I need tips for apartment hunting while COVID cautious!
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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
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@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.
@broadwaybabyto That sounds like a good plan. Depending on how warm it will be, when you are forced to move, maybe a temporary stay in a rented mobil home could bridge you? But that could also add more allergic triggers, right?
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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
I'm so sorry you're dealing with this!
I read all the comments and will add my two cents
I used to work as a property manager, showing apartments and following up on applications and stuff
A lot depends on your rental market. If it's hard to get a place, then you might be hesitant to do anything that the person showing the apartment will think is weird
But if it's an okay market for renters, meaning you don't have to worry that they're going to exclude you for a stupid reason, you could just be up front with them. Maybe try this first on a place that is not your top preference, for practice and to gauge reactions
You could just say I'm sensitive to fumes and have allergies. If they seem amenable, you could describe the situation more. Maybe they could air the place out before you come over, and then close it up so that smells accumulate?
I kind of doubt that you could get a good assessment of what's going to be safe for you, if the windows are open, or an air purifier going, while you are there
Again, my sympathies! I adopted a cat a few years ago, and I couldn't sniff her for allergies. She turns out to be the most allergenic cat I have ever encountered, in a lifetime of doing cat rescue. Oh well. Hopefully you have a better plan, and will have better luck!
PS I forgot to say, if you feel like the conversation is going okay with them, you might ask about cleaning products, or how recently the cleaning person was in there. Because it would be a shame to reject an apartment due to smells that are temporary. And even worse if the cleaning smells covered up a mold smell or something, that is longer term!
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@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.
@broadwaybabyto It sounds like you're doing all the right things
It's scary and unwelcome, but you got this 
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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 When I can’t wear a mask, I use azelastine nasal spray. Research shows it helps reduce covid infection. I wish it were more widely known because it seems like an easy thing for most people. It does have a strong smell but that subsides after a half hour or so.
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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 @augieray Do you have any suggestions?
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