my new apt is damp (apartment, rental, houses)

[jolie123]

Hi, there,

I have a question about my new apartment. I just moved in less than one month. But I found the apt is so damp. I saw some green mold in the bottom of the door. I put my laptop bag on the carpet, and after a few days, the bag has mold...My salt box (paper box), is totally wet.

This is an new apartment, built in 2009. I want to know if my landlord should be responsible for the damp, and the mold.

I know it very bad for my health.

Can anyone here give me some suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

Jolie

[Ceezer]

Originally Posted by jolie123

I want to know if my landlord should be responsible for the damp, and the mold.

I'm not familiar with rental laws and regulations, but I would say: absolutely!

I know it very bad for my health.

While not providing any positive health benefits or cozy environment, I don't think you're in any danger. I believe it's just the black mold that can be harmful.

But, still, don't delay in contacting your unit management!

[linicx]

Mold is mold, and Mold Spores cause lung damage. Any good licensed Enviromental Inspector should tell you that everytime you walk on grass you release Mold Spores. When you are outside you breathe it all day, so therefore you should have an clean air, non-spore living environment. Lung Diseae is the #2 killer in Illnois.

Water + Qxygen = mold.

To see that much mold in your apartment, I can guarantee there is hidden water source that is causing the problem. Chances are if the owner rips carpet and walls he will find it. I would call the owner, the Health Department and your lawyer. If you remain there long enough you will have problems diagnlosed as allergies, upper respritory, Rhinitis, etc.. been there, done that, now living with double lung disease, oxygen lines, respirtory treatments, lung infections and dying. The life span of the average lung patient who does not have a lung transplant(s) is 6 yeras.

Drying out a room with fans and dehumidifiers will not remove the hidden mold and neither will bleach. The water source must be found and stopped. Mold Remediation is hugely expensive.

Quiet possibly the only way to prove the hidden mold is an inspection by a Illinois State Licensed Inspector. MIne charges $400 per inspection. He found mold in 2 buildings - both were empty for severa months -s before I bought my present home. In short, Get Out!

[CarolinaBredChicagoan]

Originally Posted by linicx

Mold is mold, and Mold Spores cause lung damage. Any good licensed Enviromental Inspector should tell you that everytime you walk on grass you release Mold Spores. When you are outside you breathe it all day, so therefore you should have an clean air, non-spore living environment. Lung Diseae is the #2 killer in Illnois.

Water + Qxygen = mold.

To see that much mold in your apartment, I can guarantee there is hidden water source that is causing the problem. Chances are if the owner rips carpet and walls he will find it. I would call the owner, the Health Department and your lawyer. If you remain there long enough you will have problems diagnlosed as allergies, upper respritory, Rhinitis, etc.. been there, done that, now living with double lung disease, oxygen lines, respirtory treatments, lung infections and dying. The life span of the average lung patient who does not have a lung transplant(s) is 6 yeras.

Drying out a room with fans and dehumidifiers will not remove the hidden mold and neither will bleach. The water source must be found and stopped. Mold Remediation is hugely expensive.

Quiet possibly the only way to prove the hidden mold is an inspection by a Illinois State Licensed Inspector. MIne charges $400 per inspection. He found mold in 2 buildings - both were empty for severa months -s before I bought my present home. In short, Get Out!

Or, in your case, OP, an SC licensed inspector.

But as a renter, your #1 priority is to let management know about the dampness ASAP.

BTW: Is this dampness a result of the recent flooding?

[linicx]

My apologies to the OP. Yes, if necessary do call a State Licensed Environmental Inspector. They are trained and have special eqipment to detect mold in hidden areas. If the building was in a recent flood then the unit where you live, judging from your description, may have mold in the carpet/padding and maybe the floor underneath it. The mold, depending upon the amount of dmanage, could extend past the wall surface and into the studs behind the walls. You hope not because that means demo and new construction starting with the studs. I looked at a house that had mold in the finished basement from flooding. The cost of Remediation to rid the basement of mold was $30K. It did not include the cost of removal in the rest of the house ($100K total), or rebuilding it.

The dirty little secret about housing -- and I am not pointing a finger at SC -- is that empty houses that do not have a/c on in the summer and heat on in the winter generally have mold issues - IF they are empty for too long. It is very common in the MIdWest where there are large bodies of water and massive summer cornfields, both of which contribute to high humidity.

Unfortunately mold is not a joke; it can be a serious health hazzard.