Hi lazygardens and BrosaFarm. Thank you so much for replying. It does sound a little gross, but better safe than REALLY sorry. First of all, I'm kind of obsessive about cleaning water containers and about hand washing. My mother raised cage birds for sale and chickens and she pounded it into me that we keep everything very clean. She used bleach in water containers when she changed the water. And she was a nurse, so she was probably hyper-aware. So this is how I do things too. I actually wash my own hands in hot water and soap PLUS bleach water if I've even touched a chicken or duck. So I am being careful with hand washing. But...I got very, very sick week before last and it lasted quite awhile. All the TERRIBLE symptoms were the same as Giardia, but I didn't know that yet. I got so dehydrated that my hubby took me to the doc. He sent me to the hospital as an outpatient. I had a litre and a half of saline plus other goodies pumped into me via IV. I felt pretty good for a quite a few days, but I'm starting to feel achy again along with upset stomach. head ache, no appetite, etc. I had a follow up visit yesterday and he asked me again if I'd been anywhere there may have been contaminated water. I was thinking of camping and that sort of thing. So I said no, but then on the 17 mile drive home I had some time to think and it kind of dawned on me that I am with my ducks, chickens, dogs and cats a LOT and I have been splashed by ducky wading pool water many times on my face as well as the rest of me. Also, our outdoor water is irrigation water that comes from the mountain snow pack melting and it's stored in a huge reservoir until spring. It's not fit to drink, to say the least. I haul indoor water out to the chickens and ducks by the huge bucketful's each day. I've never thought about ME getting something from it though. We water the lawns and plants with it and I always get wet from it. I've heard that you can get it very easily, even just get a drop or two and you'll get sick from it. But is that true? It sounds like you know about it BrosaFarm. How do I treat my chickens and ducks and other animals if they have it? Is it through worming and other....? Guess I need some advice from the seasoned professionals here. I'll call my sis too. She knows about ducks. I'll probably call the vet too. Thanks again for your replies. I really do appreciate your replies. :) Maggie chickenmama1

My cat had giardia last year. Our other cat never did contract it. I was surprised to learn about how tough giardia is- apparently bleach doesn't kill it. Although I've heard that giardia often shows no symptoms, the tech at our vet's commented on "giardia poop"- which I guess is soft and light in color? So you could keep an eye on what the animals produce in the future, and contact the vet if anything looks suspicious. Did your vet give you flagyl for treatment? That is awful stuff. Reading about humans experiences with it made me feel so sorry for our cat. It's pretty rough on the gut and on their appetite. As long as your animals are healthy, they will be okay. My cat was treated for it after a pretty major procedure, and she's not very healthy to begin with, so we had to help her eat throughout the time she was on the meds. Hope your dogs do great.

That matches my experience in a NY home we'd house-sat in this summer. I had to have the dehumidifier set at 45% to keep the musty smell down. As for our own Calif. basement, we're in a pretty warm dry area, so I'd figured the key is to prevent big surface temperature differences, to prevent condensation. But I found that one of the damp-rid chemical absorbents was pulling quite a bit of water out of the air, so we do need to monitor the humidity in the cabinet in addition to whatever we do to the cement surfaces.

I'm remodeling our small bathroom and putting in a walk-in shower, where the longest side is on an exterior wall (no windows). Whomever built the house did not use plywood sheathing. The only sheathing on the house is foil faced foam board. When I redid the insulation in the bathroom, I put in ThermaFiber (mineral wool), not only for insulation but sound dampening. No vapor barrier has been installed yet. Well, a few weeks ago when it got really cold here, I noticed quite a bit of water at the bottom plate of that wall. When I checked the insulation, it was completely soaked at the bottom like sponge. Obviously, the condensation/dew point happened right where the mineral wool met the foam board. I ripped that out and have now taped the seam between the foam board and the studs, top plate, bottom plate with metal foil tape to eliminate any air gaps. What I am thinking of doing is this and I need advice on if this would work. Fill the remaining void with 3" pink foam board and seal any gaps with spray foam. Then, put a 6 mil plastic vapor barrier over that. The tile backer board is going to be 1/2" Schluter Kerdi board, so there is some more insulation. What I'm trying to do is minimize any air gaps in that space and prevent moist air from entering those stud bays. My other concern is if I got condensation in there, where would it go?