The Blob Has Taken Over My Apartment

I’m really looking forward to the night when I’m tipsy from a couple glasses of wine (OK, who are we kidding, one glass of wine), and I’ll elbow Greg and say, ‘HEY, HEY, remember that timeee when we rented that apartment in Peru? Yeah, yeah, and we didn’t know it had that MOLD INFESTATION! Ohmygod, that was a riot! Let’s never do THAT again!’

And then I’ll laugh hysterically because I think I’m really funny when I’m tipsy (OK, who are we kidding, I’m not funny, I’m hilarious).

The Backstory

At first, I was fascinated by this mold, which I affectionately dubbed “The Blob” because it was covering a huge wall in our bedroom (and then later not-so-affectionately re-dubbed it “THAT *!$$@*”). As a science journalist, I think fungus of all kinds is incredibly interesting. And as a health reporter, mold is always a great story. Mold, depending on the type, has a habit of releasing spores almost constantly. And, again, depending on the type, those spores can be incredibly toxic.

Toxic, as in, they can KEEL you.

Not wanting to sneeze myself to death, I decided The Blob had to go, and it had to go ASAP. ASAP turned out to be a Friday night at the end of a long week. *sigh

So far we’ve tried bleach, vinegar, boric acid and—after reading a crunchy blog—tea tree oil. With bandanas to cover our noses and long-sleeve shirts and pants to keep the spores off our bodies, the significant other and I looked like two bandits who missed “Weapons 101” day at Bad-Guy School. Wielding cleaning supplies to do battle with a carpet of fuzz clinging to the walls, kitchen table, hallway table, shoes, jackets, electronics, desk, closets, drawers, cupboards, and drapes isn’t going to make it into a Marvel Comic anytime soon.

The Blob Strikes Again

Lima has seen a huge construction boom over the past few years. Our building is relatively new, which is why we liked it—and also probably why we have mold. These buildings are constructed quickly, which means corners are cut, and ventilation is practically nonexistant. Couple that with Lima’s normal humidity and the fact that I live a mere five blocks from the coast means that we may have conquered The Blob now.

But it’s waiting.

And it’s going to strike again. Dun DUn DUN.