’s super stressful and it’s completely taken my ability to write. Covid just adds a whole other layer to it.
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@broadwaybabyto I agree that the reasoning is sound. Have you looked into getting a portable air filter, for the purpose of further increasing safety? Not one of the voc ones, (to not affect your sniff test), but a particle catcher. There's some bag size ones that's got pretty good reviews here (Sweden), meant for hotel rooms etc so one has a space to safely be unmasked while travelling, and I am sure there must be US equivalents. That's the only thing I can think of that would increase safety.
@silhelm I actually do have a portable laminar filter so I guess I could bring that? But I still worry it’ll impact the end result. I’m soooo sensitive and I moved into my current place early in the pandemic so I was masks and I missed a huge issue with the hvac and VOCs. Thankfully I’ve got a voc monitor now so I will take that with me as well.
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@broadwaybabyto I might have more thoughts after sleep cause brain fog bad but — I remember you said in a post I think you have an air quality meter? If so bring that! Yes consumer VOC zones aren’t great, but you can look at it as a basis of comparison to your current place. If you don’t have one, I recommend getting one asap because the one I got took a week to calibrate for VOCs and some stuff.
Check out the blog my chemical free home if you don’t know it, it’s been a godsend despite bad name
@broadwaybabyto I agree with your assessment about unmasked being lower risk than lease unless you can check what breaking lease entails and know you’re able to handle that — you might or might not. Given how hard moving is I would assume not, but feels worth mentioning sometimes the punishments aren’t as bad as we think they are.
Newer places and recently remodeled places will be worse for VOCs. Good ventilation will be very good IF your AQI / temp outside is safe.
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@broadwaybabyto it may limit your choices but asking the real estate agent up front when booking the viewing to wear a mask for the 10 minutes you’ll be in the apartment (with you providing a fresh mask^ for them) and asking them to schedule you first in the day so no one else will have been in there for 12+ hours seems like a decent risk mitigation (YMMV, ofc.)
if they’re not prepared to wear a mask or schedule you in first you can then assess whether or not to book the viewing
^ I know it shouldn’t matter but if you can offer them a black or other “cool colour” ear loop N95 rather than a white over-head N95 you might find them more receptive in the moment – and you don’t have to specify an N95 on the phone call, let them assume surgical mask if they want ¯_(ツ)_/¯@itgrrl ooh that’s so smart! I just got a box of black N99s actually that I haven’t used. Silly that it should matter but it might actually make a difference (though they’re head strap and I find non maskers more amenable to ear loops masks in general)
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@broadwaybabyto I agree with your assessment about unmasked being lower risk than lease unless you can check what breaking lease entails and know you’re able to handle that — you might or might not. Given how hard moving is I would assume not, but feels worth mentioning sometimes the punishments aren’t as bad as we think they are.
Newer places and recently remodeled places will be worse for VOCs. Good ventilation will be very good IF your AQI / temp outside is safe.
@moss I do have a monitor and I’m definitely bringing it. As you said they’re not perfect but I can at least compare to my current place.
Otherwise I think I have to take the chance. There’s always ways out of the lease but I’m genuinely worried moving is going to break me in my current state of health. I’m not even confident I can get through the showings in one piece. So if possible I want to feel like I’m moving somewhere safer (my current place has terrible VOCs which is one reason I’m happy to move even though being forced)
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@broadwaybabyto I agree with your assessment about unmasked being lower risk than lease unless you can check what breaking lease entails and know you’re able to handle that — you might or might not. Given how hard moving is I would assume not, but feels worth mentioning sometimes the punishments aren’t as bad as we think they are.
Newer places and recently remodeled places will be worse for VOCs. Good ventilation will be very good IF your AQI / temp outside is safe.
@broadwaybabyto I am currently living somewhere which is an environmental trigger for my MCAS and I think you’re extremely right to take every step you can to avoid that.
But if you end up somewhere that is lmk and I can talk you thru all the shit that has helped and all the shit that hasn’t helped on my end
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I need tips for apartment hunting while COVID cautious!
I’m losing my housing and the stress of it has utterly destroyed my baseline. It’s so difficult to find safe housing as a disabled individual.
I’ve finally found a few units to view, but my concern is if I wear my respirator I can’t adequately assess smells and triggers like mold or VOCs.
My MCAS is very severe. I usually know quite quickly if I’m going to react to a space … but I can’t always tell right away when I’m masked up.
No one is living in the units so they will be empty and it’s just me and one other person going to the viewing.
If I can convince that person to wear an N95 and keep their distance… do you think it’s safe if I remove my mask for a few minutes?
I basically just want to smell around things like the hvac, under sinks, anywhere there’s plumbing and the walls in case there’s been new paint.
I know it might be moderately risky but it would be catastrophic to get locked into a year lease somewhere making me sick.
Appreciate any tips if there’s something I’m not thinking of!
#COVIDcautious #covidisnotover #covidisairborne #longcovid #n95 #disability #ableism
@broadwaybabyto Are you in a location/climate that would allow the windows to be opened? Even just cracked open would allow some significant air exchange, without covering smells within the apartment.
Comedy suggestion: Quickly make friends with a civil engineer that handles waste-water or landfill design and ask to borrow their Nasal Ranger. (It's a real tool with serious, necessary usage and hilarious marketing photos)
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I need tips for apartment hunting while COVID cautious!
I’m losing my housing and the stress of it has utterly destroyed my baseline. It’s so difficult to find safe housing as a disabled individual.
I’ve finally found a few units to view, but my concern is if I wear my respirator I can’t adequately assess smells and triggers like mold or VOCs.
My MCAS is very severe. I usually know quite quickly if I’m going to react to a space … but I can’t always tell right away when I’m masked up.
No one is living in the units so they will be empty and it’s just me and one other person going to the viewing.
If I can convince that person to wear an N95 and keep their distance… do you think it’s safe if I remove my mask for a few minutes?
I basically just want to smell around things like the hvac, under sinks, anywhere there’s plumbing and the walls in case there’s been new paint.
I know it might be moderately risky but it would be catastrophic to get locked into a year lease somewhere making me sick.
Appreciate any tips if there’s something I’m not thinking of!
#COVIDcautious #covidisnotover #covidisairborne #longcovid #n95 #disability #ableism
@broadwaybabyto Mask off with one person is very likely fine.
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@moss I do have a monitor and I’m definitely bringing it. As you said they’re not perfect but I can at least compare to my current place.
Otherwise I think I have to take the chance. There’s always ways out of the lease but I’m genuinely worried moving is going to break me in my current state of health. I’m not even confident I can get through the showings in one piece. So if possible I want to feel like I’m moving somewhere safer (my current place has terrible VOCs which is one reason I’m happy to move even though being forced)
@broadwaybabyto totally hear you. I think you’re exactly right to do everything you can to get it right to minimize long term effects
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@antiaall3s it’s awful. I don’t want to move, my doctor has advised I’m not well enough to move, but I’m being forced out. It’s super stressful and it’s completely taken my ability to write. Covid just adds a whole other layer to it.
@broadwaybabyto I sometimes have this fantasy that i could be shipped off to a sanatorium, or something like that, for a few months, while "someone" finds a suitable place, moves and re-arranges everything.
In an ideal world this would totally happen.
Because the able-bodied majority simply does not seem to grasp how stressful moving is for a chronically ill person.
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@itgrrl ooh that’s so smart! I just got a box of black N99s actually that I haven’t used. Silly that it should matter but it might actually make a difference (though they’re head strap and I find non maskers more amenable to ear loops masks in general)
@broadwaybabyto
from a risk management perspective I’m firmly in the “much better to provide someone with a 90% tool that they’ll use 90% of the time rather than a 99% tool that they’ll only use 50% of the time” camp 
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@broadwaybabyto totally hear you. I think you’re exactly right to do everything you can to get it right to minimize long term effects
@broadwaybabyto this is the blog that’s been most helpful for me ,
if you figure out what any of th materials in the place are or if they say you’re allowed to make any decisions on repainting or something (wishful thinking lol), it might be good?
Theres also info about how to mitigate VOCs in new / remodeled places but I would recommend avoiding those in general because our place’s changes been complete for a while and I’m still reacting
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@broadwaybabyto I am currently living somewhere which is an environmental trigger for my MCAS and I think you’re extremely right to take every step you can to avoid that.
But if you end up somewhere that is lmk and I can talk you thru all the shit that has helped and all the shit that hasn’t helped on my end
@moss thank you!!!
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@broadwaybabyto Are you in a location/climate that would allow the windows to be opened? Even just cracked open would allow some significant air exchange, without covering smells within the apartment.
Comedy suggestion: Quickly make friends with a civil engineer that handles waste-water or landfill design and ask to borrow their Nasal Ranger. (It's a real tool with serious, necessary usage and hilarious marketing photos)
@drsbaitso haha wow. I’m about to head down this rabbit hole for sure.
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@Kabbaway we can definitely open all the windows (as long as outdoor AQI is ok) and realtor is arranging a private viewing and meeting me at the building so he won’t have been in the unit prior either. I suspect he won’t mind physically distancing or even stepping into another room while I unmask.
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@broadwaybabyto I sometimes have this fantasy that i could be shipped off to a sanatorium, or something like that, for a few months, while "someone" finds a suitable place, moves and re-arranges everything.
In an ideal world this would totally happen.
Because the able-bodied majority simply does not seem to grasp how stressful moving is for a chronically ill person.
@antiaall3s that would be the dream wouldn’t it? People have absolutely no idea. I’ve got friends who seem genuinely perplexed at the decline in me because they’re like “it’s just a move”. Uh no. Ideally I can arrange a one week overlap and my hope is to get my bed and couch and meds into the new place and just crash there while I get friends to pack up my old place slowly. Not sure it’ll work out but I suspect that’s the easiest way.
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@broadwaybabyto this is the blog that’s been most helpful for me ,
if you figure out what any of th materials in the place are or if they say you’re allowed to make any decisions on repainting or something (wishful thinking lol), it might be good?
Theres also info about how to mitigate VOCs in new / remodeled places but I would recommend avoiding those in general because our place’s changes been complete for a while and I’m still reacting
@moss thank you! I’m actually looking at older condos specifically for this reason. When the unit looks like it’s been recently renovated I steer clear. So the ones I’m looking at are a bit dated but that seems much better than the alternative. My current place was someone manageable until there was a leak in the ceiling and then the landlord repainted and wouldn’t use low VOC paint. Huge difference. Miserable for me. All for a ceiling where you could barely even tell there had been an issue.
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@drsbaitso haha wow. I’m about to head down this rabbit hole for sure.
@broadwaybabyto everyone needs to know about the nosegun
