Mold!!!

Post by **stipud** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 5:19 pm

So the plumbing upstairs has been leaking for quite some time now. Our landlord got the leak taken care of last night, and sent a drywaller to replace the damaged walls today. While he was out for dinner, I snapped a few shots of how it looks BEHIND the wall. It's fucking disgusting! This leak has obviously been going on for quite awhile.

I'll let the pics speak for themselves...

Post by **Rold Gold** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 5:42 pm

Nice place ya got there Tom............... That mold sucks ass cus it aint leavin withouta fight....

BLEACH that concrete and seal it. Make sure he replaces all of that sheetrock too or it'll be right back behind there. You might not get sick as often either.

Post by **stipud** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 5:54 pm

The landlord just came back with the drywaller. They are trying very hard not to say the "M-word" in front of me, as if I don't know it's totally fucked already. The drywaller started saying something about the health risk when the landlord abruptly stopped him mid sentence. HMMMM...

Golly, this must explain the intense allergies I got after we moved in here! I should send the guy my bill for Reactine and Flonase.

Post by **fuzzysnuggleduck** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:34 am

Do you know what kind of mold it is? If you have evidence to support the fact that it causes you health problems, I would suspect that they might be a bit more willing to do something about it, especially if you don't start off by being aggressive about it.

I lived in that old 1912 house for a while and the whole bathroom floor was rotted out... half the house was mold... wasps lived in the walls... but I don't recall being sick

Post by **Bfowler** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:48 am

dude...that's so wrong. you totally need to drop that you are aware of its risks in front of your landlord...especially with photograqphic (and i stress graphic) evidence

Post by **stipud** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:51 am

No idea what kind it is, I am having a hard time finding a DIY test locally. There are plenty of agencies willing to take hundreds of my dollars to test my mold in their "lab" though.

When I talked to the landlady on the phone previously, she was adamant about getting mold fixed. Their son went to the hospital with a hole in his lung due to mold. He nearly died, so she is obviously very concerned about making things right. Thats why I found it so strange that the landlord wasn't admitting it was mold at first, until I confronted them about it right after I made my last post.

At least his drywaller/plumber guy said it didn't look like the harmful kind. He said if it was, he would be wearing a respirator. Still, my allergies obviously got MUCH worse the minute I stepped into the house after coming back from europe. While I was there I barely needed reactine, now I need both reactine and flonase at least daily in order to function. So perhaps it's not the toxic kind of mold, but at the very least I seem to be allergic to it.

They did rip down the drywall that you can see in the picture on the opposite side. That stuff was even worse than the bathroom wall, it just disintegrated when it was touched. After that they bleached the hell out of everything, and now we've got windows open and fans on to try to dry it out (not necessarily an easy task considering all the rain we've had).

This weekend they will be back to see how it looks all dried up. Apparently the 2x4's will be staying, but they will be scraping off the mold from them once they are dry. The floor turned out to be just as bad as the walls, so it will be replaced with tile as well.

Post by **Francious70** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 9:36 am

If you want it to dry quicker go get a dehumidifier.

Post by **stipud** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 10:13 am

Francious70 wrote:If you want it to dry quicker go get a dehumidifier.

Damn, the cheapest one I can find is $200. Calgary is probably the driest city in the world too (well, when the weather isn't unseasonably FUCKED like it is now), so I would likely never use it again. I'll stick to the three fans I got on it already

gkitching · Post by **gkitching** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 11:01 am

You may want to request they throw a coat of primer/sealer over those 2x4's before re-doing the drywall. Scraping off the surface won't get all of it and it could come right back. Esspecially being a moist bathroom environment. Just a thought.

Post by **stipud** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 11:03 am

Good idea, I'll be sure to mention it.

nico boom · Post by **nico boom** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 1:17 pm

GET OUT OF THERE TOM; HEALTHRISK FOR SURE [no joke]....

Post by **stipud** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 2:34 pm

Here's how it looked last night when they finished up. Note the wet floor and 2x4's.

Post by **stipud** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 2:45 pm

Apparently the leak started 5 years ago when this place was renovated. The shitty builder didn't properly install a valve, and it's had a slow drip all this time. It's a wonder none of the tenants or the landlord sighted this problem before me.

Here's how it looks today after airing out for a day. The wood has started looking like wood again. I took a few shots of the upstairs baseboards as well. Looks like they need to be dried out too somehow.

joyride · Post by **joyride** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 6:30 pm

As a renter in a college town, I have seen my fair share of mold. I have yet to move into a place that I didnt have mold. Like your landlords son, I suffer from a reoccurring pnuemothorax, but it has yet to kill me (you would be surprised how much lung you can lose without problems). I dont think it was the mold though. The problem with mold is that once it is in a house, it comes back easily. You should also look into getting your air ducts cleaned. Once the mold is broken free into the air system, its all downhill from there. Also, you should be able to get your landlord to purchase a dehumidifier for you. Typically most landlords have them around for flood/leaking situations. Also, there is a sealant specially made for mold, and it locks it in there. Those 2X4's should be treated with it (wouldnt hurt o bleach it after the workers leave one night). If there is a shower in that bathroom, there is a special high humidity paint that is made for these situations.

Post by **stipud** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 7:23 am

I was feeling physically ill in the house yesterday... After the landlord bleached it, we threw some fans on and it's been drying out for awhile. But that musky bleach scent never left, plus with the added mold floating in the air, my allergies have been off the charts.

So I did some research, and figured out that his bleach and all-purpose disinfectant was not the right way to treat this. As such I biked down to Home Depot to grab some concrobium mold sealant. I gotta say, this stuff worked really well. I sprayed it on everything, and within an hour, that musky smell was gone from the rest of the house. I feel much better now knowing that it has been treated a little bit better, especially if they are not going to be ripping out the 2x4's.

Good point on the ductwork. I'll be sure to make a fuss about that, especially considering how they failed to isolate the area from the rest of the house. They should have covered up the ducting in the bathroom at the very least. By putting the fans on and airing it directly into the house, they basically just spread the remaining mold spores everywhere. Once they finish these repairs, I am going to go absolutely nuts cleaning every surface of the house with disinfectant.