First, properly processed green beans do not require acid and only need to be PC'd 25 minutes for quarts. There isn't enough information to know what went wrong. I'm not sure the canner was vented before the weight was applied. If they are "spoiling" then that would indicate the jars weren't sealed and that is entirely separate from the canning times and use of the canner. To determine the cause of that you'd have to go back to how the jars and lids were prepared, how the beans were packed and the lids applied. But the biggest issue seems to be that your co-worker hasn't invested the 5 or 10 minutes it would take to go to the NCHFP or one of the many Extension sites where the current USDA guide is posted to get proper instructions for use of a pressure canner and processing of green beans. You can't fix stupid. Carol

I'm a bit contrarian on this subject. Mold isn't good. But if I found mold in my house, my primary worry would be "What's leaking? It needs to get fixed before it rots the house." Mold really isn't that different from dust mites. Mold just has a better PR guy. He wrote a lot of that scary stuff you're reading. The truth is somewhere in the middle. The people who are most troubled by mold are people who have an allergy to it, just like people have allergies to dust mites or cats or strawberries. Some people who are more sensitive mold need to be more vigilant, but that's not everybody. At higher levels, yes, it would make more people sensitive, and therefore sick. But even "toxic mold" is not so toxic it's going to take down city blocks. Some of the symptoms people attribute to mold during cleanup is just dust, paint/glue fumes or even stress and dehydration from hauling around hundreds of pounds of filthy old carpet! The "I found mold. And I have been feeling sick lately. It must be the mold!" is a logic that makes very, very bad people money. They go into houses, open their little kits and, voila! MOLD! The truth is, they could go in tho the cleanest, healthiest houses in America and find some mold. Heck. People even eat mold. Many forms are beneficial organisms. We need them. It would be like trying to eradicate oxygen from the atmosphere -- futile and destructive. The reputable businesses, and I'm sure they are out there, would walk out of those houses and say, "Within completely normal levels." The bad ones will sell you fear. And a lot of other stuff. So be careful. An allergen is just anything that produces an allergic reaction, in this case, that's the mold spores, and probably all kinds of other things in the carpet getting kicked up. Any kind of spore is really hard to kill. They have a coating that makes them just lie around and wait for suitable conditions to germinate. So something like painting over them would kill them, but just washing surfaces with a bleach solution and removing them from the house is effective and within your control. If you feel sick, talk to your doctor, not a mold removal contractor! Your doctor can help you put this in perspective, sort out your symptoms maybe refer you to an allergist. Mold is an easy scapegoat. You might start loading up on antihistamines or other over the counter medicines because you're busy with the reno and really make yourself sick without getting a proper diagnosis. I'm not saying don't take the steps you're taking to remediate the threat. They seem reasonable. Cover the dusts for the dust anyway. Talk to your insurance company. Fix what needs to be fixed. But I have heard stories that would make you very, very angry -- like write to your congressman angry -- about mold abatement practices. So I feel the need to tell people: If what somebody tells you sounds crazy and expensive, and out of line with what insurance will pay for --...

I almost posted a few weeks ago, "what dumb thing did you do today?". I had a years worth of oddities in one day trying to multi-task. Fortunately i checked all pockets before doing laundry...2 dozen cherry tomatoes, half a chocolate bar, tape, scissors....one milk dud, lol. Always loosing coffee cups... I think one of the worst was leaving for a long weekend and DH left the front door open. A few birds moved in and shat everywhere. We now double check and again when we leave even for work. Think, check, and check again. (i printed out a check list by the downstairs exit door) Add to daily life a medical issue and i do understand how difficult that would be. When we are stressed from work and not so young anymore, we just slow down and use our cell phone timers...

What a wonderful story! And congratulations on your lovely new furniture. I can hardly wait to see them in your home. Your story reminds me of something similar that happened to me about 15 years ago. I drove past an antique store every day on the way to work, and kept admiring a maple corner hutch in their window. I told my husband about it and said that I wanted to run in and check the price when I had a chance. But a few days later it was sold. I told my husband I was kicking myself for not making it in sooner, because I had really loved it. The next day when I got home from work, it was all set up in the dining room, with my dishes all arranged on the shelves. Turns out he was the one who had bought it! It was such a lovely thoughtful thing to do - it made me cry! What a guy!