Forget ghosts — what lurked in this house was far scarier.
A Florida woman was hit with a barrage of mysterious symptoms soon after moving into her new home, starting with a simple headache and escalating into brain fog so severe she couldn’t remember entire conversations within hours.
“I felt like I couldn’t think straight at all, like I was dying,” Grace Cronkright, a Tampa Bay realtor, said in a recent TikTok video.
Cronkright began experiencing subtle symptoms “pretty much immediately” after she and her husband purchased their home — complete with inspection — about a year ago.
At first, it was a dull headache and rashes resembling eczema that broke out around her hips, knees and wrists. Soon, she was waking up with a stuffy nose, itchy throat and puffy eyes.
But all of these symptoms were easy to dismiss or chalk up to other causes.
“There was nothing ever that extreme or obvious or crazy that I felt the need to go to a doctor and pay hundreds to thousands of dollars to get to the bottom of,” she said in another TikTok. “But they definitely added up over time and now being out of it I can see how serious it was getting.”
Cronkright and her husband could no longer ignore the health issues by June, when plumbers were working inside a wall amid a renovation. Suddenly, Cronkright was struck by an “immediate, extreme migraine.”
Even her husband began feeling off, his eyes suddenly itchy and irritated.
Concerned that the construction disturbed asbestos or lead-based paint, Cronkright called in environmental specialists to inspect the area.
The culprit was quickly uncovered: mold. A type of fungus that thrives in warm, damp and humid environments, mold releases airborne spores that can spread throughout your home and be inhaled.
Not all molds are harmful — and not everyone reacts to the ones that are — but for some people, exposure can trigger a range of health issues.
What can mold exposure do to your health?
“Mold exposure can cause inflammation anywhere along the respiratory tract,” explained Dr. Nicholas Nassikas, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
People with mold allergies or asthma are especially vulnerable and may experience more severe reactions. For those with asthma, mold can act as a trigger for attacks. Certain molds can even mimic flu symptoms — causing fever, fatigue and general malaise.
In more serious cases, exposure can lead to lung infections or anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction.
Some types, such as black mold, produce toxic compounds known as mycotoxins. These can be absorbed through the airways, skin or digestive system and pose serious health risks.
Severe mycotoxin exposure has been linked to cancer, pregnancy complications, lung scarring or bleeding, liver and kidney problems, blood disorders and damage to nearly every major system in the body.
Mold can even affect your mental health. A review of 19 studies found that prolonged mold exposure was associated with increased rates of stress, anxiety and depression in both children and adults.
The worst symptoms yet
“Once we disturbed the mold and opened the walls and it was all in the air, the symptoms got much more extreme,” Cronkright said.
She suffered from shortness of breath and debilitating migraines that lasted up to 10 days. Her face and arms went numb, the brain fog intensified and her mental health took a hit. She had dark circles under her eyes.
“You can just see it sucking the life out of you,” she said.
Mold remediation specialists quarantined the affected areas around the bathrooms. They ran air scrubbers, fogged the home, ripped out contaminated materials and spot-treated anything that couldn’t be removed.
The process had to be repeated three times before air tests finally came back clear. Cronkright felt a “huge difference,” even after the first round.
Could there be mold hiding in your house?
Across the country, nearly half of all homes in the US have some form of mold or dampness, according to a 2022 report from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
“Inside homes and other buildings, mold grows in high-humidity locations, like basements and showers,” critical care pulmonologist Lamia Ibrahim told the Cleveland Clinic, “and especially in areas where poor ventilation prevents water from drying quickly.”
It’s commonly found in air vents, attics, crawl spaces, fireplaces and HVAC systems — as well as behind or beneath walls, floors, ceilings, paint and wallpaper. It can even grow inside mattresses, kitchens appliances and washing machines.
While you can’t avoid mold entirely, there are ways to reduce your risk of exposure.
“If you’re prone to breathing problems like asthma, try to limit your exposure to damp, humid areas like basements and saunas,” Ibrahim advised.
To prevent mold growth in the home, it’s essential to address moisture issues immediately. That means fixing plumbing leaks, drying items thoroughly and improve airflow with ventilation, according to the EPA.
If items like carpets, rugs, or upholstery have gotten wet, clean or replace them — even if they appear dry now. They could be hiding mold spores.
If you spot mold, assess the situation. If the affected area is smaller than 10 square feet — roughly a 3-by-3-foot patch — you can likely clean it yourself.
Effective cleaning methods include bleach, vinegar, baking soda or hydrogen peroxide, depending on the surface and severity. But if the damage is widespread or the area is larger than 10 square feet, experts recommend calling in professionals.
