Aubree Felderhoff: Welcome to Mold Free Mom, where we cut the confusion and break down what it really takes to heal from mold illness. Whether you're dealing with unexplained symptoms and no real answers, or you know mold is your problem, you've done everything right, and yet you're still not better. This podcast is for you. I'm Aubrey, and I spent 12 years struggling with mold toxicity. before finally learning why nothing was working. Mold wasn't my only problem. Not knowing how to heal from it was. This is where guessing ends and real healing begins. Let's get started.
Aubree: Welcome back to Mold Free Mom. I am so excited to share my guest, Christina, with you. Christina is the founder and president of Conscious Healthy Home. She has over 15 years of experience as an attorney and a variety of healthy building training After toxic mold impacted her family, she pivoted to bring a unique blend of legal expertise. technical knowledge and personal experience to guide families through building, renovating and remediating their homes. And I personally have had the honor of hearing Christina speak and she is amazing. So I am so excited to share her with you. Welcome Christina.
Cristina Greenfield: Thank you so much Aubrey, I'm so excited to be here with you and be able to speak to your audience. It's an honor. Thank you for inviting me.
Aubree: Yes, we are so excited to have you. All right, so I know that most people need an inspector or a mediator when they're dealing with mold, but you're doing something a little bit different. So I would love for you to explain what is conscious healthy home and where does it actually fit into the process if you are someone that might be dealing with mold.
Cristina: Yeah, that's such a good question. I created with Conscious Healthy Home is basically what I needed when my family was going through mold. We were really blessed to find a functional medicine practitioner who guided us in our health journey with respect to our bodies. But I was kind of like, well, how do I make sure that this doesn't happen to us again? Because we thought we did all the right things and everything is so confusing and we hired all the right people and I thought we asked the right questions. And so what I created with Conscious Healthy Home is an opportunity to kind of bridge the a gap between what homeowners know and what they might see in their inspections or what they might be trying to ⁓ figure out, you know, when they say, I want to build a healthy home, for example, if they're not going through remediation, but they're going through a new build project, I want to build a healthy home and helping them understand the limitations of what it means when they say that. And also how to just kind of pull that thread all the way through and make sure that they get the right team in place. So I consider myself a kind of a bridge builder in that way. there's a gap. mean there just truly is a gap between what we know as homeowners and what industry professionals know. And so what I've built is just a way to kind of bridge that gap for people, close that gap and help them have more successful projects.
Aubree: there's such a gap. I know we talked offline, but I really needed you. I just didn't know you existed whenever I was going through it. How did you go from that and a practicing attorney to deciding to kind of fill this gap that is out there in the industry?
Cristina: Yeah, I know. We did. Yeah, I really didn't decide. I think that God decided for me.
Aubree: Yep.
Cristina: Yeah, and I've just been working on diligently following his path. And one of my consistent prayers is to ask God to just close the tabs because there's just so much overthinking, you know, in my brain and all these, you know, back and forth of like, well, why would you do that? You already have a career. What are you doing? You don't need another job, I figured out that my expertise as a lawyer, because I'm a commercial attorney. ⁓ which means I'm not the litigator, I'm not the one that's like objection, I'm not the TV attorneys, I'm the bridge builder for my clients. I'm the one who says, okay, you have a project, we have project goals, we have financial constraints, we have limitations, we have a risk tolerance. How do we make this project happen given all of those things? And how do we make sure that our counterparty is also happy because it's never a good project if only one side is happy, right? So I just kind of leveraged that, that risk assessment experience and that ability. to kind of close the gap and understand an industry and help communicate ⁓ objectives. And I've just kind of leveraged that into this process as well. And it's tough not to take on more projects in this field because it's an opportunity for myself. It's almost like a corrective experience every time I get to help a family go through it because, you know, it's like, again, I created it because it's what I needed, what we needed. And, you know, I can see where there were times in our journey where I felt so just defeated because I felt like I'm supposed to be able to protect my family, not just because I'm a lawyer, but because I'm a mom. You know, they count on me. I'm supposed to be able to protect them. And I felt so powerless and unable to do that. So whenever I can, whenever I figure out, know, whenever I find the right clients and they find me and I'm like, okay, we're going to walk through this together. I understand your limitations. I understand your fears. I understand your objective. We're going to close this gap. We're going to figure it out. And every single time it's different. But it's so incredibly rewarding to be able to help people in a way that I truly never knew I was capable of. really thought, because I've kind of grown up in these large multinational Fortune 100 companies, and I had this mindset of, well, that's all I'm good for. I'm not really suited to do anything else. This is what I've been trained to do. And God had other plans. rewarding trying to figure out his path and follow it.
Aubree: I love that answer. It's similar to how I got started in the mold industry as well. I had no intention of ever touching the mold industry once I got out of my own sickness. And yet God just kept pulling me back in. In fact, we had a second exposure and a second remediation. And I knew then, same thing, I don't want to do this, but God wants me to. God wants me to help people heal. And yeah, you can't argue with him. No.
Cristina: Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Isn't that so interesting? You can't argue with it and everything in your head is like, I don't want to go back there. I don't want to think about this for another second. it's traumatic and I'm sure maybe you had the same experience, but the first couple of clients, it's painful, you know, because it takes you right back.
Aubree: Yes.
Cristina: But yeah, God has, there's a whole redemption story that he's creating for us it's really, I feel like it amplifies with every client that you get to help. It amplifies because you're like, okay, I've helped them heal and a little piece of me healed too. Now I've helped and they can go out and help other people. it's just like, he's given you a gift and don't get me wrong, took me a while to consider it a gift, what we experienced. And some days I'm still wondering, but when he gives you, When he gives you a gift and you can amplify it, you can make it grow three-fold, five-fold, ten-fold, That's a purpose worth pursuing. Yeah.
Aubree: No, 100%. my goodness. I can't even tell you that this is a gift. I was given that from God specifically not long ago during a quiet time when I was griping about something. And so it just, that hits me very hard,
Cristina: Yeah.
Aubree: Okay, well let me ask you this. We have so many questions to get there. I know so many people don't know the answer. I want to know first, Christina, if you're, let's say, reviewing a remediation contract, because I know that's part of your scope of work, is helping families to review ⁓ inspection reports, remediation contracts. What are some of the most maybe common red flags that you would see that the average family would have no idea, never catch on their own that you can tell us about?
Cristina: haha Yeah, I think the biggest red flag is not having a contract to review. know, some people they'll have, they'll, they'll be something to sign, right? It's usually a proposal. There's a scope of work and there's a proposal and you know, they just, yeah, okay, go do that work and they sign it. But either there's no terms and conditions at all, or it's so small that they can't see it. Or like maybe it's on the back of, one of those pieces of paper that were those papers that you write on that like make several copies And sometimes there's terms on the back that like nobody thinks to read. And so I think generally that's probably the biggest red flag. I think that when you're looking at remediation contracts for remediation contractors, particularly in Texas, this is the case. I've learned it's not the same way in other states, but in Texas, you know, if there's a certain amount of square footage that's impacted by mold, the requirements are that you have a certified mold inspector, mold assessment consultant come in, write a report, write a protocol, and then and the remediation company works off of that protocol. I would say another red flag is that sometimes there's remediation companies that are willing to not follow that process. And that's a red flag, you know? So it's almost, it's taking a setback from the contract and really kind of understanding the industry and the requirements of licensed professionals in your state and making sure that the people that you're working with are willing to guide you through, even if it makes it a little bit more difficult, but the rules are there for a reason. Usually it's there to protect consumers. So that would be the first thing is just making sure that homeowners understand the rules of their particular jurisdiction. And that way they can make sure that the professionals that they're using, although they might say the right things, you really want somebody who's also doing the right things the right way, even when no one's looking.
Aubree: just completely overwhelming this whole process is. But especially the inspection remediation part for me, I mean, I just felt it was horrifying. It was so overwhelming, so scary because you can't see most of the time, you can't even see the mold, you can't see the mycotoxins.
Cristina: It is. Yeah.
Aubree: terrifying as a family. So how would you help families advocate for themselves when they're going through this? Because you clearly know your stuff, but I know as someone that went through it, I had no idea and I didn't feel like I had a leg to stand on to even argue with an inspector or a remediator. Do you have recommendations or are you the one that goes and sits in a meeting with them or how does that work?
Cristina: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, so it can go both ways. from my perspective, I hope that if I work with somebody once, I never have to work with them again, because I hope that I've empowered them to the degree that they can now advocate for themselves. And I hope that I've empowered them to the degree that they can answer their own questions, you know, whenever something comes up. But some people, frankly, you know, when you're experiencing mold, you're not operating at 100 % usually. So, you know, you're not really even able to think about the questions and your home is so personal and your health is affected and your family is affected. So I think it's very natural to be in the position where it's just overwhelming because it is, you know. I think understanding that when you find mold, visible mold, you That's really not the end of the trail. That's kind of the beginning because mold is actually just a symptom of a building failure. It's not the failure itself. So if, for example, you remove the mold and you remediate and you put everything back in exactly the same way that it was, the likelihood that it's going to come back is high because we haven't really figured out where the source is, you know? So that's the value that I bring to people and to families is just to kind of say, OK, you've got your inspector. This is what they say. This is what they found. Now, let's start. Let's start tracing. Let's start making a trail. start figuring out what could be the source. And usually we have to put together a whole map basically of their home because the home operates as a system. So it's not just one thing, it could be a plumbing leak, that would be kind of the easiest, right? But it also could be air infiltration, it could be exfiltration, it could be a compromise to the building envelope, it could be faulty flashing on the window or a service penetration, or it could be air movement communication from the hot humid attic that is unconditioned. not ventilated well. There's a variety of things that it could be, but your traditional mold inspections don't point to the source. I have seen some and it is encouraging. I have seen some inspection reports that where the inspector says, hey, somebody who can assess the envelope needs to do that. But still the homeowner's like, well, who is that? What do they do? What does that mean? But that becomes part of the clearance criteria. And I think that's a big step forward. It's a big step in the right direction because I've seen far too many families go through the process and I'm sure you have as well, a whole remediation, everything gets put back exactly where it was before and then it comes back. And then they're going through the same thing again. And they're left distraught and distrustful and rightly so, you know? But the missing element is always that everybody's going like this when it comes to finding the source. truly, I mean, even mold inspectors, the building science is not part of their curriculum. Like it's not part of their of their licensure, you know. So you really kind of want to find somebody who has more of that forensic background and is willing to help you dig. And then of course a remediation company who can get everything that's found and do it in the right way. But then the next step that again is a lot of times left out because people are just like, ⁓ you know we're going to take everything out, we're going to put it back. And so they just get their run-of-the-mill handyman put back contractor. Well sometimes it's the building envelope, you know. Sometimes it requires more specialized Scope of work for the put back and that's that's also overwhelming But my job is to help people understand, you know, this is what we're looking at. Here are your options There's always going to be a good better best You don't have to go to the best in order to still have a great house But you need to understand the limitations that that might have on your health on your healing on your resale You know and that's okay every single choice that we make is going to have its limitations and that's also part of you know What I communicate to people is we're not looking for perfection because I think we get overwhelmed with we need to go from this terrible situation to perfect. We need like a hospital grade environment, know, otherwise it's worth nothing. And that's just simply not true. It's not true at all. So I think when you know, it's a lot of education and it's a lot of empathy, honestly, because you have to be able to understand where someone is coming from, the pain that they're coming from, the fear, you know, the the financial limitations, you got it, you got to be in it with them to help really guide them because some of it is earning their trust. Even though I've never done anything to make them distrust me, they're generally distrustful of everyone, you know, because they've been failed or they feel like they've been failed. So it's that transparent communication to just really, really help people writing things out and kind of the redundancy in communication. So it's not just talking. It's not just sitting with them. It's not just looking them in the eye and telling them something. It's writing it down and then offering, Hey, do you have any questions? Is there anything that I misunderstood? from your perspective, is there anything that you still don't understand from what I've Because there's the brain fog element too, you know, that's really real. And frankly, like all of the answers for a short period of time when you're going through mold from all of the professionals is like a punch in the gut. Everything that you hear is like you're constantly getting beat, you know, and it's tough. And so I think that having somebody standing beside you and not, you know, helping you understand that, that's not a blow, it's not actually a punch in the gut, this is information and we are mining for information right now so that you can make better decisions. It's okay. It's okay that we just got that message. It's okay, you know.
Aubree: gosh, it almost sounds like you're a project manager, an advocate, and a therapist all wrapped up into a warm blanket.
Cristina: You warm blanket, that's so good. I mean, I try to be, there's really, again, there's like, there's no roadmap for the way that I'm doing this. I'm just trying to meet people where they are and use whatever gifts God gave me to do it. And, you know, if I can help one family, if I can help one person, I mean, I think all of our lives are immeasurably worthwhile. So it's, you know, it's good.
Aubree: Yeah, I love that. I have no doubt you're helping many just through this podcast and other appearances that you've done aside from the hand holding work. So if you're working with someone and they come to you with, say an inspection report and you can see that the IEP that was written is missing the, where did the mold come from? Right? Like they're just saying, Hey, there's mold underneath your kitchen cabinet. You need to cut it out and replace it.
Cristina: Thank Mm-hmm.
Aubree: But what then do you tell them? Like, do you fire the inspector? Do you get a second opinion? Because at that point, I would be concerned that my inspector is not the quality that I want to help me mitigate the problem in the first place. So what is your recommendation for someone that's in that situation?
Cristina: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I see that situation a lot and I don't usually recommend outright firing the inspector because like I said, there's just few and far between who really dig that deep and it's truly outside of their scope. to have to find the source. Like there's nothing that says definitively that it's their job to find the source. They might make the recommendation that you should find the source, but it's not necessarily their job, which is a missing piece, right? So what I do is immediately when I come on a team, I bring everyone together because one of the biggest risks is that we're all operating in silos and that makes doing this very easy to do, right? And so between it's the homeowner who hasn't adequately communicated what they need or want, it's the inspector. who went in and did, you know, a less than thorough inspection, or they just didn't have the building science knowledge to kind of help trace, you know, what might be the source. And then we have the remediator who's going, all I have to do is follow the protocol that the guy who didn't even understand how to find the source wrote for me. So that's, you know, that's it. So we bring everybody together and I help everybody kind of understand, hey, this is our project North Star. This is what we're going for. This is what we need. You know, we need, we need more than average. And, and I do kind of feel for inspectors too sometimes because because I'm like, all they're doing is going in and giving people the worst news of their life that they never expected, that is not oftentimes covered by insurance. Like this is not an easy job, you know? And so just to tell them like, hey, we don't want baseline. We don't want run of the mill. We need source identification and we need your help to find it. And so, you know, based on what you saw, here's what I would think. And you you saw this in the attic. You saw this in a chase. You saw this in an interior closet. Does that to you mean that there is communication? you know, how is the HVAC sized? Do we need to bring in an HVAC inspector? know, is this an older house and somebody oversized the HVAC and now this has caused this, you know, these issues. Because what that speaks to is again building envelope and just communication between the systems, right? You've got way too much pressure now. The home wasn't made to withstand that much pressure and it's now pulling more air than normal from the outside. in and from the attic down. And so could this be one of the problems, right? But we're all talking together. We get everyone together and we start just iterating, talking, communicating because ultimately, you know, if the remediator finds something, because they're kind of peeling back the onion, they find something, but we need to go back and we communicate to the inspector what we found. We might need to have the inspector come back, you know, and help look at things. They might need to rewrite the protocol. Like things, it should be a living, breathing, moving process. shouldn't just be like, I wrote a protocol, I'm done until you need me to come back and do the clearance testing. We all kind of have to be moving in unison. And that's something that I think surprises people because I don't think they're normally called together to all have conversations openly and transparently and saying, what can you do? What can you do? What do you know? What have you seen? And they're a little bit surprised by that. But I think for the most part, the people that I've worked with are open to it and they're pleased by it because I think they're tired of working in silos too.
Aubree: Yeah, absolutely. I love that. It's more of just the team approach, which makes complete sense as a system that you're trying to improve upon on your house.
Cristina: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, exactly. like the team approach, I think from a psychological perspective really helps people too, because we are all just people, you know, we have different expertise, we have different goals, but we're all just people and nobody really wants to go and like, what kind of terrible job can I do today? How can I spend my time doing an awful job? You know, like I just don't believe people wake up and say that. And so I think that when we're when we're like, hey, we want to set you up for success, you know, and how can we help and what can you help?
Aubree: through. Yeah.
Cristina: with and how can we kind of work together. And it's just a more natural approach and it kind of brings the human back to a, you know, to a kind of dehumanized process. Yeah.
Aubree: Yeah, I love that and it's so important. So piggybacking off of that, if I am someone that is maybe just looking to move, like forget inspecting, remedying, I'm selling as is, I'm moving and either I'm moving to a new place or I want to build, I know that you work with people in that position too, correct?
Cristina: I do.
Aubree: So what are some of the, I guess, most important things that people need to consider or understand if they're in the position of just moving and either moving to a new home or building from scratch and trying to build a healthy home and have no idea where to start?
Cristina: Yeah. Yeah, that's such a good question. So I think I'll tackle it in two parts. First, if somebody is moving and does not want to build a home, I think there's still a lot of hope and a lot of possibilities in what you can find. I would make sure that you're really, really honest with yourself on your budget and don't kind of just rely on what the bank says that you can afford because the likelihood that you're going to go in and need to do some retrofitting on stuff that maybe is not so fun, like it's not aesthetics, know, it's maybe envelope or it's systems. and those are not cheap is pretty high because people just haven't put the emphasis on the things that really keep our homes resilient and comfortable and durable. So keep that in mind first of all when you're going into it, but also work with a real estate agent who understands what they're doing. And I created a training program for real estate agents in this space because what I heard from people was, well, that's great that you're helping people build new homes and you're helping people go through these large scale remediations, but I'm not interested. in that. I just want a realtor to help me find a healthy home. And I went out looking and there's nothing. There's no certification for this. There's like the green building certification, but it's not the same thing. And so I created a process where I basically took my consulting work and I transformed it to where it's applicable for real estate agents. And then I talked to them too about liability, like the liability of saying things that really is outside of their scope. For example, giving a homeowner some indication that something that is common, that they commonly see is normal. You know, my get you in trouble as a real estate agent if you if you are you know if that's outside your scope for example like HVAC condensation on event oh that's so common we see that all the time in the hot humid south not the same thing as normal if your client has told you that they've got a sensitivity and they've got a particular project goal for a healthy home then what you should do is direct them to a licensed HVAC professional to have that system assessed so that they can get the information that they need to make an informed choice so this is just an example but with the certification program what I'm really proud of is the real estate agents that go through this program, they have access to me forever. So, you when we're going through a transaction, like my company's name is on their title now, right? So I'm like, I'm responsible for you. I'm with you through everything, but it's not even just me now. It's a whole community because all the real estate agents and nationwide now we've got people, North Carolina, Colorado, mean, everywhere, South Carolina and Texas, of course. But we all help each other, you know, because some of these agents have been in the business for so long. They've seen things. that I couldn't, I'm not a real estate agent, so I couldn't imagine, you know. Or we're dealing with a customer or client who has a particular sensitivity and it's not as common as others. And so we're sharing information. So that network has been amazing and I love referring people to these agents because I'm like, these people want to help you and they can help you. They're not just calling themselves a, know, healthy home realtor or a holistic agent, you know, which in and of itself, I tell my real estate friends, I'm like, that's dangerous because what does that mean? You know, it could be misinterpreted by a client and they could believe that you've got some specialized knowledge that you don't yet have, which could put you at risk for them saying, hey, you didn't really honor your fiduciary duty. put, you you told me you advertised that you could do this. You got your commission and I'm, you know, I'm stuck with a whole home remediation because you didn't actually guide me in the right way. So, you know, it is dangerous. So, but I love that I have that resource now and that we have that community where we can guide people to where, you know, real estate agents can help. them nationwide, find healthier homes that are pre-existing, already existing. And I think that's, you know, a lot of people are in that boat. They're just not interested in building new. so, so we have that resource now for people who are interested in building new, that's where my consulting work comes in. And one of the first things that we talk about is what does a healthy home mean to you? You know, what have you experienced? And a lot of people, it is, you know, mold they've, they've experienced the building defects that caused mold or microbial growth or mycotoxins or actinol. my CDs or you know, whatever any any of those kind of related things. Some people are concerned about EMF. Some people are generally concerned about the environment and sustainability. You know, some people are concerned with trying to live off the grid. You know, some people are concerned with water quality. So there's a variety of different things that that people consider whenever they're saying I want a healthy home. So, you know, we're really digging into helping them figure that out. But it's important I tell people I really have to be broadened at the very beginning of the process. Because again, this is a collaborative approach. And it's not just that I can jump in after you've already found a builder and you've already signed a contract and suddenly I can make the world right. I can't. And I'll tell people, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be able to be any value to you because you've already signed this contract for this home. And it's a particular specification of home. There's a price associated with it. So that builder is going to build it exactly the way that he or she has built every other home and now you're going to add in all these nuanced layers that frankly change the cost and it changes the price and you're trying to change the deal after you've already signed a deal and that's not possible. you know so as early on in the process as possible is the best time to bring me on for consulting but I'm always very honest with people and just like hey you know unless you're willing to kind of break that agreement or get out of the agreement I'm always happy to have the conversation but the likelihood that a builder is going to say sure we can now make all these changes, you know, and we can definitely turn this Honda into, you know, a whatever fancy a Bentley or something, you know, I mean, like for the same price, it's just, it's not, not a really reasonable ask even from a commercial perspective. So, but it's just, it's just kind of getting ahead. And again, it's going back to that team mentality, getting ahead from the beginning, because with the homeowners, what we do is we're, we set out, you know, starting from what does a healthy home mean to you? I build for them a list of suggestions.
Aubree: That's great.
Cristina: and it's suggested because this is part of risk mitigation, when we go start talking to builders and we're saying, hey, these are the performance levels that we're trying to reach with respect to these different systems. And this is what we think will get us there. It's a risk if the builder has never used a particular product or they've never achieved a particular performance goal. It is a risk to go ahead and decide to work with them because they might be able to get there eventually. They might have confidence in their eventual ability, Who's gonna pay for the back and forth until you get there, right? Who's gonna pay for the experience? Usually the builder is like, well, you're the one that wants the specialized thing. You should pay for it. And the homeowner is like, well, you're the one who said you could do it. You should pay for it. You know, and the truth is just, I mean, there's no right or wrong answer, but it has to be agreed ahead of time. It shouldn't be something that you're deciding kind of in the moment in the field, you know, who's responsible for what. And so we start with the suggested specifications list. So we decide, would you like to use a different material, for example, you know, there's a different material that their trades people are used to working with rather than what's in the suggested specifications document, that's probably going to be a lower risk as long as we can, get adequate assurance that that material can perform to the same level of specification to what we're thinking. It's going to be a lower risk because they're used to working with that product, you know, versus introducing something new. And so again, we just kind of have to take it back to like the human piece, the human element. Don't surprise people with your requirements. Be upfront with your requirements. Allow them the opportunity to bid accordingly. Don't try to interject something new just because you saw it on Instagram and it's the newest flashiest thing that is you know getting all the clicks and all the reels. These people that are in this industry they've seen it all you know there's there's really little that's truly new these days. And so letting somebody work with the materials that they're used to working with, if it can get you the right performance, is going to lower the risk. And so we have these conversations as we're building the team. And then once we build the right team, it's truly smooth sailing from there. It is such an enjoyable process because you have alignment, you have accountability, everybody knows who's responsible for what, and everybody's collaborating. And there's conversations and there's give and take. And this is just kind of that constant and forth process with the homeowner where it's just like, okay, you said your goal was this. I know you saw this on Pinterest. This thing on Pinterest doesn't necessarily support this goal. That's okay if you've changed your mind, but do it with purpose. Don't do it, you know, just on a whim, right? You have to make purposeful, well-informed decisions. And that's just kind of my job. My role is to kind of keep them focused as we're moving through the process after we've got, you know, our dream team together.
Aubree: my gosh. Yeah, we have not built a house. But if we ever do and we haven't because I'm overwhelmed and I don't want to mess up if we do I am not going anywhere else but you. It just sounds amazing to have you come in because yeah, everything you said I'm like, that makes sense. Yep. That makes sense. Like, of course you would want to talk about
Cristina: Yeah. I got you, I got you. It is. Yeah.
Aubree: If I'm going to use different materials than the typical builders resources use, I want to make sure they know how to install that and use that properly. And does that require a different set of hands? And that all needs to be talked about ahead of time. But I would never in my life think about that. I would be the one to be like, hey, I want to switch this out. And the builder would be like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Cristina: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And I think too, there's no shame in that because until we're taught differently, that's the expectation. And we're just like, well, customer first. And to a degree, that's true. And I think a lot of people want to make the customer happy. where the real tension lies, I think the real tensions are always liability and finance. So who's responsible? Who's responsible from a legal perspective? And who's paying for it? And if you can just get that,
Aubree: Yeah.
Cristina: because each of those things are sort of levers that you pull. For example, I always put in a specification in the means and methods and the construction documents, because there's three documents that make up your build. It's your architectural drawings, your builder contract, and your construction documents, which kind of go along with the architectural drawings. And so in one of those documents, I want to see something, especially for my mold-sensitive clients, that we're talking about lumber. We're talking about the moisture content of lumber. We're talking about the storage of lumber. We're talking about weather. Because I what I constantly see is people like my god My house isn't dried in yet, and it rained like yeah, it's we knew that was gonna happen You know because it happens like whether it happens and it's unpredictable And so it's not that we get surprised by it But we already in the beginning have set out in our means and methods well What do we do about it when that happens do we? Test you know before we start putting drywall back up yes Do we if we see visible mold and you know it?
Aubree: Right, it rains.
Cristina: it's a piece that we can easily take out, we just take it out and replace it? Yes. If it's a structural piece that we can't easily take out, how do we handle the remediation and who remediates? Does the builder want us to bring a remediator in? Are they willing to do the remediation? Are we doing, you know, are we HEPA vacuuming while we're doing it? Are we making sure we're not getting dust all over the place? And a lot of times that depends on the phase of construction that you're in. But that kind of thing is just like, let's not pretend that's not going to happen. Let's talk about it ahead of time while we're all level headed and we're all excited because it's a new project, you know, and we're going to decide. We're in that way when that thing happens, we already have our step plan. Everybody's already agreed to what's going to happen next, you know, and we don't we don't have to we don't have to let that cause any more anxiety or grief or consternation because we just plan for it. And there are I'm not going to lie, there are some builders who will look at some of the things that some of the questions that we ask and some of the things that we ask for. they're like, no, thank you. You know, and for that, I always tell my clients, I'm like, with gratitude, you know, we say thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you for letting me know that you're not the right fit. And that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with that builder. That just means that they know their tradespeople and they know that they're not going to be capable of reaching these target goals, and that's okay.
Aubree: I'd rather know that now than halfway through this building process. yeah, yeah, it sounds like the approach that you're talking about, as I'm listening, I'm feeling my shoulders relax. ⁓ Like it's just, taking all of the anxiety and the what ifs. I mean, we cannot control everything, right? If we could, we never would have gone through mold, but it takes all of the scary futuristic problems that could happen.
Cristina: Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Aubree: puts it on paper and then gives you a plan to the best of your ability. And that just, you can't put a price on that. I just feel like it's invaluable for someone that's stressed and worried about this.
Cristina: Yes. Yeah. Absolutely, absolutely. this is where I really, I go back and I thank God because I'm like, you know, all these times that I just thought, I'm just doing this job. I'm trying to do this job and just work for big companies and you know, this kind of thing. And I've sat across the table from, you know, I mean, some of the biggest deals in the world, negotiating them and like that's a level of stress, right? But I sit down and I deal with, you know, my clients and with their projects and things. And I'm just like,
Aubree: Yes.
Cristina: This is why God put me in that position to raise my tolerance in order to be able to have in a very cool, calm, collected, collaborative way these conversations that make other people just inherently uncomfortable. And I'm like, oh, so like that. I think about that a lot because I'm like, oh man, I'm just so grateful. You never know. You just follow the path and you really don't know why you're going down any particular path. But it's nice when you get to take those moments and just kind of take a deep breath and look back. go, that makes sense, you know?
Aubree: Yeah, it's nice when we get to see a little bit of his plan, this side of heaven, right? We're not gonna see it all, but I just love to the full circle. And it makes a little bit more the pain feel like a purpose, you know? I know he has the full plan, but it helps my, you know, human small brain understand a little bit of like, it wasn't just awfulness, there was purpose behind it. So I love that.
Cristina: Yeah, we're not going to see it all. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yes. Yes, yes, exactly.
Aubree: Well, Christina, have loved every second. I've learned so much and I can't wait to one day build a house if we ever do. So for those that are now thinking I need Christina in my life, how do they get in touch with you? How can you help them? Tell us all the things.
Cristina: Yes, I'm excited to do it with you. Yeah, absolutely. So my website's the best place to get all the information. It's conscioushealthyhome.com. C-O-N-S-C-I-O-U-S, healthyhome.com. If I would have thought through how difficult that word is to spell, would have named my company something different, but it's fine. And then Instagram and Facebook, I'm also there. So it's at conscioushealthyhome. I'm not so great at responding to messages on those platforms because there are a lot that come in. So you can always email me directly. It's Christina with no H-C-R-I-S-T-E-N-G. tina at conscious healthy home.com. And, ⁓ and I'd be glad to send over whatever resources you need. always, anybody that fills out a client inquiry form, our goal is to send them something valuable. So whether or not, you know, they qualify and we can, we think we can help them and work with them. always trying to send them something. So there's plenty of resources out there. I would also make a plug for Malachi's message foundation, which is a nonprofit that I'm blessed to be the vice president for, but we help people who are impacted by mold specifically in Texas. We've got financial resource. emotional support groups that's free nationwide. We've got resources for kids to help children kind of understand what they've gone through. We developed a YouTube series for that. So there's a lot of great resources there. There's even a mold literate practitioner directory there and even a mold literate attorney directory at malachise message.org. that's also a great place for information. But if anybody fills out the client inquiry form, something will come your way. get a guide, you will get a resource, you know, and or we'll set up an appointment to talk and see how I can help.
Aubree: Awesome. Well, I will link all of that at the bottom for those that can't spell like me, so they can just click on the link and get right to your website. Well, Christina, I've had a blast. Thank you so much for coming on today.
Cristina: So good, thank you. Thank you very much. appreciated it so much. I love talking to you and I hope that your listeners found some value as well.
Aubree: I know they did.
Aubree: Isn't Christina one of the smartest people you've ever talked to? What she does is such an incredible gift that I truly wish I had for my family when we were navigating mold. Having a guide through this process is a shortcut to getting your life back. And it's not just true on the home side, it's true on the health side. If you need that guide to help you walk through the health side from start to finish, I am your girl. Book a free 20 minute call with me and we'll figure out where you are and what your next step needs to be so that you can begin reclaiming your life. The link is in the show notes.
Aubree: Thanks for listening to Mold Free Mom. If this episode has helped you make sense of some of your symptoms, diagnoses, or why nothing has worked in the past, please make sure to follow the show and leave a quick review so others who are struggling can find it quicker. If this episode brought someone struggling with unexplained sickness or mold to mind, please share it so they don't have to waste years of their life chasing the wrong answers like I did. Remember, you're not broken. You can get your life back. You just need to be shown how.
