Mold in apartment...

Dee22

This will be my third year renting my apartment. Soon after we moved in mould began to appear in our bedroom, all around the windows. I've tried lots of cleaning products (winding up pretty sick after scrubbing it!), painting over afterwards etc. And it keeps coming back like a bad rash. I'm asthmatic and suffer with allergies relating to damp conditions... So I'm screwed basically!

I'm wondering has anyone had any experiences like this. Our landlord is aware of the situation and gave us a dehumidifier which does sweet FA and he hasn't seemed too bothered in all honesty. Is there any steps I can take to either have him get rid of it or banish it myself. I'm not looking forward to another winter of the mould worsening. Any suggestions would be great!

miezekatze

This might be a stupid question, but do you open the windows regularly and let some fresh air in? Are there vents, and did you check if they are blocked? If you tried this already and your landlord isn't willing to fix the problem then you might be better off moving somewhere else.

I used to live in an apartment where the bathroom kept getting mouldy, there was no proper ventilation for it (no window, fan was pretty useless) and we did leave the door open whenever it wasn't in use and had the windows in the other rooms open for a few hours every day. We kept having to clean the walls and ceiling with mould remover and our landlord wasn't keen on spending money on a more permanent solution. We ended up moving out.

If you go scrubbing at it again, make sure you wear a mask. The spores can be dangerous, especially with children causing allergies. Dettol have a good Mould & Mildew remover, its a green bottle, it contains bleach. Do you dry clothes on radiators on a regular basis, that could be what is causing it to return. Personally, I'd tell the LL to sort it rapid before Winter comes.

Cuddlesworth

Dee22 wrote: »

This will be my third year renting my apartment. Soon after we moved in mould began to appear in our bedroom, all around the windows. I've tried lots of cleaning products (winding up pretty sick after scrubbing it!), painting over afterwards etc. And it keeps coming back like a bad rash. I'm asthmatic and suffer with allergies relating to damp conditions... So I'm screwed basically!

I'm wondering has anyone had any experiences like this. Our landlord is aware of the situation and gave us a dehumidifier which does sweet FA and he hasn't seemed too bothered in all honesty. Is there any steps I can take to either have him get rid of it or banish it myself. I'm not looking forward to another winter of the mould worsening. Any suggestions would be great!

Go outside and take a look at the wall around the window during heavy rain. It might be something simple like a blocked gutter.

gaius c

Do you dry clothes inside the apartment or turn on fans when cooking?

Dee22

Thanks for all the answers guys and girls!

miezekatze wrote: »

This might be a stupid question, but do you open the windows regularly and let some fresh air in? Are there vents, and did you check if they are blocked? If you tried this already and your landlord isn't willing to fix the problem then you might be better off moving somewhere else.

Unfortunately moving out isn't an option at the moment. So we're stuck between a mouldy rock and a hard place in that regard... We actually don't have a proper vent in the room, the patio doors have a tiny vent in the frame and I clean them out regularly as they fill up with ****e every so often.

Mayo Gurl wrote: »

If you go scrubbing at it again, make sure you wear a mask. The spores can be dangerous, especially with children causing allergies. Dettol have a good Mould & Mildew remover, its a green bottle, it contains bleach. Do you dry clothes on radiators on a regular basis, that could be what is causing it to return.

Thanks, I learnt the hard hard way with the mask! Think I'll be picking up some of that Dettol anyway Clothes are usually left on the clothes horse on the balcony if it's dry and in the sitting room, kitchen or hall if it's raining out. Never in the room in question as I've been told it's bad for asthmatics chests to dry clothes in the room you sleep. Probably also worth noting there's no proper heater in the room either! I think that has a bit impact. We have storage heaters throughout the apartment but the two bedrooms have these little electric air heaters attached to the walls and they are absolute pants!

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Go outside and take a look at the wall around the window during heavy rain. It might be something simple like a blocked gutter.

The wall outside the window/doors in question is under a balcony, sort of to an angle with a canopy, so there are no gutters and little chance for the rain to lash on the outside wall.

gaius c wrote: »

Do you dry clothes inside the apartment or turn on fans when cooking?

As mentioned, I dry clothes outside when I can but our lovely Irish winters don't make for great drying weather (we don't have a dryer either). And I generally turn on the fan when boiling or steaming anything, although the kitchen is at the opposite end of the apartment to the bedroom. There does seem to be a bit of damp/mould/must through out the apartment, none of it as troubling as the stuff in the bedroom. I think a lot of it actually down to poor building and bad insulation!

Dee22

Thought perhaps photos would help...
This is probably the best it's been since last winter as it was cleaned and painter before the summer.
It usually spreads to cover the entire inner walls which run along the patio doors.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bq61jimtjjs4z1m/IMG_20130826_194103.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6oargb3uk23fcnl/IMG_20130826_194120.jpg

Forest Demon

More than likely a ventilation issue but the window needs to be properly sealed and treated and then painted with anti mold paint and best bet would be to replace the curtains.

Do you get lots of condensation or do you think water is getting in some other way. The damp feeds off moisture.

Do you dry clothes on the rads or clothes horse a lot? That sends loads of moisture into the air.

Dee22

Forest Demon wrote: »

More than likely a ventilation issue but the window needs to be properly sealed and treated and then painted with anti mold paint and best bet would be to replace the curtains.

Do you get lots of condensation or do you think water is getting in some other way. The damp feeds off moisture.

Do you dry clothes on the rads or clothes horse a lot? That sends loads of moisture into the air.

Usually I dry the clothes on a clothes horse, outdoors when the weather allows. We don't have a dryer so that's our only port of call. The rads aren't really suitable for drying with the type of ventilation system on them. Maybe the odd time I'll dry socks and underwear on them but again never in that room.

The water is all from condensation, as the outside of these windows are in under a canopy and somewhat sheltered from the rain. Even with the dehumidifier running all day and all night (which I've heard is also bad!) the floor still ends up saturated from the condensation running down it in the mornings.

I'm mostly wondering where I stand if I ask the landlord to place vents and treat the wall and he refuses or can't?

hfallada

HG bathroom mould remover (spray bottle and is white and red) is the only mould remover that works and actually kills the mold rather than clean it. Most hardwares sell it and its not cheap but its excellent

Dee22

hfallada wrote: »

HG bathroom mould remover (spray bottle and is white and red) is the only mould remover that works and actually kills the mold rather than clean it. Most hardwares sell it and its not cheap but its excellent

Cheers I will look into that... And I'll be making sure the LL foots the bill! He owes me one after the endless chest/sinus problems!

Cuddlesworth

Dee22 wrote: »

The wall outside the window/doors in question is under a balcony, sort of to an angle with a canopy, so there are no gutters and little chance for the rain to lash on the outside wall.

And there is no chance that the balcony above or the area outside your window is being exposed to significant amounts of pooled water? Maybe wooden decking fitted with blocked drains?

From my experience significant mold in a very specific area with the cleaning you have described is almost always due to water ingress. The mold tends to gravitate to areas like window frames due to the change in temperature in those areas. But the water itself would be coming from somewhere else. If you really had high humidity in your house, you wouldn't be seeing that type of mold during summer time and you most definitely would not be seeing it in only 1 isolated location.

dory

Dee22 wrote: »

Cheers I will look into that... And I'll be making sure the LL foots the bill! He owes me one after the endless chest/sinus problems!

It's really not worth your health. Do you not have any way of moving? I live in a moldy house but I own it so I'm stuck for now. I have a dehumidifier and an air purifier to help with my asthma. It's down to a bad insulation/ventilaton combo. I had vents installed in all rooms and I still have it. Your landlord really should be helping out, but if he knows you won't move anyway he has no reason to.

If you need anymore reason to move remember Brittney Murphy's death is thought to have been due to chest issues as she lived in a moldy house!

Dee22

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

And there is no chance that the balcony above or the area outside your window is being exposed to significant amounts of pooled water? Maybe wooden decking fitted with blocked drains?

From my experience significant mold in a very specific area with the cleaning you have described is almost always due to water ingress. The mold tends to gravitate to areas like window frames due to the change in temperature in those areas. But the water itself would be coming from somewhere else. If you really had high humidity in your house, you wouldn't be seeing that type of mold during summer time and you most definitely would not be seeing it in only 1 isolated location.

I don't think so. The canopy about the window outside is concrete also and stretches from about 3-5 ft, the door is angled in at 45 degrees. So it seems to me to have a decent amount of shelter. There does seem to mould in other spots, we have similar type doors in the sitting room but as these doors get some amount of natural light I've always though this might be something to do with it, perhaps naively? There is more mould dotted around the house, some near the kitchen sink, a musty smell comes from behind the fake fire place, the bathroom has a fair bit but obviously it's a bathroom with damp conditions and bad ventilation...

The condensation the last 2 winters was unreal in this bedroom. I've wondered if maybe a leak in the pvc doors could cause this. It tends to be so bad in the morning in the height of winter that it only just clears before it starts to fog up again in the evening. Either way I can't see the landlord shelling out for new pvc doors, but I will be insisting he gets one of his lads up here to install some vents!

Dee22

dory wrote: »

It's really not worth your health. Do you not have any way of moving? I live in a moldy house but I own it so I'm stuck for now. I have a dehumidifier and an air purifier to help with my asthma. It's down to a bad insulation/ventilaton combo. I had vents installed in all rooms and I still have it. Your landlord really should be helping out, but if he knows you won't move anyway he has no reason to.

If you need anymore reason to move remember Brittney Murphy's death is thought to have been due to chest issues as she lived in a moldy house!

At the moment we have no way of moving and it's making me miserable! I think the LL knows this too... Pretty sure ours is down to terrible building/insulation.

beauf

If the LL has done nothing for 3yrs and you've not moved out, hes not going to, and he has no reason to if you keep staying there.

Forest Demon

beauf wrote: »

If the LL has done nothing for 3yrs and you've not moved out, hes not going to, and he has no reason to if you keep staying there.

+1

give notice on that basis

Dee22

beauf wrote: »

If the LL has done nothing for 3yrs and you've not moved out, hes not going to, and he has no reason to if you keep staying there.

I know, I've put myself in an awkward position really! As we went out of contract after the first years lease and only signed a new one recently, I suppose (rather stupidly in hindsight I know) we didn't want to give him much trouble! He was fairly quick about getting a dehumidifier up when I explained how bad my asthma and allergies had gotten, but that thing might as well be pissing in the wind for all the good it does! He's never actually come up to see it, so I don't know if he really understands just how bad it is! I like living here too, it's a nice size apartment for our needs etc. But at this stage if I could afford to move out I would. Unfortunately SW have us boxed in with their cuts upon cuts. We're both mature students also so full time work isn't going to be an option any time soon.

I suppose at this stage I'm mostly looking to find out what the costs of getting this dealt with professionally, before I bring it up with him. If it is a problem with the French doors (which I think is probably where the problem stems from) or it might need to be a bigger job of getting the dry wall replaced. If anyone has had any experience with these kind of services in Ireland it'd be a huge help!

Outkast_IRE

Bad asthma and allergies and you continue to live in a mouldy apartment.

I don't even have bad asthma or allergies and I was unfortunate enough to feel my throat closing up when staying in an apartment with slight mould problems.

Im not messing with you, mould related health problems are seriously under reported and not given enough attention in this country.

Do yourself a favour and take steps to get out now before you make you health any worse.

People die from mould in their homes and many suffer constant breathing and throat problems from it.

beauf

Dee22 wrote: »

...I suppose at this stage I'm mostly looking to find out what the costs of getting this dealt with professionally, before I bring it up with him. ...

What you're doing is like going into a restaurant and offering to cook your own meal because they are busy. Then offering to install a new cooker for them. Instead of walking to the next restaurant.

Cuddlesworth

Dee22 wrote: »

I suppose at this stage I'm mostly looking to find out what the costs of getting this dealt with professionally, before I bring it up with him. If it is a problem with the French doors (which I think is probably where the problem stems from) or it might need to be a bigger job of getting the dry wall replaced. If anyone has had any experience with these kind of services in Ireland it'd be a huge help!

I might be able to tell if I had decent pics of the outside just after a dose of rain.

Dee22

beauf wrote: »

What you're doing is like going into a restaurant and offering to cook your own meal because they are busy. Then offering to install a new cooker for them. Instead of walking to the next restaurant.

Haha... I like your analogy! I know it's all very stupid, and I have learned a major life lesson here believe me... Mainly check every nook and cranny for mould before moving in! But I'm not looking to do this for the LL. I'm simply looking to know my options before confronting him once more.

Dee22

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

Bad asthma and allergies and you continue to live in a mouldy apartment.

I don't even have bad asthma or allergies and I was unfortunate enough to feel my throat closing up when staying in an apartment with slight mould problems.

Im not messing with you, mould related health problems are seriously under reported and not given enough attention in this country.

Do yourself a favour and take steps to get out now before you make you health any worse.

People die from mould in their homes and many suffer constant breathing and throat problems from it.

As I've mentioned a few times already moving out isn't really an option at the moment. Rent prices do not seem to be falling what so ever, and rent supplement has been cut, rather drastically imo, leaving us in a position where if we were to hand in our notice we would be looking at moving from a 2 bed apartment to a bedsit.

beauf

Or a hospital...

beauf

Mould can be caused by a number of things. Might be poor design, causing poor ventilation. Very hard to get get around that. A leak, which might be easier or hard to find. Or simply living habits like never opening windows or ventilating the space.

Mould will be destroying the apartment. If the LL doesn't care about his own apartment, I can't see hes going to start fixing it up for you.

Dee22

beauf wrote: »

Mould can be caused by a number of things. Might be poor design, causing poor ventilation. Very hard to get get around that. A leak, which might be easier or hard to find. Or simply living habits like never opening windows or ventilating the space.

Mould will be destroying the apartment. If the LL doesn't care about his own apartment, I can't see hes going to start fixing it up for you.

It's a letting agent that we deal with so I'd be interested to know if the owners actually know about it! I've been constantly on Daft the last few months to look for a new mould free dwelling The hunt continues...

Dee22

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

I might be able to tell if I had decent pics of the outside just after a dose of rain.

My sincerest apologies! Upon closer inspection there is a gutter outside... I was picturing u meant a vertical one, across the top of the window. Durrrr!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/g54tpsykatgdf0k/IMG_20130827_205155.jpg

There does appear to be some amount of ****e on it too, not sure if it's mould or just grime. Is that the kind of leak u mean?

Emme

Dee22 wrote: »

Thought perhaps photos would help...
This is probably the best it's been since last winter as it was cleaned and painter before the summer.
It usually spreads to cover the entire inner walls which run along the patio doors.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bq61jimtjjs4z1m/IMG_20130826_194103.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6oargb3uk23fcnl/IMG_20130826_194120.jpg

Is that wallpaper on the wall beside the window? If so it looks loose. It wouldn't surprise me if there was mould elsewhere in the room, such as behind the wallpaper.

Did you show your LL the photos?

Dee22 wrote: »

My sincerest apologies! Upon closer inspection there is a gutter outside... I was picturing u meant a vertical one, across the top of the window. Durrrr!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/g54tpsykatgdf0k/IMG_20130827_205155.jpg

There does appear to be some amount of ****e on it too, not sure if it's mould or just grime. Is that the kind of leak u mean?

This could be contributing to your problem. If so the mould could be in more places than just the window. Even if you can't "see" mould, it could still be there and it's very difficult to get rid of.

Is your landlord registered with the PRTB?

A mouldy room isn't habitable and rental property should be of a certain standard. Does your apartment have a BER rating?

http://www.irishlandlord.com/index.aspx?page=infocentre_article_view&id=36

It might be in your landlord's interest to sort this problem out properly. It might be in your interest to check out Threshold or PRTB to make sure he's keeping his side of the bargain with regard to the standard of the apartment.

Pistachios & cream

HI OP,
This looks like a ventilation issue. We have similar problems in my parents house. It was built in the 1970's with teak wooden windows which naturally ventilate the room.

Some bedroom windows were upgraded to PVC about 10 years ago and since then we get the same black mold in the bedrooms that have the PVC windows. We don't have vents in these rooms. The only way to help it was to have the window open every day and this still did not completely prevent it from appearing.

I would say a vent would help the situation but would not solve the problem completely.

beauf

Emme wrote: »

...A mouldy room isn't habitable and rental property should be of a certain standard. ...

Do you have a link to where any regulations define a mould in a room as inhabitable?

Ray Palmer

Dee22 wrote: »

My sincerest apologies! Upon closer inspection there is a gutter outside... I was picturing u meant a vertical one, across the top of the window. Durrrr!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/g54tpsykatgdf0k/IMG_20130827_205155.jpg

There does appear to be some amount of ****e on it too, not sure if it's mould or just grime. Is that the kind of leak u mean?

That looks like the problem. If you have mould on the outside (which is what it looks like) it means there is moisture outside which will penetrate the wall.

Sort the gutter out and the damp should disappear over time.

On another note it the property a converted building? The sill looks really deep suggesting massively thick walls.