Questions on what to do about mold and other indoor hazard or contamination in rental properties:

FAQs about renting a moldy apartment, home, or trailer: what can & should you do about it. These questions & answers can help sort out problems with mold contamination or other safety or indoor air quality hazards in rental homes.

This article series discusses the steps that a tenant in a rental apartment or rental home can take to look for and test for mold, responding to other possible indoor contaminants or safety hazards, how to inform building management of a known or suspected building hazard or safety problem, what to expect the rental property managers to do if they are going to address a health or safety problem properly, and what the rental apartment tenant needs to watch out for during a mold investigation and mold remediation of their home.

Mold Cleanup FAQs for Rental Tenants

These questions & answers about what tenants should or can do about moldy rental apartments, mobile homes or other residences were posted originally at RENTERS & TENANTS ADVICE for UNSAFE or UNHEALTHY HOME - be sure to see that article and its advice.

Photo: adapted from a common "kill the mold" advertisement, we note that even "dead" mold spores can be harmful, and worse, superficial treatment of the exterior of a moldy drywall surface risks ignoring a larger, more-serious, more-harmful mold contamination area inside the wall.

Mold-contamination should be removed, not just "sprayed", and the cause of the mold growth must be identified and fixed.

[Click to enlarge any image]

Question: bleach and paint over mold - dealing with mold for 6 months now

(Mar 20, 2016) Anonymous said:

I've been dealing with mold in my apartment for 6 months now. I even called the health inspector to come and look and all she did was laugh at me.

Finally had a big leak in the ceiling and wall which caused paint to peel off and revealed the mold underneath. I got screamed at several times by the repairmen telling me there was no mold even when they stared straight at it. When they got word that I called the health inspector they came and yelled at me until I was in tears. I am extremely Ill and I believe the mold is to blame.

My children are also Ill with symptoms ranging from coughing, persistent sinusitis and bloody noses, itchy eyes, sneezing. They are unwilling to properly fix the issue.

Their remedy is to bleach it and paint over it. The last straw had been pulled after that. I hired a 5 star mold investigator and don't know what to do when I get the test results back. We already know from testing that we have aspergillis penicillium cladosporium and stachybotrys. I am terrified and for some reason the state does not care.

Even my cat is being affected by this.

I don't have money to stay in a hotel. I don't know where to go. They are coming back in 2 days and I believe they are going to try to bleach it again but the inspector I hired told me to not let them touch it.

He made me aware of how bleach is ineffective and can make the issue worse. As well as informing me that even dead mold can cause reactions. I'm disgusted and terrified. I live in a Housing Authority and I'm certain the Health dpt has been paid off to shut peo

Reply: Bleach and paint are not an effective mold remediation plan

Bleach and paint are not an effective mold remediation plan.

MOLD CLEANUP, BLEACH explains why this is so.

Anonymous:

You need to start with a consult with your doctor, asking if your illness complaints are likely to be aggravated by or caused by mold exposure in the home.

Keep in mind that every mold genera/species are everywhere, all the time. It's when there is a high concentration of harmful or allergenic molds present in our living environment that it can be a problem.

In the Recommended Articles advice see the live link at

Continue reading at HEALTH DEPARTMENT HELP for RENTERS or select a topic from closely-related articles below, or see our complete INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES at the end of this article.

Reader follow-up:

(Mar 26, 2016) Anonymous said:

Update dealing with mold for 6 months : In reply we got air quality results back and there was over 260000% + spores of penicillium. 26000%+ stachybotrys. 12000% + chaetomium.

Living in a hotel at my own expense with my young kids for a week now. After giving the IAQ results they gave me an eviction notice. I have sought legal council.

Reply:

While air testing alone for mold contamination is very unreliable (results can vary by 4 orders of magnitude depending on how a sample is collected), very high levels such as your results are not ambiguous: they indicate that the building is unsafe.

What's ugly about "air tests for mold" is not only are they expensive, but they don't deliver what's needed. What's needed is a thorough visual inspection to find all of the mold reservoirs, define the cleanup needed, and figure out the cause of mold growth so that can be fixed.

Watch out also: if your things, particularly soft goods like curtains, bedding, upholstered furniture, have been exposed to high levels of moldy dust or airborne mold, you could import problematic levels of mold to a new home even if you move out. Such items need to be laundered, dry cleaned, or in some cases HEPA vacuumed (a couch for example).

If an upholstered couch has actual mold growth (as opposed to settled airborne spores or moldy dust on it) the it cannot be reliably cleaned and probably has to be discarded. Clean your things before bringing them into a new home.

Discuss your rights and costs with an attorney.

Anonymous said:

We did have a full inspection with a thorough report and other tests were done as well. I have the full report I just wanted to give you an idea of the problem. Full contained remediation was recommended.

The manager did have a remediation company come in but from listoning I can hear the sound of like a fan. All of our things are still in the house. We have nothing. They asked us to not go in on Friday because they said there were chemicals sprayed. But I'm scared to even go back in.

Reply:

A fan, if it was part of a negative air system - blowing OUT of the work area - might have been part of a proper dust containment regimen.

I don't object to spraying chemicals but hearing that anyone is spraying puts me on red alert for shortcuts: spraying instead of adequate removal, demolition, cleaning.

Frankly I would be surprised if a professional, competent mold remediation company would leave the occupants' possessions in place and exposed to the dust and debris created by a professional mold remediation job.

Usually contents are removed or sometimes gathered together in the center of a room and tightly sealed in plastic. Of course the things themselves may need separate cleaning depending on what has been going on.

Anonymous said: Basically they have the fans going blowing air around

Yes that was my concern as well because it is my belongings including my children's toys and clothes. We just looked and there is no ventilation.

Basically they have the fans going blowing air around with no negative pressure. There's a fan blowing on the curtains... all of the windows of the apartment are closed.

I find it odd they aren't considering the adjoining apartments above and below which have a shared wall with the biggest contaminated walls that were in our apartment. I very much appreciate your input. As far as I know they are not doing this remediation properly. Just add it into the lost of things they have done wrong to me.

Question: fragile health, mold exposure, doctor wants us to test our apartment for mold but we have moved out and have no access - can you test a moldy board game from that space?

I have an incurable type of anemia (Alpha Thalessemia) that often leaves me very weak and fatigued, and I am also currently receiving physical therapy for ortho-arthritis in both of my knees from a work injury 3 years ago.

I have three children and our monthly income is less than $700 per month. When I am unable to work because of my therapy schedule and treatment for my anemia, I volunteer a few hours a week just to stay productive.

We moved into a newly renovated, market rent apartment owned by the City of Decatur Housing Authority in April 2011.

A few weeks after we moved in, I noticed that the apartment had many unfinished construction issues (no air filters, brownish gray(sewage) plumbing would constantly back up in the tub and toilet and over flow onto the bathroom and hallway floor(hardwood), door and window frames had no weather stripping allowing wind, rain, and insects into the house,

broken pipes under the kitchen sink causing huge leaks and cabinets to be water damaged, broken stair rails on our porch causing my 3 year old and other children to often lean on them and fall off the stairs, no peepholes, opossums, and stray cats going through our trash bags every night(the building didn't have a dumpster and we were not allowed to have trash cans;

so the city issued trash bags were constantly ripped through and trash scattered everywhere in the mornings...their solution was for us to keep our trash inside our small apartments until garbage day(Mondays) which caused our apartments to smell bad.)

I wrote all of my complaints down and submitted them to the landlord for immediate repair and after 60 days, there was very little effort to repair and correct.

So I began paying my rent into the court until they could repair everything.

The landlord in turn also claimed that we were to be evicted due to non-payment of rent, in which I appealed, but they still proceeded to ask for collection of rent without repairing everything.

During our court dispute, there were two more huge plumbing issues, and after each sewage back up and plumbing leak, it took maintenance up to 4 days to come out and repair, which left a musty odor months after repair and clean up. My children and I kept getting serious respiratory infections, high fevers, headaches, and congestion at least 2 times per month.

After treating everything we were allergic to, our Allergy and Asthma doctor asked had we tested for mold and mildew in our apartment.

This had been the only allergy of ours that she had been unable to treat. I purchased the two test kits and placed them by the air vents in the areas where the musty odors were strongest. While waiting on the kits to collect enough to test, our doctor produced a letter to our landlord asking either if they could relocate us to a dry mold and mildew free unit because of our illness and allergies; or allow us to break our lease early because of the conditions of the rental.

The landlord refused my last two months of rent and ordered a writ based on their first filing for eviction from 2 months earlier. There was no paperwork warning us of the writ, I called the court and found out that one had been filed. I then in turn filed an cancellation of writ based on uninhabitable conditions.

My cancellation was approved on the same day that the maintenance crew began moving our items out. By the time I got to the property with the signed order to cancel the writ/eviction, the marshal said it was up to the landlord to decide if I could move back in or if they could transfer me into a new apartment. The mold test kits were the only items that were not moved out of the apartment and new locks were placed on the door.

The writ and eviction took place in November 2011, but our case is still ongoing because of the appeal and the cancellation based on uninhabitable conditions.

We just received a court day for June 2012 last week, and I have had the hardest time locating a lawyer and toxic mold specialist to test our old apartment. I now have a respiratory condition that causes me to wheeze easily because of the exposure in the apartment. I had placed a couple of board games that had been on the floor near the leak in a big thick black plastic bag and taped it up prior to the eviction and I still have them. That is the only sample I have from the apartment in my possession.

Is there a way that the board games can be tested or is there a way I can still get the old apartment tested? This whole case is a big headache, but so is the fact that my lungs are now super sensitive due to the bad maintenance of that apartment.

Please inform me on any options, referrals, or advise that will aid in my case. - S.C. 5/9/12

Reply: testing a board game for mold would not be a reliable indicator of your mold exposure

A competent onsite inspection by an expert usually finds additional clues that help accurately diagnose a problem.

When an onsite inspection is no longer possible, because there is no access or because the original site has been cleaned or conditions there have changed, I agree that it's too bad but you just don't have that option as an information source that might help inform your doctor of conditions to which you have been exposed.

An accurate characterization of the mold to which you were exposed would require a visual inspection of the moldy apartment, some representative samples of the dominant mold genera/species growing in the home, possibly even some invasive measures to find large hidden mold reservoirs, and other measures.

I'm afraid that your mold test kits were most likely an unreliable approach to characterizing the mold in your apartment. What grows on the culture of a test kit may not be the dominant nor most harmful mold in the apartment but rather it's what fell onto the culture and liked to grow in that particular medium.

We could examine tape samples of the moldy surfaces of your board games, and I'd offer that work pro-bono for up to 4 tape samples (procedure

at MOLD TEST KITS for DIY MOLD TESTS) but frankly it does not sound useful to do so. It would be a mistake to assume that the mold that grows on your board games is or ever was the dominant or most important mold that may have been in your home environment.

Your doctor can assist you in setting priorities for your time and attention but it seems to me (I am not a doctor) that your health comes first, and that the doctor will have advice on how your present health risks and complaints should be treated, considering that from your description alone you have probably been exposed to a variety of water-intrusion-type indoor mold growths.

A second concern is that if your home was very moldy, the contents that you have moved out of it into your new home may need to be cleaned, HEPA vacuumed, laundered, dry cleaned, washed, etc. to avoid importing a high level of moldy dust and debris into the new home.

Question: Suspected Chemical Hazards in a Converted Industrial Space

I got your website address from one of the Dutchess County health inspectors. He tried to help us but he could only test for organic solvents. He said sorry when he could not find anything and told us we needed to hire a private company to do testing.

We moved into a newly converted industrial space at [redacted for privacy] in Poughkeepsie. The building use to be a metal factory for the last 60 years until they turned it into rental units. On the 5th day of working there I noticed a strange vapor in the air that smelt like "welding" or something.

For about a month after that I was in like a zombie like state. When I felt to sick to go to work and stayed home for a few days I snapped back to myself. Over those few days I was shaking like I was going through withdrawal or something. I downloaded a list of hazard waste shipments that this metal company shipped out and my symptoms fit well with tetrachloroethene exposure

I called the health dept and they told me to go to the emergency room which they said the only treatment would be fresh air and rest. I guess the health dept meet with the landlord and they were not able to find anything. One day a few days later I was there I could smell the stuff in the air that's when the inspector meet with me and said they can only test for solvents.

I bought one of these Haz Mat smart strips It tested positive for oxidizer and the Cyanide test turned a funky color that is not on the chart.

The landlord is a large company based in Westchester they seem to not care. The keep saying to write down dates and times and get blood tests. They never return our calls We tried to get blood tests but the doctor said we need to find out what we exposure to.

This nightmare has gone on for 2+ months my business is pretty much destroyed. I will be homeless in a month if someone does not help Can you please help us pro-bono or on a payment plan Thanks, R.S. - Poughkeepsie, New York

Reply:

I am sorry to read of the difficulties you describe, and also to report that because my forensic expertise is with particles, mold, allergens, and not chemical contaminants, I'm not the best person to assist you. I agree that there could be chemical contaminants left from the prior industrial use of your building, including oils and solvents, and on an older building such as those along Cottage St. in Poughkeepsie, even pesticides.

Tetrachloroethene, also referred to as tetrachloroethylene or as "perc" was used in dry cleaning as well as a degreaser for metal working.

Details about testing for tetrachloroethylene and also health exposure information to this chemical are found

at ODORLESS CHEMICALS / GASES: CHECK FOR?

Watch out: while it is quite reasonable to suspect that tetrachloroethylene was and may remain present in a building where metalworking was conducted (used as a degreaser solvent that is both volatile and persistent in the environment), it would be a serious mistake to jump to the conclusion that it is the chief or only hazard in your building just as it would be risky to guess at your own exposure or to diagnose your complaint without consulting a qualified expert physician and hygienist.

Just as an example, depending on the kind of work performed, metal plating, for example, can leave other hazards such as cadmium or other heavy metals behind in a local environment.

Watch out: Similarly, the "Smart-Strip" test kit that you purchased is a warning badge intended for emergency responders not comprehensive building surveys for chemical hazards. It was developed by Mike Reimer[5] and is sensitive to chlorine, abnormal pH levels (identifying highly acidic or highly caustic agents), Fluoride, some nerve agents, Oxidizers, Arsenic, Sulfides, and Cyanide.

It is by no means intended as a broad spectrum analyzer to identify specific chemicals among the thousands that may be used among various industries and industrial processes.[3][4][5]

Watch out: In my OPINION the safe inhabitability of a building is the responsibility of the building owner, and more, that the building owners may be inadvertently accepting a very very large liability risk if they have not had the building adequately surveyed and assured safe for occupants.

If you make that concern clear, in writing, you may find that the owners will be willing to have proper inspection and testing performed. We can understand that an owner, not wanting to face or exacerbate what they may feel are avoidable expenses or troubles, may hope to find someone who will be quick, cheap, and who will give a clean bill of health to the building. But the risks of sloppy, careless or superficial work are so great for both owners and occupants, that in my view that would be a dangerous approach, and one to be avoided.

At RENTERS & TENANTS GUIDE TO MOLD & INDOOR HAZARDS we give advice to renters concerned about mold or other indoor contaminants - that may be helpful to you,

Question: obligation of a hotel to notify occupants of mold hazards or other health hazards

[The following is redacted and paraphrased to respect the correspondent's anonymty - Ed.]

Hi. Your website is a fantastic resource. Well done. Applause.

I wish to pose a question regarding citations and obligation to disclose.

I [...] reported [significant] mold [contamination] in [a hotel] room [and on a later visit to the same hotel] I found that the mold had not been removed. [I later found mold contamination in other rooms in the same hotel. [I] submitted [a] formal complaint to [the] local health authority. Authority did investigate, did confirm presence of mold and did cite the hotel in each instance. [But when I spoke with the hotel manager [s/he] denie d [that the] presence of mold was confirmed, and that citations were issued [by the local authorities].

My question is, if the hotel is cited for mold in a particular hotel room and a public citizen later asks management whether the hotel was cited for mold in [in that very room] and the hotel manager asserts it wasn't cited for mold in that room might [there] be a governmental regulatory agency tasked to respond to such an incident? If actionable, what governmental regulatory agency should be notified?

Thanks in advance for your consideration. Sincerely, Anon 6/8/2013

Reply: laws requiring a hotel to give notice of health hazards

Good question and troubling but not at all surprising story; the hotel is naturally worried about scary publicity.

This is, however a legal question not a technical one on which we have expertise; tthe answer to your question about a hotel's obligation to report health concerns is regulated by state health laws - so it is a question to bring to your state health department.

In my view it would be both appropriate and fair to first notify the building management and owners of your concern, in writing, in a clear, documented, and polite letter. Putting information in writing has its own strength and compelling nature.

It's easy enough to find the requirement for notice of unsafe or unhealthy conditions in a hotel, as I document here:

For information about hotel and health regulations see

http://www.health.ny.gov/regulations/nycrr/title_10/part_7/subpart_7-1.htm

at the NY State DOH website where you can find the following text in section 7-1.4:

(2) The enforcement procedures delineated in the Public Health Law or otherwise provided by law shall be used as appropriate.

Where a public health hazard is found, the portion of the temporary residence impacted by the hazard shall be placarded to prohibit use until the hazard is corrected in order to protect the public health and safety of the occupants.

When a placard is used, it shall be conspicuously posted at each entrance or walkway leading to the portion of the property where the hazard exists. The placard shall state the authority for its placement and indicate that concealment, mutilation, alteration, or removal of it by any person without permission of the permit-issuing official shall constitute a violation of this Title and the Public Health Law.

To ensure accuracy and for evidentiary purposes, reference should be made to the Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of New York, available from West Publishing at 1-800-344-5009.. [7]

Also see Cornell University offers information on hotel regulations

http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/hotels_and_restaurants

Quoting from Cornell U's information

Both hotels and restaurants are governed by Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code (http://www.law.cornell.edu/ucc/2/overview.html) as far as the services they render. The express and implied warranties apply to both hotel rooms and food items served in restaurants. But most of the law governing hospitality stems from case law. [6]

Watch out: for a related concern: in my OPINION and based on my own field experience, building owners and managers, out of worry about scaring renters or in this case hotel guests, thus risking loss of business, may not only fail to report a mold hazard (especially if they do not agree with you that there was a hazard), they also may fail to take proper action to clean up or remove moldy materials and to adequately correct the cause for mold growth in the building. Inadequate mold remediation risks leaving a hazard in the building, one that may be particularly risky for future occupants who may be infant, elderly, asthmatic, allergic, or immune system-impaired.

Question: they said the mold in my apartment was harmless but I'm sick

(May 12, 2011) Karen Hamilton said:

They done mold testing in my apartmemt and i have 3 types of mold. They sent me a letter and told me the mold kind and that it wasnt the harmful kind. i have been sick with sinus infections since i moved here and i have given my notice i am moving . i just pray i dont take the stuff with me when i leave . I feel bad that this apt complex is preying on these elderly folks. This building had been flooded numerous times and many people have moved because of mold.

Reply:

The mold test results you report sound a bit suspicious, at least from the distance of the internet. An onsite inspection by an expert who examines a building that has been flooded numerous times would be unusual to find only "harmless mold" unless previously there was an expert and thorough inspection, removal of problem mold, and cleanup.

The worry is that if the building was actually flooded, even if there were no significant VISIBLE areas of mold, there is a real risk of significant hidden mold reservoirs that could be a problem for the occupants.

Mold "testing" accuracy and reliability varies enormously depending on exactly what tests were done, how they were performed, and where in the building they were performed, and most importantly, the results are not reliable unless there was also an appropriately thorough visual inspection.

Question: what do I do about my furniture in a moldy apartment; asthmatic children;

(July 18, 2011) Anonymous said:

what do I do about my furniture from a home where the test results came back 4x above 50 in concentration for black mold...Stachybotrys. do I need to get rid of my microfibre couch and my beds etc.? We were infiltrated while on a vacation with a leak in a water heater that went undetected and upon identification was not worked upon for weeks after by the landlord who failed to acknowledge the problem. I have six children and two are asthmatics on puffers.

Reply:

Cleaning up mold-exposed apartment contents before moving?

Hard surfaced items can be cleaned using any household cleaner, soap and water, etc.
Soft goods like linens that look or smell moldy or are suspect should be laundered or dry cleaned.

An upholstered couch that has been exposed to moldy DUST but doesn't smell moldy and has no mold GROWTH on it and has not been itself wet, may be simply HEPA vacuumed thoroughly and may be fine.

If that same couch was wet from some leak event, has mold growing on or in it, or you can't get rid of its moldy smell, most likely it needs to be replaced.

In a home with asthmatics, it's worth being extra careful to clean thoroughly.

Question: repeated sinus infections since moving into my apartmenbt

(Aug 26, 2011) Anonymous said:

i moved into my apartment in january 2011. since doing so my son and i have been sick with repeated sinus infections. sometimes needing two rounds of antibiotics and steroids. i have stared itching, breaking out in circular flat bumps, coughing, sneezing, and worsening asthma symptoms.

my friends often leave my house sick with bacterial and viral eye infections, itching, coughing, sneezing, and hives. there was mold on my bedroom window that my landlord told me to clean with bleach. the intake vent leaks water onto the filters so i had to replace it with a hard fibered naturalaire filter so that it didnt fall to pieces due to water damage every week.

there is a black gunky sludge on the coils (that the filter sits in front of) i tried scrubbing some off. there is also a black moldy looking hard ring around the bath spout. it probably used to be caulk or something.

the fireplace was covered with a piece of plywood after i asked if it would be serviced so that i could use it this winter (because they wouldnt let me use it last winter). this apartment also an abnormal amount of dust blowing from the vents.

I FOUND A MUSHROOM GROWING IN MY LIVINGROOM FLOOR in the corner of the carpet and wall. my landlord does not believe there is mold here. she only took over this property a few months back and dismisses everything i say. the owner lives in california! i have no idea what to do or who to call. i am getting worse every day. any advice?? thank you!

Reply:

(Aug 27, 2011) coleton said:

I didn't see anywhere where you addressed her lease, can't the lease be voided by a lawyer if the mold is causing healtgh problem and the landlord refuses to fix it?

Editor comment:

Several readers have commented about mold contamination being a basis for vacating a lease - "getting out of a lease"

I am not a lawyer - you'll want to consult a real estate attorney and s/he will want to read your lease agreement.

Indeed common or standard apartment and house rental lease forms include a "habitability" clause that requires the landlord to deliver a habitable property. If the building is not habitable because it is unsafe, that can be an effective argument.

Question: landlord intentionally covered up black mold in my apartment

(Aug 28, 2011) Kelly V said:

I have been in a unit for about 6 months and we had (intentional) covered up black mold in the unit. Landlord sent inexperienced contractor to fix the problems with bleach, they did not look in any other areas for black mold but the visible mold. Also recently found a large patch behind my washer and dryer in my furnace room.

This means they failed at getting rid of it and what can i do, can i take land lord compensation or charge her for leading sicknesses that have been delt to me over time? I am 20 and i do not make a whole lot of money so i can't get a health inspector in here and land lord refuses to pay for one... I need help!

Reply:

Kelly V:

Covering up black mold? First of all "black mold" is not the only mold to worry about - it's just easiest to see.
Second, covering up is not removing. It's leaving in place a material that may nevertheless find its way into the occupied space in form of mold spores or even gases (MVOCs).

More than 30 sqft. is what I consider a "large" mold reservoir that merits professional cleaning. Amateur cleanups risk being ineffective, spreading the problem, making the workers sick, contaminating other building areas, increasing the ultimate cost of the job.

If the health department is not going to take a look or help you, and the landlord is not going to fix the problem, and you are convinced it's a large problem area of harmful mold, if you've taken reasonable steps to confirm that such is the case, and you've notified those parties in writing of your concerns, then I'm not sure what further recourse you have without consulting an attorney or abandoning your lease.

Question: mold growing in basement up to shoulder height

(Sept 12, 2011) Mold growing in basement said:

How bad does the mold need to be for it to be a health concern? The basement in our rental house flooded 2 years ago and all that was done was take out and replace the carpet. When hurricane Irene came through our basement flooded again. This time the carpet and bottom 12" of drywall and insulation was removed.

On the interior surface of what is left of the wall there is mold growing some to shoulder height, some to waist height/thigh height. I'm guessing that the mold is already pretty well set in place from the previous flood and that the more recent flood just made it worse.

I am also guessing that more drywall should have been taken to keep the mold from getting worse.

The home is 3 stories with one thermostat so the basement air is getting spread throughout the house and I have three small children. We are moving out in 3 months, but I am wondering if it is safe for us to stay that long under these conditions.

Reply:

Mold growing:

From your description it would be unlikely that post-flood mold were just cosmetic; add that it's waist high in walls and an incomplete cleanup, and I can't imagine that those would be acceptable nor safe living conditions .individual susceptibility to mold related illness varies, but enev a healthy, insensitive person can become sensitized to mold with enoufpgh exposure, and even can become I'll or asthmatic.

Question: mold over my sofa

(Oct 5, 2011) Sherry said:

Mold is growing in my living room all over my sofa, speakers,table and is even growing in the cabinet where my pot and pan's are so I have to was them every time I use them and everything in my basement is molded . Is my landlord responsible for any of my belongings?

flag like

Reply:

Sherry, you will need to take a copy of your lease to a real estate attorney to obtain a solid answer to your question about the landlord's responsibility for mold contamination in you rental home. In my experience and so in my OPINION, most leases require the landlord to provide a habitable property.

And in my OPINION if the mold was not on your property before it was in your present home, AND if the mold growth is not due to your own negligence, then the landlord would typically have some responsibility. But as I said, a more accurate answer depends on the language of your lease, local laws and regulations, and case law. Let us know what your attorney advises.

AND WATCH OUT: don't move moldy belongings into a new home without cleaning them first (if they can be cleaned) or you will just import a possible problem to the new premises.

Question: moldy storage area contents

(Oct 8, 2011) Clare said:

My problem isnt as severe as others, but still a concern. I live in a co-op and I rent a 3rd party storage unit in the basement. It has been having problems with leaks for several years and never gets fixed. Now I have a problem with mold. I went into my unit and there is mold all over my things.

The storage company blames the co-op and the co-op blames the storage copmpany and I cant get any answers. The storage company says they can disinfect the hard surfaces but not soft and this is where my problem gets worse. Theres mold on my clothes and winter coats. I cant get a straight answer as to if they can be cleaned properly. I'm most worried about the down filled coats, since they are so thick, and wondering if they can be completely sanitized.

And then theres the items that can only be dry cleaned. If they can't its probably close to $2000 in items that will be ruined. I refuse to be out that amount of money for a problem that I cant fix. This is why I live in a co-op, this is why I pay maintenance. Anybody have advice? I'm tired of being dismissed, and with my allergy and asthma problems I can't even touch my things in the condition.

Reply:

Clare,

You can usually salvage moldy clothing by laundering or dry cleaning. I'd give those approaches a try. Just last month we successfully washed down sleeping bags and down vests in a new low-water-usage front loading washer, followed by low temperature drying in the clothes dryer. The results were excellent.

What cannot be reliably cleaned are moldy thick upholstered items like couches.

Question: modly apartment, getting desperate

(Oct 13, 2011) Terry said:

I am beginning to see mold all over my apartment, my apt. is rather small and the mold is becomming extremely bothersome. I have an 11yr old daughter living in the house with me and her father has mild asthma which now his coughing seems to worsen when we are home, we have already thrown out the majority of our funiture and clothing and shoes, now i am in expense of having to buy these clothing back because of the mold. when we moved in there was a lage dehumiditifier in the house and not knowing what it was doing there at the time we gave it back to the lanlord,

now in my research of this mold situation i now know why it was sitting in the middle of my kitchen, HUH! and he said nothing.

the house smells like wet damp musty clothes when you walk into the rooms and i have tried to get the smell out, plus we wear shoes in the house cause the carpet feels like fuzzy cotton under our feet and i dont want my family to get foot fungus in fear it might be mold. we asked to be let out of the lease but we were told from our landlord that they have their mortage to be paid too and so that was a bust.

we cant move until may 15. now the black mold in the bathroom is worst and i have to pack all my belongings up and take to storage in fear i may lose it all to mold. what can we do from here on. i am so desparate.

Reply:

Terry, small amounts of mold, less than 30 sqft can be cleaned up by just about anyone, but if there are building leaks or moisture traps there is a risk of a larger hidden problem.

I would take a look at MOLD / ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERT, HIRE ? (search InspectApedia.com for that phrase) for help in deciding if an expert investigation is appropriate and also the reasoning in that article may be helpful in explaining the concern to your landlord.

You are right that if there is a significant mold contamination problem, your own items may need cleaning if you move.

Question: what if the building management won't respond to my mold complaint about my trailer?

(Nov 27, 2011) Lorinda Durst said:

what do you do when a manger does nothing and does not clean up the mold and i had to when i moved in and bowed celings with water and i think ther is mold in the trailer what do you and he does nothing/

(Jan 13, 2012) erin said:

I am in a 6 month lease with a real estate comp. I have many issues with this home. Rats living in my cieling that I poison often, gophers taking over every square inch of my yard, electrical problems and much, much more. My main problem is mold in every room that I clean with bleach and it just returns as fast as I clean it. I have painted 4 rooms now with a paint that is said to kill mold/mildew for up to 5 yrs, but it still returns.

I think in one room that it is so bad it looks like black mold!

This is ruining my furniture, clothes and more. I have been fighting this problem so long & the real estate comp knows. My daughter and I sneeze and have sore throats every day, and I did do in home care here with a man who was very sick & on 1-3-12 he passed away with respiratory problems.

My pocket book can not take this any more between paints, poisons, cleaners, ect. I am out of work since loosing my friend here on the 3rd and we need this problem fixed.

What can I do? I have even taken more than 40 pics to the real estate comp of damages & mold last dec and nothing has ever been done!!!

Reply:

Lorinda and Erin, see MOLD ACTION ADVICE for RENTERS

and see HEALTH DEPARTMENT HELP for RENTERS - for advice on dealing with a landlord or manager who is ignoring mold in a rental home. If you are left with further questions just ask.

Question: I became ill right after moving in to the apartment

(Feb 28, 2012) I became very ill right after mo said:

I became very ill after moving into apartment. Seen many doctors and ruled out many diseases, etc. Found mold in apartment.

Requested the apartment have a certified mold assessor come out. They did not do this. They took out some of the mold but not all. Had to vacate apartment as Doctor advised. Should I hire mold assessor now?I still am paying rent. Just not living there. I live in Texas and cannot seem to find which gov agency handles this.

Question: found mold in closet, clothes ruined, moved into moldy apartment, now what?

(June 2, 2012) tini chapman said:

I live in ahouse that I FOUND MOLD IN THE CLOSET AND ALL THE CLOTHES IN TH CLOSET WAS RUINED.

I have been in the house for one year and six months and I am wanting the landlord to let us move without paying any rent at the end of the month. do you think he would allow that.

I don't want to go through any legal matters if I can help it. But he hasn't done anything since we been in the house except put in a carbon monoxide detector. I try to be honest and I want to give him a call and discuss it with him first. This is not the only thing wrong or the only place we found the mold.

We did not notice it cause the house was freshly painted in some areas of the old house. HELP!

(Aug 17, 2012) Candy said:

I have a question i have black and red mold in my house and my landlord wont take care of it and he told me it was my problem and i have a 4 year as well. I live in idaho and i don't know what i should do. There are more problems to this house then mold to i have the rent and i told my landlord that i would pay him the rent as soon as he gets this tooken care of and he told me it was my problem not his. But he wants the money he wont leave me alone about it. So what can i do or what should i do

Plus my landlord came over one day and tryed to fix up the house i have lived her over a year and i have hoes in the wall where he was trying to fix it up.

He hasn't came back to fix and i don't know what i should do . I have mold all over my walls in my 4 years bedroom and mine it everywhere in my house .

He wont take care of it but he wants the money for rent . I told him i would pay him but he has to take care of this first i am not the only one that is having this problem with this landlord and the mold. My friend has moved out of he house because her son came very sick because of this mold and now my daugther is comeing very sick and i don't know what to do . HELP!

(Oct 1, 2012) WendyA said:

My sister moved into a rental home. She discovered the basement was full of mold. The landlord had the basement carpeting removed and the paneling torn up and everything cleaned. My sister was in the home for 3 weeks including during the cleaning process. Once she found out one of the molds was stachybotrys, she moved out.

And now she has pnumonia and pluersey. My first question is, could her illness be related to the mold?

The second question is, does she need to worry that the items she moved from the moldy home into her new apartment are contaminated? The mold was located in the basement but there was not a door isolating the basement from the main floor where her things were located.

She has been living in a motel as she is deathly afraid to move into her new apartment now. If her things are contaminated, what should she do to reduce any risk in her new place?

(Oct 17, 2012) gina said:

Since i moved into my rented house 3 years ago, I have been experiencing year round allergies that are getting worse and have developed into difficulty breathing at night and a recent skin rash. I now believe it is from breathing in mold but I cant afford a mold test.

I frequently clean green powdery mold off the leather couch and wood furniture and just thought it was unfortunate maintenance due to mildew. But now my health is effected and my eosinophil count is elevated after a Dr.s blood test.

Reply:

Tini, sorry to read about the mold issue; often moldy clothes can be laundered or drycleaned and are just fine, though some, such as leather, can be either too costly or too damaged to salvage.

I can't speculate on what your landlord might do - it depends on your rental agreement and the landlord themselves. Be sure that your concerns are made clear to the landlord, in writing.

For all of the above, see MOLD ACTION ADVICE for RENTERS and see HEALTH DEPARTMENT HELP for RENTERS

Question: what's worse, breathing mold or breathign TileX

I have lived with mold in my old apt for over 9 years with my son who has asthma and and my daughter who has now allergy's..I now have lung damage ..We were told to use tilex now cair's who are federally funded had to move me .What was more damaging breathing the mold or tilex..

Reply:

Breathing mold presents a wide range of risks depending on what mold spores or MVOCs are present, as well as the level of exposure in time, concentration, recurrence.

Breathing fumes from a cleaning agent may be a respiratory irritant or depending on what the product's MSDS tells you, it may have other effects.

TileX MSDS data:

TileX is a product sold by the Clorox Company, for which a MSDS is easily found online. Basically it's a bleach product (Sodium hypochlorite 1-5% and Sodium Hydroxide 0.1-1%. There are worker exposure limits set for the second ingredient. None of the ingredients are on the IARC, OSHA, or NTP carcinogenlists.

The Company's MSDS states that "Moderate eye irritant. Mild to moderat e skin irritant. Occasional clinical reports suggest a low potential fo r skin sensitization upon exaggerated exposure to sodium hypochlorite if ski n damage (e.g. irritation) occurs during exposure. Routine clinical tests c onducted on intact skin with this product found no sensitization in the test subjects.

Exposure to vapor or mist may irritate eyes, nose, throat, lungs. Ha\rmful if swallowed.

May cause nausea and vomiting if swallowed. The following medical conditions may be aggravated by exposure to high concent rations of vapor or mist: heart conditions or chronic respiratory pr oblems such as asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis or obstructive lung disease.

Under normal consumer-use conditions, the likelihood of any adv erse health effects is low. " - retrieved 5/19/14 original source http://www.thecloroxcompany.com/downloads/msds/tilex/tilexmoldmildewremover5-07.pdf

...

Continue reading at RENTERS & TENANTS ADVICE for UNSAFE or UNHEALTHY HOME - topic home, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

RENTAL UNIT MOLD & IAQ FAQs-4 - questions & answers about moldy rental homes, posted originally at the end of this page

Or see these

Articles on Tenants Guide to Mold

• RENTERS & TENANTS ADVICE for UNSAFE or UNHEALTHY HOME
  • HEALTH DEPARTMENT HELP for RENTERS
  • HIDDEN MOLD RISKS for RENTERS
  • HOUSING, EMERGENCY & TEMPORARY
  • LEGAL AID ATTORNEY HELP SOURCES
  • MOLD ACTION ADVICE for RENTERS
  • MOLD CONTAMINATION CAUSES
  • MOLD HEALTH RISKS for TENANTS
  • MOLD SAFETY ADVICE for TENANTS
  • MOLD ADVICE for BUILDING MANAGERS
  • TENANT HELP for MOLDY RENTAL
  • TENANT LANDLORD MOLD DISPUTE
  • UNSAFE ENVIRONMENT, CAN'T LEAVE - what if you have to continue to live in a moldy apartment or rental home?

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RENTAL UNIT MOLD & IAQ FAQs-3 at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

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INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to MOLD CONTAMINATION & REMEDIATION

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