*Exact* Sabbatical Locations
Precise locations vetted with good air & good buildings or campsites
Hello everyone!
This Substack article lists out 25 exact locations (with some hotels, Airbnbs and campsites) where we have deemed the location to be good according to the Locations Effect paradigm.
This article is for Founding Members.
It is on top of our usual 1 free post a month and 1 paid post a month.
Special Founding Member articles will go out every few months and contain very specialised information that was harder to gather or cost me more to gather.
How to join the Founding Member’s tier:
If you are already on a paid plan and want to upgrade: log in, go to the circle on the upper right that is your account logo, go to settings, then choose My Chemical-Free House, then click on upgrade. If you want to see a video of how to do that, it is shown here.
Summary:
Please note that the Locations Effect is part of the mold avoidance paradigm which is explained in part one of the locations effect series.
This is the paradigm I’m following.
This is very distinct from the MCS paradigm, though it is appropriate and beneficial for MCS folks in my personal experience and observation.
(Though you do have to be careful to make sure you are still mindful of the MCS triggers that are most important for you to avoid until you bring those sensitivities down).
In the mold avoidance paradigm, what we have experienced is that what feel like outdoor biotoxins like “mystery toxin”, cyanobacteria and others below, have been for us the key toxins to avoid in our collective recoveries from MCS, mold illness, CFS, fibro etc.
Locations with the absence of these, have led many of us to experience the Locations Effect which is a big burst of healing/improvement due to the location (that is tied to the absence of these perceived toxins).
In the mold avoidance paradigm this is considered a key for people with CFS and MCS. You prioritise the “master toxins” (of MT etc.) not the triggers that bother people with MCS, as the triggers, in our experience, are not the master toxins that underly the condition.
What is on the list:
There are six 100% “perfect” locations based on the information that I have (following the mold avoidance paradigm).
There are seven more locations with only trace levels of cyanobacteria or trace agricultural toxins. No MT. I consider these perfect in my book.
And there are a few more that I still consider good locations effect spots that have low level cyano and two with the lowest level of MT.
There are 25 places total, most being great all around but I do mention 5 precise locations that are good outside but not inside (for those that want to choose their own lodging).
I consider all of these outdoor locations to be “good locations” for a locations effect sabbatical. Most of them include hotels or Airbnbs which also have tested well according to our tests.
You will have to choose what is best for you based on what we have presented and your own sensitivities to other triggers not mentioned here (like pesticides, fragrance etc).
The locations:
The locations span Europe, the Caribbean, South America, Asia and the Pacific Islands (close to Australia).
This is not a mainland US or Canada based list.
My search of the US didn't lead to anything really good right now in this round. There are two US territory locations though.
I will go back to part 2 and 3 of the locations effect series and add in which exact countries are on this list here for those who want to know the countries before subscribing to the Founding Member’s tier and seeing the full list below (since that information is not public).
Type of lodging:
There are three campsites on the list but many of the Airbnbs also have big yards where you can camp.
There are twelve Airbnbs.
And five hotels.
Acronyms:
MT = Mystery Toxin - the crowdsourced term for the main suspected biotoxin found outside that affects mold sensitive people, MCSers, and those with CFS/fibro, etc. This is considered the number one outdoor toxin to avoid in our paradigm. (Though please note, in tropical locations there can be air just as bad as MT from a mix of other toxins that are not identified.) MT has not been scientifically tested, but because it is so common, and very prevalent in most big cities in the US and Canada it’s the easiest non-scientifically-identified toxin for mold sensitive people to agree on. Read more about it here (but the parts about HT in that article are not accurate).
CT = this is a newer toxin that has come up in the mold avoidance communities. I don’t necessarily believe in this one, but the fact that Andrew Huang can identify it as something being “off” in the air quality is something I think is valid to include here as tends to be right about these things.
Cyano = cyanobacteria, this is a scientifically known toxin that occurs in outdoor bodies of water and soil. You can find science-based maps of places where this is really really bad but here we are focusing on mold avoiders’ experience of what we believe to be cyanobacteria (though could also be similar toxins that feel the same to us) that comes from water or soil and then gets lifted up into the air (affecting the general air quality).
HT/RE = hell toxin - this is a chemical that comes from factories/new materials, especially electronics, textiles, books and small factory items. If you are not sensitive to it, the chemical just washes off or wears off these new items with time. If you are sensitive to it, it clings to everything and is impossible to wash off and builds up over time. Many MCS/mold sensitive and or EMF sensitive people are carrying a very harsh version of this toxicant, therefore I mention locations where many sensitive people have been for those that want to be cautious of those areas.
Testing
Results are a combo of reports from mold avoiders and Andrew Huang’s intuitive testing which I introduce here.
(This is far more accurate than reports in my personal experience, but reports are interesting to some people).
Andrew says:
“For this list I looked at outdoor toxins: MT, cyano, CT. And the agricultural biotoxins ended up sticking out to me. And then indoor molds/bacteria for the indoor locations (they tend to come together).”
“I didn't look at EMF, VOCs, pesticides.” (Though he can test for those things if you send him the photos to check for those or any other thing that is very important to you to avoid).
“I didn't look for HT but I would have noticed this visually.”
Caveats
The accuracy of the intuitive testing and other people’s reports is only as accurate as:
The accuracy of the photos (how new they are, if they are unedited which we cannot always tell by looking at them, etc.)
How many photos we have to assess. If we didn’t have photos of all weather conditions or all rooms in the house then we don’t have full information.
The information we have at the time. If anything has changed since the reports or photos have been reviewed then that changes things.
Subjective reports: The personal abilities of Andrew and the sensitivity levels of those who have reported on the locations are subject to human error. Therefore, we make no guarantee that the reports/testing is accurate or that it is testing/reporting on the substances in the air/buildings that bother you in particular.
We are assessing them based on our subjective experience of outdoor toxins relevant to mold avoiders within the mold avoidance paradigm, this is not based on scientific testing nor scientific reports like air quality maps.
We have not assessed them for all toxins, toxicants, or environmental illness triggers. We are only providing subjecting experiences on the main biotoxins we personally deem to be the most crucial as mentioned above. If you have other sensitivities to anything else that is not mentioned above we did not test for it, and you will have to assess it yourself. See the list in part one of potential things you should ask about in countries outside US/Canada.
You need to gather more info: It is necessary to procure recent and unedited photos of the places on this list and I would recommend then sending those to Andrew for a final look. You might also have to assess it in person yourself, or by sending someone to look at it for you, to check for things that you need to know. That part is up to you.
Hell Toxin risk: Whether you believe in it or not, HT is spread from sensitives carrying it to other environmentally sensitive people and the effects can be disastrous and life changing. Therefore, there is an inherent risk in sharing a list of locations that sensitive people have been to or could go to. I am managing this risk by keeping this to a very small group of people and by having readers agree to report back that they went to a location and not share this list in illness groups. If you know you carry HT, mention that when reporting that you went to a location.
Agreements:
Agreements before signing up/reading this list include not sharing the list in environmental illness communities and reporting back if you go to one of them.
This does not mean we need a full report of how you found the location/indoor lodging to be for you or how you felt there (I’d prefer folks did not report on that).
It’s more important just to log how many sensitive people go there - as some sensitive people have to avoid places where many other sensitive people have been.
It would be exceptionally helpful to everyone in the community if you could provide a link in the comment section to a photo you took of the indoor and outdoor air as you are leaving.