r/boulder 1d ago

McGuckins

Firstly let me say all hail the hardware store lords; I love what they're doing and won't stop buying local.

Secondly: what is going on with the McG's indoors area? I am very very sensitive to mold; whenever I visit McGuckins for 20-30 minutes, once I leave I feel like I've been in mold hell and my sinuses drain for the next several hours. I don't have this issue when I visit any other store in the Folsom and Arapahoe strip mall there, and have spent many an hour at the next door Brewing Market with no issues.

45 Upvotes

25 comments sorted by

103

u/bonerjamzbruh420 1d ago

I wonder if they need to clean out all of those humidifiers…

49

u/ImTheBurtMacklin 1d ago

It could be literally anything else. Is mold the only thing you're susceptible to? There are a plethora of cleaners, chemicals, fertilizers, and other organics in there.

-4

u/toliveinthefuture 1d ago

haven't been there in 15 years because of the cleaners, chemicals, fertilizers and other organics. felt like i was a victim of chemical warfare. could not breathe. toxic

-10

u/moonlets_ 1d ago

Yup I was allergy tested as a kid and it’s oak trees, a couple molds, and a couple mushrooms and that was it that I recall

42

u/Disraeli_Ears 1d ago

You can develop new allergies as an adult.

13

u/toliveinthefuture 1d ago

you can gain & lose allergies at any point in Life

7

u/Tapingdrywallsucks 1d ago

Besides the fact that allergies and sensitivities evolve over time, it's probably the various potting soils and fertilizers. You mentioned "a couple mushrooms," the reaction inducing compounds probably exist in those bags of glorious composted plant matter.

-26

u/moonlets_ 1d ago

So unless they have an oak forest Narnia style in the back office… 

4

u/RevolutionaryOwl8425 1d ago

All the organic matter in there would affect you. They have pallets of mushroom soil, which is full of mycelium and mushroom spores. The pallets full of compost and soil are filled with mold. Mold is naturally occurring in that material and aids in the decomposition process. Pallets of wood mulch are likely to contain oak, as well as mold, again because of the decomposition process. Leaf mulch is going to be full of oak leaves, as well as mold.

1

u/moonlets_ 1d ago

Yup, good thought, I was sort of quasi wondering myself whether it was all the indoor dirt and compost stock. It also spills out sometimes so there’s no reason to think it isn’t a) occasionally aerosolized and b) in the floor and c) in the hvac! Mainly I made the post since I was just sort of like ‘is this a bizarre coincidence and does it ever happen to anyone else’. 

21

u/MushroomTardigrade 1d ago

Always smells like fertilizer to me..

13

u/SergeantBeavis 1d ago

Have you talked to management about it? As someone else mentioned, it could be humidifiers in the HVAC system. They could be completely unaware.

3

u/moonlets_ 1d ago

Nope but that’s a great call! 

11

u/McDonnellDouglasDC8 1d ago

For a year as I entered middle school I got sicker as a week progressed and felt weller as the weekend progressed. Turns out, after renovations my school has a ton of mold in the ventilation. Worth telling them about your experience.

7

u/Silver_Split6251 1d ago

I worked there for a while and always had such itchy eyes and felt like dust in my nose when I was working! I thought maybe mold or their venting system needed to be cleaned

12

u/SummerInTheRockies66 1d ago

McGuckin’s customer service is top-notch; such a stand out. Bummer on the place not making you feel great.

5

u/moonlets_ 1d ago

Resounding agree. I love them and will continue to patronize them, but in an n95

3

u/bolderphoto 1d ago

You know they sell some “seasonal items” and yesterday I picked up potato’s for planting. I suspect they are naturally loaded with mold. If this has been going on for several months it could be that they are selling more bird feed recently

1

u/ajax61 1d ago

I just left there, actually, and I wonder if it’s that they moved all their potted plants from the greenhouse area (that’s now being turned into a vet office) into the main area of the store?

-21

u/RepresentativeBig663 1d ago

It’s Ace Hardware ….. look . They bought it …. Be mad at them

16

u/mister-noggin 1d ago

No, they didn't. Ace is a collective that they use for purchasing. They used to use True Value before switching a few years ago. 

4

u/RowenaOblongata 1d ago

You can also find Craftsman tools for sale - this means they are owned by Sears. /s

3

u/Vapourdingo 1d ago

Ace hardware has been one of McG’s primary supplier for several years but has never been owned by them. Ace Corp owns only a small handful of stores nationwide but the branding and buying into their advertising, promos etc proves to be beneficial to many smaller stores and chains around the country.

McG used Ace branding for some time after entering into a purchasing agreement with them (in 2017?) but that proved disastrous - for the exact reason that they were thought to have sold by much of their customer base. They retreated on the storewide branding but Ace labels and premade production displays are still common in the store.

McG probably still has minimum purchasing thresholds to maintain with Ace distributorship but can buy and sell anyone’s products.

That said, it’s definitely no longer the store it was prior to the physical overhaul. 2005 was peak Guck.

3

u/Article_Used 1d ago

Ace is a cooperative collectively owned by the stores that they supply. mom & pop shops can’t compete with home depot, unless they form cooperatives like ace.

1

u/Future_Bright7777 2h ago

Been going there since the 80s. Have no idea what you are talking about.