Need some advice on mold in an apartment!

annaj

Hi everyone,
I have a question to people who might have some knowledge of mold in apartments. I am really sick of mold problem in this country :-) My current place in an old house- horribly insulated and recently we discovered huge-white-brr-damp in the attic. Again mold in wardrobes etc.
In our previous place, although it was a new,and well heated apartment and we opened windows every morning-mold was coming back. The first place I lived in had exactly the same problem-but it was old-on the top floor and very cold during winter-we couldn't heat it up properly..
So we're moving out again, and found a lovely-very warm apartment in great location-there are still tenants living in, but unfortunately noticed mold in several places:
1. bathroom ceiling: dark spots
2. bedroom ceiling-corner: again dark spots
3. living room: a few dark spots on the small part of a wall near the bottom of a balcony door
The mold wasn't huge but wasn't small either, the tenant I spoke with agreed she hadn't opened windows regularly- especially in the bathroom. She said she hadn't heated the place very often during the winter- only around 3 hours daily.

So here is the question: do you think this mold is caused by bad airing?Would you move into the place?; it's very cosy, warm,at good price. I'm only afraid of this mold, I have some good sprays for it but still a bit worry about it.

Don't have much time for looking for an apartment and this one seems to be a good option for me and my boyfriend, but the mold...

Diane Selwyn

If the apartment is warm then the mold might be caused by a lack of ventilation rather than just damp -if the mold only seems to be on the surface and the ceiling/wall itself doesn't seem to be damp (from within) than it might be manageable but it's hard to say - once it takes hold it can be difficult to get rid of and it can be very harmful to your health (not to mention your clothes and other belongings!). I would be inclined to keep looking if possible.

annaj

to be honest this mold didn't look so seriously, was rather on the surface only,unfortunately we' ve been looking for something cosy and in a cheap location for long and couldn't find anything until now- the place is in really in good area-that's why I'm a bit turning a blind eye to this mold..
I'm aware mold can be harmful for our health but unfortunately many of the apartments in the town I live have mold, I chatted with many friends and saw different places and there was usually mold somewhere...
So I'm thinking that maybe I'll ask the landlord to treat mold with some anti-mold disinfectants-paint these areas, then take care of the apartment! :-)
As you said the worst thing is clothes! the girl-current tenant said there isn't mold in wardrobes.. but who knows.. also the apartments have overall good opinions..

Gatling

annaj wrote: »

to be honest this mold didn't look so seriously, was rather on the surface only,unfortunately we' ve been looking for something cosy and in a cheap location for long and couldn't find anything until now- the place is in really in good area-that's why I'm a bit turning a blind eye to this mold..
I'm aware mold can be harmful for our health but unfortunately many of the apartments in the town I live have mold, I chatted with many friends and saw different places and there was usually mold somewhere...
So I'm thinking that maybe I'll ask the landlord to treat mold with some anti-mold disinfectants-paint these areas, then take care of the apartment! :-)
As you said the worst thing is clothes! the girl-current tenant said there isn't mold in wardrobes.. but who knows.. also the apartments have overall good opinions..

Antimould spray about €5 available in most super markets ,

Antimould paint €20 in major diy stores ,

cerastes

Turn on the heating, buildings need to be adequately heated and with people inside them, ventilated too.

"So here is the question: do you think this mold is caused by bad airing?Would you move into the place?; it's very cosy, warm,at good price. I'm only afraid of this mold, I have some good sprays for it but still a bit worry about it."

Yes it is most likely caused by bad airing, and thats without seeing your pictures, but from the description you give too.

"the tenant I spoke with agreed she hadn't opened windows regularly- especially in the bathroom. She said she hadn't heated the place very often during the winter"

The first sign of mould, it needs to be dealt with.
You cant just seal a building up and not use the means of ventilating water vapour that builds up from normal use, habitation, normal sources of water, steam etc.

Bathrooms need to be mechanically ventilated (preferably automatically as people dont seem to have a clue whats going on) or have the window opened to release the built up condensation. Other rooms need to be ventilated too, periodically opening windows to freshen the place up.

hfallada

Mould is caused by spores and unless they are killed they will come back regardless of insulation or not.

HG mould spray is the only thing I have found that keeps mould away.Its only from a hardware and expensive. But its the only thing I have discovered that kills it.

Graces7

hfallada wrote: »

Mould is caused by spores and unless they are killed they will come back regardless of insulation or not.

HG mould spray is the only thing I have found that keeps mould away.Its only from a hardware and expensive. But its the only thing I have discovered that kills it.

thank you; you beat me to it

worst house i lived in i had not seen before arriving. long story. so i learned the hard way that the ll had painted over huge areas of black mould. with cheap emulsion . was sick the whole time i was there and when i saw the extent and read re toxic black mould sickness, l left

no amount of heating and ventilation will do anything to help as the spores multiply and spread. i was finding black dust on every surface.
asthma and sickness which vanished when i was away for a day

hfallada

Graces7 wrote: »

thank you; you beat me to it

worst house i lived in i had not seen before arriving. long story. so i learned the hard way that the ll had painted over huge areas of black mould. with cheap emulsion . was sick the whole time i was there and when i saw the extent and read re toxic black mould sickness, l left

no amount of heating and ventilation will do anything to help as the spores multiply and spread. i was finding black dust on every surface.
asthma and sickness which vanished when i was away for a day

HG spray is the only thing that kills it. It's extremely smelly. But you spray it on and within 30 mins all the mould has dissolved

Gatling

hfallada wrote: »

HG spray is the only thing that kills it. It's extremely smelly. But you spray it on and within 30 mins all the mould has dissolved

Always found dettol mould and mildew spray does a great job only needs 5 mins to do the job ,

Graces7

hfallada wrote: »

HG spray is the only thing that kills it. It's extremely smelly. But you spray it on and within 30 mins all the mould has dissolved

sounds wonderful but i have mcs and that house was terrible in many ways. there were no outside drains for the rainwater guttering to feed into, but what the ll called a soak drain. so damp. and the entire ground floor had serious black mould ....house had been empty years.

mcs is muliple chemical sensitivity. the spray would not be good

Graces7

Gatling wrote: »

Always found dettol mould and mildew spray does a great job only needs 5 mins to do the job ,

i think it also depends on the type of mould. mildew and black mould are different i think.

The_Morrigan

Graces7 wrote: »

sounds wonderful but i have mcs and that house was terrible in many ways. there were no outside drains for the rainwater guttering to feed into, but what the ll called a soak drain. so damp. and the entire ground floor had serious black mould ....house had been empty years.

mcs is muliple chemical sensitivity. the spray would not be good

Graces7 could you try to keep your posts constructive to the OP, this type of post is off topic and derailing the thread.

Thanks

Gatling

Graces7 wrote: »

i think it also depends on the type of mould. mildew and black mould are different i think.

I've used it on both have a small patch in a windowless bathroom and find it works well ,
Finally getting around to replacing a fan and painting Antimould paint in the effected area,
Actually used it on a roller blind recently too with no issues

annaj

Thanks! I'm pretty sure also that the landlord doesn't have clue about this mold, so I'm thinking if I should call her and tell her we are interested in the place but she must remove the mold?I think she's gonna then investigate her tennant ;-) Im also afraid she will only paint this mold... and the problem will come back...i also would prefer to see the place without the tenant's stuff- to make sure there isn't mold anywhere else...

cerastes

Gatling wrote: »

Always found dettol mould and mildew spray does a great job only needs 5 mins to do the job ,

I used dettol mould and mildew spray, worked but a lot of scrubbing and being careful not to scrub too hard but still get the mould off, all due to a stupid tenant who sealed the house up and shut off the heating, consequence, mould.

No mould since, but after cleaning was painted over with a good quality paint.
and more importantly, kept ventilated and heated.

I dont think mould even if it existed in a property before, could come back if ventilation and heating are kept at the right level as mould requires the correct temp and humidity.
If a person was unwilling to turn on the heating, they'd be better with a draughty or well ventilated living space thats cold and have the odd blast of heat from heating and wear layers of clothes than seal your self in (assuming the humidity is coming from normal use and no moisture leaking in somewhere)