Mold in house-help

L

lwillis22

New member
I am hoping someone can help me here. I have moved into a home in May of this year and I am now discovering mold in the house. I just set up my 240 gallon fish tank that I had to jump through a million hoops with my landlord to get him to ok the fish tank. My huge fear is now that as soon as I tell him he is going to blame the mold on my fish tanks. I have a 240 gallon and a 125 gallon. I have had multiple tanks over the years and have never had mold (not at this house though). I do not believe for a minute that it is from the fish tanks but I need to be prepared to prove it or I am sure he will make me get rid of my tanks and I have thousands of dollars into getting this tank put in. Also, in talking to professionals that take care of mold they are saying $1500-$2000 per day and it could take several days. I am afraid he will make me pay for this.

Anybody that can help would be appreciated.
 
Where's the mold? Multiple applications of bleach can help but you need to find the source of moisture and get rid of it.
 
Finding the source is definitely the end goal, and our tanks don't help. For that price, you guy buy one heck of a dehumidifier. It may be worth looking into them, but I'd make sure there wasn't a pipe or foundation leak first.
 
This: http://www.amazon.com/WD-40-X-14-Re...1412179233&sr=8-1&keywords=x14+mildew+remover

Plus this, if you have high humidity: http://www.amazon.com/Whirlpool-AD5...179427&sr=1-1&keywords=dehumidifier+whirlpool

My open-top sump is in my basement with my library and the dehumidifier is an asset.

We had a mold problem once---and both of us being allergic, we got some bad but diverse effects: one of us would get depressed and weepy at 5pm every day (molds have a 'bloom' that is related to time of day) while the other would go into a towering fit of unreasoning anger, even without a cause. If you are getting psychoactive effects, it's even more important to check. Look under sinks, in showers, and near windows where water can get in. A plumber and caulk may be indicated to cut off the source. Killz Paint can also seal it off, after treatment.
 
Where is the mold exactly ? What color is it ? Are you sure it's not mildew ? There are commercial streangth mold/mildew removers available at Lowes and Home depo. You need to know where the moisture is coming from to eliminate the problem though. Part of my job is IAQ for hospitals and facilities. 20 yrs in the field .
 
Pleanty of good advice given here....... you really need a good dehumidifier , preferably one with a humidistat built into the unit.
 
I am not sure if it is mold just assuming as it is like black spots all over the wall. It is primarily on one side of the house (the side of the house facing the underground pool). Not sure if that makes a difference or not. It is in 1 bathroom really bad. This bathroom is rarely used as the shower is non usable and the toilet is in a stupid spot that makes it difficult to use. I walked in there the other day and it was covered in these black spots. I cleaned it up but of course it is coming back. It is also bad in my bedroom but only on the wall that is facing the back of the house (same wall the bathrooms are on). I did find some about 3 ft from my big tank but it is on that far wall facing the back of the house. There is no mold behind or above the tank. There is also mold on the ceilings but again on the back wall. I have mold in the kitchen on the fridge as it has lots of condensation on the outside of it. That is about the only place there is in the kitchen other than the large picture window that is on that back wall with lots of water condensation that I see on the glass almost every morning.

I know I need to find the source of it but I don't know how. Can somebody please help me figure out how to find out where it is coming from?
 
PeterHall said:
Where's the mold? Multiple applications of bleach can help but you need to find the source of moisture and get rid of it.
Click to expand...

Find the source of moisture and repair, definitely!

Bleach--NEVER USE BLEACH on mold!!! It will appear to rid the affected surfaces upon application, but the mold will come back with a vengeance if bleach is applied.

Dealing with many landlords & property managers in my line of work, my advice is to just MOVE
 
No problem, btw I am a journeyman water damage restoration tech (among other things) so I am very familiar with mold & mildew issues
 
It may be worthwhile to have a professional (licensed & certified) to assess the situation and write a report for you as a CYA measure. Make sure he takes a relative humidity reading in every room of the house
 
I'm sorry you are having this problem with mildew/mold.

A few thoughts:
1. It is unlikely people here can give you information that will eradicate your problem without inspecting your home in person (as qualified professionals).

2. No one here can bless your tanks and proclaim they aren't the culprit, or at least contributing to the problem. Even if someone says otherwise, information exchanged on an internet forum will not be contributory if you get into a dispute with your landlord in the future. I certainly hope this never happens for you.

3. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the safest course of action is to assume that any device, hardware, and fixture that contribute to humidity is potentially causing, contributing to, and/or exacerbating the problem. This includes two large volume aquaria.

4. While steps to reduce humidity such as adding a dehumidifier are wonderful and needed, you also might want to seriously think about reducing non-essential sources of humidity. Your aquaria, will lovely I'm sure, are not essential. This is in addition to finding any fixable issues like a pipe leak as others have mentioned.

5. The money you spent on the aquaria is already spent. You need to think about whether continuing these tanks, going forward, is worth the potential costs. Take into account the fact that you and your landlord had to have serious discussions about putting in these tanks BEFORE this problem started, your landlord will not look very kindly on this new development even if it is no fault of yours. If there is a potential for dispute, you really need to consider how much you are willing to lose. Do not fall into the Sunk Cost Fallacy and keep thinking how much you've already put into the tanks. That money is already gone.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Sounds like the house is fairly tight and there is not enough turn over from exterior door usage and or exhaust vents. ie....cooktop hood , bath fans. You really need to get dehumidifer now and get something to clean those surfaces up today. Keep the bath fans and range hood on for now to help get some fresh air in the living space. Assuming the fans in the rental are vented to the outside not the attic.
 
I do appreciate the thoughts on the battle I may have with my landlord. I just can't believe that I will have to get out of my hobby because of this. I have had fish tanks all my life and NEVER had this problem.
 
What you do with your landlord is your bussiness only. I think you need to be conserned with your health first. It is not a good plan to sleep in that house with mold or mildew those amounts you describe.
 
It's unfortunate, but it is one of the realities of keeping gallons of water around the house. Flooding, water damage, humidity, erosion...add to that a rented space. Hope things work out for you.
 
If it were me I would try the dehumidifier first. If the cause is moist air from your aquariums then a $175 dehumidifier may make a big difference. It's certainly not going to hurt your case if you are running a dehumidifer and there are still mold issues. I agree that having a 3rd party that you pay for come in and do an assessment is most likely a good idea as well.
 
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