The answer is probably yes, but I'm not sure what to do.
I've been living in NYC for about a year now (I'm 28), and have had some serious problems with my apartments, including my latest one, which is a recently-renovated 2br in Brooklyn.
Basically what happens is, as I spend more time in the bathroom and kitchen, I slowly lose my ability to breathe. If I just hang around and don't talk or sing much, it's a slow descent into asthma hell, only realised when I go outside and have to cough all of it up. Otherwise, I can feel congestion in back upper back appear as I respire quicker.
It's a railroad apartment with the kitchen and bathroom in the middle, bedrooms at either end, one bedroom has another bathroom. It sounds nice, I have no roommates, but it doesn't mean anything if I can't **** breathe.
I've been to an allergist and have been diagnosed with allergies to mold, dust, and cats (though I love cats).
I generally feel better in the bedroom (I'm trying to set the other one up as an office), but because of the massive amount of dirt/dust/whatever pipes in from the windows, I have to clean it a lot (which is fine).
The bigger issue is dealing with whatever triggers my asthma in my now-super-clean apartment - I'm afraid it might be mold. At nights, I close both doors to the kitchen/middle area and have a HEPA filter going full blast while I sleep. Hasn't really made a difference, unfortunately.
It's really hard to explain this to people, especially in a clean, recently-renovated apartment, since if it can't be seen, it obviously doesn't exist⸮
I moved into this place on Dec 1, after a very long apartment search, after leaving two other apartments previously because of similar/mold reasons, and while it seemed perfectly fine in the "search" phase, it somehow acquired a massive amount of dust by the time I'd moved in.
I thought cleaning up the place would help - I also bought a new HEPA filter, and slowly ditched all my furniture that had been associated with a previously-moldy apartment, and it did, for a while.
But in the last week or so, something has gone wrong, and whenever I sit down in the middle part of my apartment, I can feel my lungs inflame. Sometimes it feels like my back is sweating, which is gross, because it's probably just mucus filling up my lungs.
Wonderful.
As mentioned, I've been to an allergist, have a daily inhaler - I'd originally been on Asmanex (200mcg mometasone furoate, two hits a day), now on Dulera (200mcg mometasone fuorate + 5mcg formoterol fumarate dihydrate, two hits TWICE a day), plus an anti-histamine. I also have an albuterol rescue inhaler, that I've had to take almost daily.
While the inhalers work wonderfully against outdoor allergens - I'm totally fine outside on a high-pollen + bad air quality day, but as soon as I come back inside, I can feel my lungs slowly seal up. HEPA filters don't really do much, either, circulating the air seems to make it worse.
I've left two apartments previously in the last year for similar reasons, but it leaves me in a very hairy situation, if I do ever want to rent an apartment again, since I can't hold a lease if I keep breaking them (it was hard to get this one after breaking my previous).
This has unfortunately been the nicest/newest apartment I've ever lived in, and the dichotomy between all this new stuff and slowly suffocating because of something in the air bothers me.
As an added layer of WTF, I'm usually fine in my friends' apartments, even if I stay the night, but wherever I ****** live seems to have a problem.
Allergists always just want to give me more drugs, which don't really seem to be working for this issue.
Not sure what else to do, so I'm asking you lovely people. Would love any help.
Thanks! :)