Mold?

mamie329 · December 2009

I'm pretty sure I have black molding growing in at least three of our rooms of our apartment. I've noticed something in the bathroom forever, but just thought it was mildew. Then I noticed black areas in the corners of our ceiling and floors. I didn't put two and two together when I noticed how many respiratory problems DH and I Have been experiencing while home. Until today.

I called the manager of the rental company and she's having maintenance go there today. But I'm kind of freaking out. Not only about the health hazards, but if they have to do some crazy things to fix it (like go behind walls and shiit), will I have to move? How safe would I feel if they just did patch and paint jobs?

Has anyone experienced mold in any of their apartments or houses? What happened?

CTbride320 · December 2009

My parents had mold (or mildew, I can't remember which one) growing in one of their bathrooms that had wallpaper in it. They got someone to strip the wallpaper off, painted the bathroom, and installed a ventilation fan to use when someone's showering.

I have a water table in my classroom - honestly I hate it because I have to dump it out at the end of the day and make sure it is absolutely dry, otherwise mold will grow. I had an incident where there was a teeny bit of water left in it, and because it has a cover, I had no idea until at least a week later. I opened it up and seriously almost threw up because of the sight and smell. I bleached the crap out of it and threw out all of the paper towels I used in a knotted plastic bag. Now I check the inside of the table compulsively. Anyway, I've heard that bleach kills mold, so if you ever have any other issues with it, you can make up a bleach solution with water in a spray bottle.

vhcoleman09 · December 2009

I've never had a personal experience with it, but I've heard it can be pretty bad and depending on the severity could leave you apartment-less for a few days. For instance, if it's grown behind the walls and into the wood, then they'll have to take off a layer of the wood base to get all the mold, and if this is in more than 1 room, I'm guessing this could easily be a week-long job if it's gotten that bad. If it's surface, it shouldn't take them longer than a day or two to remedy the situation. You definitely want them to get it all though. It can cause serious health problems.

luckycooky · December 2009

It sounds like it could be part of a bigger issue. The only experience I've had with mold was at BIL's and it was because a pipe going to the bathroom burst and they needed to replace the main level floor and basement ceiling in a few rooms. Mold needs some sort of moisture in order to grow so if they only replace the sheetrock, it will return until they find the source of the moisture. That's probably what will take the longest amount of time. Has anyone else in the building had issues with it?

mamie329 · December 2009

lucky, I don't know about any other neighbors.

AND SONOFAWHORE. I just called the rental company again and they told the maintenance guy but she wasn't sure when THIS WEEK he'd be there. Don't worry, lady. We'll just let our lungs blacken while we wait for the the maintenance. No problem.

hawkilady · December 2009

I would document all these conversations with the rental company and maintenance just in case you end up having to get reimbursed for living expenses while they do repairs or end up with any sort of medical bills as a result of the mold. Better to have it than try to create it later.

luckycooky · December 2009

Ditto Hawki. If it is bad enoguh to create health problems for you and is on the floor and ceiling of multiple rooms, others around you are probably having issues too. Definitely let them know that you are having health problems because of it because if they do not resolve it soon, it is negligence on their part.

gmk1784 · December 2009

My grandparents had mold in their basement a few years ago. It was really bad becuase they never go down there. They had to pay someone to come in and take off all the drywall, clean everything out and then reapply new drywall. It probably took around 3 days to do everything.

My mom has bought little mold testing kits to test her office in the past. It shows if you have mold and how bad it is. I think she got it at a home improvement store like Home Depot or Lowe's

mamie329 · December 2009

Thanks everyone.

I did tell her on the 1st conversation that we were having respiratory problems. On the 2nd conversation I said, "Well, I'm pretty concerned because of the health hazard." I'm going to document this and see what happens, but I don't feel good about going home and breathing in more moldy air. I'm going to check with my downstairs neighbors tonight if they've noticed anything.

UGH!

Leigha12 · December 2009

Be careful with the information and manner of relaying info (not too threatening) because they may fault you for not notifying them sooner. Check your lease docs for a mold notification clause (a lot of apartments in my area add them as riders so they really stand out). If you don't have a mold notification clause, then feel free to threaten if needed. But if you do, tread lightly and definitely don't tell them you'd noticed the black stuff a while back but didn't put 2 and 2 together.

mamie329 · December 2009

I somehow doubt that info is in my lease, but I'll see if I can drudge up the files. I noticed the mold in the LR and BR probably about two weeks ago. Is that too long? In fairness I didn't know what it was exactly.

Leigha12 · December 2009

No, two weeks isn't long at all. It usually takes a lot longer for it to get out of control. And not being sure it was mold vs. mildew may justify even 2 weeks. I know my first line of defense is always to treat for mildew. I'm surprised that it's already causing health problems, though. If that's the case, it may be pretty deep and only recently hit the surface. In which case, you may be out of a home for repairs, but they should pay for hotel rental (or at least part of it).

mamie329 · December 2009

Thanks for this info. I just wish I *knew* the extent. It's the not knowing that's driving me batty and the rental company's very lackadaisical attitude about something that's causing health issues already.

hawkilady · December 2009

Do you know for sure that its the mold causing health issues? (Just curious, not doubting)

mamie329 · December 2009

Well, it makes sense. I was blaming it on the vacuum cleaner that I believe doesn't actually pick things up and/or spits it out the back. But when I realized the issues we're both having at home happened at the same time and at the same time we noticed the mold....

hawkilady · December 2009

Gotcha... just was curious. We had this issue in our apartment in college, the landlords never fixed it. We moved out about a month after we discovered it because senior year ended but none of really noticed any health problems and we dealt with it for about 6 months. The building was condemned about 1 year after we graduated so I'm guessing there were extensive problems. Who knows... maybe all the alcohol kept our lungs from being damaged by mold

mamie329 · December 2009

Condemned? Great. I'm starting to think this woman I'm dealing with is a freaking moron. If you were just informed one of your tenants is experiencing health issues AND it could be a commendable/expensive problem, wouldn't you want to find out ASAP what kind of damage is done? GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

mamie329 · December 2009

I took some photos for evidence and documentation should I have issues with the rental company.

Living room

Bedroom floor

Bathroom ceiling above shower

hawkilady · December 2009

yikes that definitely looks like mold and it doesnt look good. I would take the pictures over the rental company. They should get there asap but its the holidays and I wouldnt be suprised if they dont show until after Christmas.

mamie329 · December 2009

My dad seems to think it's not that bad and can be fixed with this product called Spray Nine and that our health problems are due to winter colds. While this sounds more optimistic than us being displaced, I think he's wrong.

I emailed the pics to the property manager as a means of documentation and to spur on some action.

Mold?

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