How do I get rid of the mold in my apartment ??

Question

It started with a leak from the roof in our living room, then, it got on the carpet, and the landlord had some people to clean it up. What the maintenance guy did, was spray some bleach and then painted over it. The wall, of course. It went away, for a few weeks, and now it's back [black spores, but slight]. Our home smells stuffy. We turn on the A/C frequently to keep the air dry. But now, I have found mold growing on our pillows , my unborn baby's crib [which I am so pissed about now], camping chair, some clothes [that weren't worn or wet], stroller, on the bathroom tiles [but very slight], on the bathroom sink side [I turn on the vent everytime I use the bathroom], my Louis Vuitton purse, too!!!!!!! It's even in our microwave!!! It's sometimes blue/red and black but mostly white molds. I have an infant , a toddler, and I am also 7 mos. pregnant. I took pictures of the areas, but I don't know what I should do.. How can I prevent it from spreading? And get rid of it? Help?

Answer 1

To get rid of the problem you need to open the wall up and dry it out, but that's your landlord or property managers problem......You really need to get legal advise. Different laws in different County and Cities. But make sure you write a letter to your landlord or property manager informing them of the problem. Make sure you take pictures of all the mold on the walls and on your personal property before you throw them out. If I were you, your kids and unborn are #1 so you need to think of something and QUICK.......

Like moving until the problem is fixed.......

Kilz is supposed to BLOCK mold but with having kids I would not take any chances......But, if you must live there, keep a eye on that area and do not put anything in front of it to block it. Because all that handyman wants to do is as little as possible......Think of your kids, that's all I have to say............

Answer 2

Move, Its an apartment think of the safety of your children.

Answer 3

I agree with others who said you must open up the wall and see what's behind. Get rid of the source. The bleach didn't do a thing. In fact, the EPA is now saying NOT to use bleach against mold:

https://www.moldrx4u.com/Poisons.asp

While this is being haggled about, consider the remarkable research on toxic mold removal done by environmental expert Dr Ed Close. Simply diffusing a therapeutic-grade essential oil regularly will likely result in an environment very hostile to mold.

http://www.secretofthieves.com/mold.cfm

Cost of the Thieves Household Cleaner, a diffuser and a couple bottles of the Thieves oil that Dr Close recommends to his remediation clients: about $250.

And Thieves is safe to breath. Actually, you WANT to breath it.

Mold is not something to take lightly:

https://www.moldrx4u.com/Symptoms.asp

Answer 4

Hi,

If the original leak was not fixed correctly you will continue to have mold in your home. Also, if there is black mold in your home originating from inside the walls then 100% its toxic stachybotrys mold.  you need to replace everything that has black mold on it. also once the spores leave the original source and travel through the air they become 400x more poisonous.  you guys will get deathly ill if you continue to let it grow and not fix the original leak and replace anything with black mold on it. I suffered brain damage from it. its not an easy life to live. God Bless

Answer 5

The first thing that has to be addressed is the source. You can dehumidify the place all you want but as long as water is getting in, the problem will persist.

If it is available to you, I would contact the owner and tell them to get the problem fixed. Since they are aware of the problem and its an ongoing issue, they can and should be held liable for any damages to your property along with any health related problems which arise due to mold exposure. I would recommend you get out of there. Perhaps there is another unit that is available? The owner should do everything possible in a reasonable amount of time to ensure you and your family are safe. All the maintenance guy is doing is covering the problem up instead of fixing it.

Answer 6

Ventilation cleaning aagain look into a cuprinol mixture or some sort of spray. We have this problem on a bay window in out bedroom ,sorry you just have to keep  at it. it seems that the house is damp. However it is your Landlords reponsibility to ssort it unless you have a repairing lease.

Say bye bye as soon as you can

Answer 7

Wow that sounds like quite the problem. You said the landlord just sprayed the bleach and painted over, that won't do it, did you ever ask him what was on the flip side of the dry wall, make sure there is no mold on the other side. If there isn't then it is from the moisture in the air, your best bet would be to get a dehumidifier and an air cleaner combo or just get the two seprate, this will keep the air dry and clean. Then clean all the areas that have the mold on them with bleach. Also get your carpets cleaned!. Once all of this is done hopefully it will get rid of the problem, if it continues CALL the landlord again and complain, if they can't fix it go to the ministry of housing. Keep your home mold free especially if you are pregnant and have an infant.

Answer 8

Hi

I am sorry to hear about your situation.

Firstly, it sounds as if the guys who cleaned your house up did not actually treat the problem. I used to work for a company who restored flooded houses so hears is a brief outline... the affected area should be exposed and in order to be dried out a dehumidifier should be used. This extracts moisture. Secondly an anti fungal spray should have been applied to kill off any existing fungal or damp growth. only then when this has been carried and the area is dry should the room have been repainted.. I am worried that your baby has been exposed to this and your landlord has done a quick clean up job instead of dealing with it properly.

I hope this gives you an idea of what to do. Good luck

Answer 9

i think ur problem will get more severe with the passage of time. u need to take care of ur and your family health as u seemed to be highly concerned with their health.

so what i suggest is either u shift your home to somewhere

                                 OR

just repair ur roof leaks with any of the product like liquid epdm, elastomeric roof coatings, liquid rubber, eternabond webseal etc. if u will use any of the roof sealing product then i think u ll come out of this problem. once the roof will stop leaking and it would be sealed properly then spray anti mold and then waste all the furniture and articles have black molds on them. it will rectify all ur problems..

wish u best of luck!!

Answer 10

You can't.  The wood and all the wet parts of the building have to be replaced.  You are aware that black mold can cause very serious breathing problems that last a lifetime, aren't you?  Call the health department and get ready to move out of there.

Answer 11

Assuming that the leak is repaired, you MUST remove the moisture with a dehumidifier. Moisture gets behind drywall causing mold to grow behind the scenes also. It's quite normal for your dehumidifier to remove a gallon of water a day or more from the apartment after a situation like this. In a case like this, the dehumidifier can continue removing water for two or more weeks. Moisture IS the problem in your apartment.

Good Luck,  ;-)