Mould in new rental apartment?

grilledcheese

Just moved into our new apartment we are renting and it was quite grubby, on top of this there seems to be a lot of mould in the bedroom.

The windows in the bedroom are surrounded by black mould and the roller blinds are bet with the stuff (more of a beige and green colour here, it looks horrible). We could have dealt with that but we went to dress the bed and it seems like there is mould on the mattress.

What can we do in this situation? I don't want to kick up with the new landlord on the first day but isn't mould a health risk?

Boater123

If it is like that in October, imagine what it is going to be like in January. You may talk to LL.

Besides if the damp is coming from something like a dripping pipe, or blocked gutter, it's your responsibility to let the LL know before it gets worse.

If they don't know about it how can they repair it?

Sleeper12

It's not just ugly to look at. The spores from some mould is bad for you, especially if you have asthma and the likes

Atlantic Dawn

Did you examine the apartment before you rented it? Any ideas if it has been lived in recently? There's chemical sprays you can get to wipe it down, could just be a case of cleaning it all down and opening vents/windows when having showers.

mikeysmith

On a related note

Would having a bucket of cold water and a mop left in the kitchen cause additional condensation?

Jim 77

Things you can do yourself:
-Use a good anti-mould spray such as HG Mould Spray. Remember to spray it on and let it work for at least 30mins before wiping off. Then use regulariy.
-Consider repainting the bedroom with a good anti-mould paint or there's an additive you can buy which can be added to your favourite paint.
-Other common sense things such as making sure the ventilation and heating are working well. I find the latter to be very important. I've reduced mould in the past by adding extra insulation above a room and operating the radiators at max.

muminpajamas

I'd advise against using the anti-mould additive with your favourite paint as I tried that with very disappointing results, while the anti-mould paint itself has always worked although it is quite expensive. Do you have the money to steam clean the mattress? Add a little bleach to the water to make sure to kill all the mould and make sure to dry out the matress thouroughly. You could put a mattress cover on it after that. I'd take the roller blind down straight away if I was you.

muminpajamas

Sorry, I forgot to add that the last time I cleaned mould off our walls I used Astonish Mould and Mildew remover and it worked incredibly well. The only downside is that I should have been wearing a respiratory mask as I had a bad reaction to the mould, or the cleaning spray, or both, and starting wheezing. Best of luck with everything and try not to worry too much, it is fixable.

James 007

Before doing anything, take loads of photos. Is the landlord contactable by e-mail. If so, perhaps send him one photo, and ask for suggestions, and make some suggestions to him/her. Hold onto all other photos for records in case some issue arises later.

Browney7

grilledcheese wrote: »

Just moved into our new apartment we are renting and it was quite grubby, on top of this there seems to be a lot of mould in the bedroom.

The windows in the bedroom are surrounded by black mould and the roller blinds are bet with the stuff (more of a beige and green colour here, it looks horrible). We could have dealt with that but we went to dress the bed and it seems like there is mould on the mattress.

What can we do in this situation? I don't want to kick up with the new landlord on the first day but isn't mould a health risk?

Sound landlord letting it out in that condition. Imagine what it's going to be like getting anything else rectified in the future that may go wrong.

Nip this in the bud now and ask him/her to rectify the situation. Mould can go out of control and is tough to remove fully

April 73

Speaking as a LL & homeowner mould is pretty common to be honest. Good ventilation usually deals with it. We recently installed a decent extractor fan in our bathroom & I have noticed mould developing in the corner of the room. On the other hand when we just opened the window after showering, this never happened. However HG mould remover dealt with it well.

In the case of your apartment, I would recommend contacting the LL & say that while you are happy to use a mould cleaner around the window to remove it, you are not happy that the blind is covered in mould and the mattress also shows signs of mould. I think dealing with the blind & mattress is unfair on the tenant & is the responsibility of the LL, but cleaning a wall with a mould cleaner is not unreasonable for a tenant to do.

grilledcheese

April 73 wrote: »

Speaking as a LL & homeowner mould is pretty common to be honest. Good ventilation usually deals with it. We recently installed a decent extractor fan in our bathroom & I have noticed mould developing in the corner of the room. On the other hand when we just opened the window after showering, this never happened. However HG mould remover dealt with it well.

In the case of your apartment, I would recommend contacting the LL & say that while you are happy to use a mould cleaner around the window to remove it, you are not happy that the blind is covered in mould and the mattress also shows signs of mould. I think dealing with the blind & mattress is unfair on the tenant & is the responsibility of the LL, but cleaning a wall with a mould cleaner is not unreasonable for a tenant to do.

Thanks for your insight as a landlord.
Another question, isn't the rental property meant to be cleaned before tenants move in? We moved in yesterday and on the surface the place looked fine but it's actually quite dirty. I was up all night cleaning it and have booked a cleaner to do a "deep clean" next week.

Am I being pedantic or do I have a right to be a little peeved about this? I've never had this issue before so I don't really know how to go about it.

grilledcheese

grilledcheese wrote: »

Thanks for your insight as a landlord.
Another question, isn't the rental property meant to be cleaned before tenants move in? We moved in yesterday and on the surface the place looked fine but it's actually quite dirty. I was up all night cleaning it and have booked a cleaner to do a "deep clean" next week.

Am I being pedantic or do I have a right to be a little peeved about this? I've never had this issue before so I don't really know how to go about it.

As an example, the oven is filthy, I don't know whether to say anything about it.

beauf

grilledcheese wrote: »

As an example, the oven is filthy, I don't know whether to say anything about it.

You shouldn't have moved in. I dunno what you were thinking.

beauf

April 73 wrote: »

Speaking as a LL & homeowner mould is pretty common to be honest....... but cleaning a wall with a mould cleaner is not unreasonable for a tenant to do.

I think a bit of mould around a window is entirely different to a mattress being mouldy. That indicates a massive damp problem. LL shouldn't be renting a place in that state. The op shouldn't have rented it either.

April 73

beauf wrote: »

I think a bit of mould around a window is entirely different to a mattress being mouldy. That indicates a massive damp problem. LL shouldn't be renting a place in that state. The op shouldn't have rented it either.

Which is exactly what I said. The blind & the mattress shouldn't have any mould on them.

April 73

grilledcheese wrote: »

Thanks for your insight as a landlord.
Another question, isn't the rental property meant to be cleaned before tenants move in? We moved in yesterday and on the surface the place looked fine but it's actually quite dirty. I was up all night cleaning it and have booked a cleaner to do a "deep clean" next week.

Am I being pedantic or do I have a right to be a little peeved about this? I've never had this issue before so I don't really know how to go about it.

Personally I think a place should be spotless for new tenants moving in & that includes cooker, grill, extractor fan etc etc.

It sounds like a superficial clean was done before you moved in. I hate cleaning other people's dirt which I have done many times after tenants left so I know how you feel. In your shoes I would go to the landlord & politely explain that you feel the cleaning was inadequate. However now that you have moved in your position is weaker than if you had insisted beforehand. I'd make a list of everything that is mouldy, dirty, broken etc & call the landlord to discuss. He may be civil & agree to remedy some of the things or all, if he is a decent landlord.

beauf

If he was decent he wouldn't have let it in that state.

beauf

April 73 wrote: »

Which is exactly what I said. The blind & the mattress shouldn't have any mould on them.

You're talking about something different. There should be no mould yes.

From a damp point of view, they are very different problems.

listermint

Mattress should not have mould in it at all.

Mould comes from damp.

Normal mould that is common comes from people's breath hitting cold surfaces, this is solved via proper ventilation in the room and bathroom areas for showers.

That is normal mould and can be remedied with vents.

However mattress are not a cold surface, which means that the mattress has gotten damp or is retaining damp.
Why? Is it up against a damp exterior wall? Is there leaking pipes?

I would not sleep in a room based on the description you gave its extremely bad for your health and you will definitely suffer the consequences even in the first few months.

Mattress should be chucked and source of mould needs to be found I don't think it's ventilation in this case but it could be if it was left unchecked for a long time

April 73

beauf wrote: »

If he was decent he wouldn't have let it in that state.

Fair enough. I'm being too optimistic.

Achasanai

grilledcheese wrote: »

Am I being pedantic or do I have a right to be a little peeved about this? I've never had this issue before so I don't really know how to go about it.

All the places I've moved in to have only had a surface clean. Disappointing, and unprofessional, but I factor in a day or two of deep-cleaning before I move in properly.

The above could be considered a personal preference and subjective, of course. The mold described in the OP is completely unacceptable and the LL should be alerted (particularly as it could be a sign of a more serious matter to their asset).

Jjohnrockk

April 73 wrote: »

Personally I think a place should be spotless for new tenants moving in & that includes cooker, grill, extractor fan etc etc.

It sounds like a superficial clean was done before you moved in. I hate cleaning other people's dirt which I have done many times after tenants left so I know how you feel. In your shoes I would go to the landlord & politely explain that you feel the cleaning was inadequate. However now that you have moved in your position is weaker than if you had insisted beforehand. I'd make a list of everything that is mouldy, dirty, broken etc & call the landlord to discuss. He may be civil & agree to remedy some of the things or all, if he is a decent landlord.

I know it is a old post - Talking about asking LL to get it cleaned - Beat This - I was told to pay nearly 2000 PM for an apartment with Mould and Dirty Bed. Words were condition is take it or leave it - Deal was for AS IT IS DEAL.

I luckily had sent email with screen prints to agent. Else I'm sure he would have asked me to clean Mould or make me responsible for it.

Graham

Mod Note

Please don't resurrect old posts.

Thread closed.