Mold in house-help
- Thread starter lwillis22
- Start date
You want the humidity less than 50% . The drier the better in this case . The humidistat on the unit will only read the humidity in the area it is located . Dont assume that if it gets to 45% in room the unit is running in that the whole house is the same. Run the furnace fan to help distribute the air in the house.
myofibroblast
New member
I'm sorry but I think you are still looking for someone to bless your aquaria. As I mentioned before (see point 1 from prior post), no one can. And it would be unwise for you to accept an opinion that your aquaria are not contributing to the problem, even with the dehumidifier running.
As a renter, and in your situation in particular, you have to assume the landlord will place some, if not all, of the blame on your aquaria. What you have to decide is whether the potential cost of keeping the aquaria going (legal disputes, fees for mold inspection/control/eradication) is worth the enjoyment you derive from the hobby. Because that is how you should to see your aquaria at this time - as liabilities. Again, Sunk Cost Fallacy is your worst enemy here.
mcgyvr
New member
Its NOT the aquarium..
call Mike Holmes
..
Any qualified builder/architect,etc.. can find the source of the water infiltration..
And in doing so will disqualify your aquariums and move the issue 100% towards your landlord.. Its more than likely a leaking roof/foundation,etc...
It takes quite a bit of moisture to create a bad black mold problem.. far more than a fish tank will provide via evaporation.
talk to your landlord.. don't mention the tank and go from there.. you should not have to foot any of the bill IMO..
call Mike Holmes
.. Any qualified builder/architect,etc.. can find the source of the water infiltration..
And in doing so will disqualify your aquariums and move the issue 100% towards your landlord.. Its more than likely a leaking roof/foundation,etc...
It takes quite a bit of moisture to create a bad black mold problem.. far more than a fish tank will provide via evaporation.
talk to your landlord.. don't mention the tank and go from there.. you should not have to foot any of the bill IMO..
Great post.
Its NOT the aquarium..
call Mike Holmes
Any qualified builder/architect,etc.. can find the source of the water infiltration..
And in doing so will disqualify your aquariums and move the issue 100% towards your landlord.. Its more than likely a leaking roof/foundation,etc...
It takes quite a bit of moisture to create a bad black mold problem.. far more than a fish tank will provide via evaporation.
talk to your landlord.. don't mention the tank and go from there.. you should not have to foot any of the bill IMO..
Sorry, I disagree.
mcgyvr
New member
You can't disagree .. this is the internet.. everything is true and factual on the internet especially as people always give sufficient details to solve any problem plus the fact that I'm looking at the wall through their webcam that they didn't tape off..
Not to mention Mike Holmes is the man.. Disagreeing with that is like saying that Chuck Norris isn't the man either.. :thumbsup:
None of us know for sure.. at this point my opinion is just as valid as anyone elses.. A trained professional needs to perform an on-site inspection for anything more than assumptions and opinions.
myofibroblast
New member
1. Health. No one is disagreeing with the notion that the primary concern is the health of the tenants (i.e. the original poster) and that in-person inspection by a qualified professional is necessary to better define the problem, and hopefully solve it. See the numerous prior posts.
2. Liability. If you paid attention to the poster's original post, you will see that he is concerned about liability. As an average citizen with common sense, I would say it hardly matters whose opinion (about the cause of the mold) is correct. These facts matter:
A. The original poster had to "jump through many hoops" with the landlord to get permission for his 240g tank. (Your prior advice to not mention the aquaria makes me wonder whether you read the post.)
B. The mold problem manifested after the tenant moved in.
C. The cost of mold eradication is not insignificant.
It really doesn't matter whether the mold problem was caused by X,Y, and/or Z, and whether a hidden mold problem pre-dated the tenant's move-in. The facts can be disputed even after multiple investigations. What matters is that there is at least a moderate probability of an impending dispute between the tenant and the landlord resulting from this mildew/mold development.
Again, as a reasonable average citizen, I would think the best chance at avoiding costly legal disputes is one where the tenant and the landlord maintain at least a good relationship. If the tenant antagonizes the landlord (or vice versa) and escalates the problem, it could be a very costly one. While I hope the original poster doesn't get embroiled in a legal battle with his or her landlord, the poster has to recognize that when it comes to mold, he is sitting on 365 gallons of liability.
That's my take anyway.
Good luck to the original poster!
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you really dont give much info to go on...like where you're located (temp and relative humidity)...does the house have central a/c, window units, or nothing at all? basement,crawl space or slab? what kind of square footage? the smaller the apartment the more effect the tank will have...but believe me,condensation on the outside of a refridgerator and the inside of a window in warm weather is NOT normal...the house probably has some issues of its own to begin with...poorly insulated, no vapor barrier under the siding or under the house....no ridge vents or soffit vents...improper grading...a slow leak in the pool liner saturating the ground on that side of the house or clogged gutter on that side leaking down the wall...the possibilities are endless....but unfortunately your tanks are the 800 lb gorilla in the room....and there's no way any landlord is going to re-engineer a rental house to cure a mold problem that didn't exist before you moved in. i'd either get rid of the tanks or get the heck out of there asap...i think whatever penalty you'd have to pay for early termination of your lease would be cheap compared to being sued for damage and mold remediation....run a couple dehumidifiers,put covers on the tanks, clean up the mold and repaint with zinsser perma-white anti mold paint(it can be tinted)...and run away
Wryknow
New member
It just sounds like a bad situation to me. I see 2 likely scenarios here:
1) This is an on-going issue that the landlord knew about and threw a coat of paint over it before he/she leased it to you. (The landlord's hesitancy about the aquarium makes me wonder if this is the case - I suspect they knew there was already a mold problem but didn't want to tell you about it.) If this is the case your landlord is an a-hole and a-holes can generally be counted on to sue you for the money even if it's not your fault. This is a bad scenario IMHO. If you think this is likely I would strongly recommend that you talk to an attorney before you do anything else.
2) Your aquarium really is causing the problem. (This seems unlikely to me but I'm guessing here. If it is the hopefully the dehumidifier will solve your problem.)
I wish you the best of luck with it. Please let us know how it goes.
1) This is an on-going issue that the landlord knew about and threw a coat of paint over it before he/she leased it to you. (The landlord's hesitancy about the aquarium makes me wonder if this is the case - I suspect they knew there was already a mold problem but didn't want to tell you about it.) If this is the case your landlord is an a-hole and a-holes can generally be counted on to sue you for the money even if it's not your fault. This is a bad scenario IMHO. If you think this is likely I would strongly recommend that you talk to an attorney before you do anything else.
2) Your aquarium really is causing the problem. (This seems unlikely to me but I'm guessing here. If it is the hopefully the dehumidifier will solve your problem.)
I wish you the best of luck with it. Please let us know how it goes.
BlindZide
Active member
While I agree with most of the posts on this thread about thinking about the liability aspect of things, I also like to think that someone should not be charged for something they did not do.
I guess thats the fighter in me that would say get someone to inspect the house first and find the culprit. Then present the findings to the landlord and go from there. I know the landlord would probably blame the incident on your tanks but if it were to go to court and your tanks are not the problem then the judge would probably be in your corner and you could walk away at minimum the landlord paying your attorney fees and court costs.
On the flip side, is it REALLY worth fighting for? Are your tanks REALLY worth the cost of your health, the cost of inspection, the cost of attorney, and the possibility your tanks ARE the problem, is it worth the repairs?
This could play out many ways. I think previous posts are basically pointing you toward priorities and that should be of utmost importance. Should be Health, Wealth, and Peace....in that order......in other words....mold will get you sick, mold will be expensive to fix, and getting rid of the problem and fixing everything will bring you to live a less stressful life until you get into a place that you wont have this problem in.
Sorry for your situation, this is why I never wanted to rent and I stayed at home with my parents until I could buy my own home (yes I know everyone can't do that).
I guess thats the fighter in me that would say get someone to inspect the house first and find the culprit. Then present the findings to the landlord and go from there. I know the landlord would probably blame the incident on your tanks but if it were to go to court and your tanks are not the problem then the judge would probably be in your corner and you could walk away at minimum the landlord paying your attorney fees and court costs.
On the flip side, is it REALLY worth fighting for? Are your tanks REALLY worth the cost of your health, the cost of inspection, the cost of attorney, and the possibility your tanks ARE the problem, is it worth the repairs?
This could play out many ways. I think previous posts are basically pointing you toward priorities and that should be of utmost importance. Should be Health, Wealth, and Peace....in that order......in other words....mold will get you sick, mold will be expensive to fix, and getting rid of the problem and fixing everything will bring you to live a less stressful life until you get into a place that you wont have this problem in.
Sorry for your situation, this is why I never wanted to rent and I stayed at home with my parents until I could buy my own home (yes I know everyone can't do that).
Thanks everyone for all the great posts/discussion. I agree that the tanks are probably not helping the situation but I in no way believe they are the reason for the problem. I know many ppl that have large tanks and many of them and don't have mold problems. This house had/has other problems. I am certainly not a professional but I can't believe a tank could cause this much mold in a house. The house is in Michigan so fluctuating weather. There is central air in the house. The house is large it is 2700 sq feet, not including the full but unfinished basement. There was a "flood" in the basement the day before I moved in that my landlord told me about. It was after a strong rain storm and there was lots of water on the floor of the basement with no evidence of where it came from. I believe this house has issues.
I tested the humidity of a few of the rooms and the living room (where the tanks are) was 81. The kitchen and my room (the areas where the most mold is) was 84.
I tested the humidity of a few of the rooms and the living room (where the tanks are) was 81. The kitchen and my room (the areas where the most mold is) was 84.
Shawn O
Active member
Well, I can't give you legal advice but I can give my perspective.
If it were ME in this situation I would pay for an independent inspection to have an unbiased party to verify the mold issue and give a professional opinion on whether the mold is a new issue or an ongoing issue that existed prior to you moving in. If this turns out to be the case, you can try to find the previous tenant and get corroborating evidence to the fact.
You said the basement was flooded before you moved in? I would open any basement windows and place a fan in one blowing in and in another blowing out. Check the building's rain gutters to see if they could be the reason the basement flooded as well as watch the ground around that side of the house during a rain to see if it's being carried away from the house or into it.
I lived in an apartment building that had roof drainage issues and in one of the units (fortunately not mine) one wall was spongy from all the rain water that puddled against the outside wall on one side. The owner knew of this, since it was a constant problem for several years, and just replaced the sheetrock and painted every year or so instead of fixing the roof/drainage issue.
I would recommend having an honest talk with the owner and offer to help him fix the problem before letting it become a legal battle. A couple weekends worth of labor fixing gutters and sloping the ground away from the house could make the guy your friend instead of an enemy.
If it were ME in this situation I would pay for an independent inspection to have an unbiased party to verify the mold issue and give a professional opinion on whether the mold is a new issue or an ongoing issue that existed prior to you moving in. If this turns out to be the case, you can try to find the previous tenant and get corroborating evidence to the fact.
You said the basement was flooded before you moved in? I would open any basement windows and place a fan in one blowing in and in another blowing out. Check the building's rain gutters to see if they could be the reason the basement flooded as well as watch the ground around that side of the house during a rain to see if it's being carried away from the house or into it.
I lived in an apartment building that had roof drainage issues and in one of the units (fortunately not mine) one wall was spongy from all the rain water that puddled against the outside wall on one side. The owner knew of this, since it was a constant problem for several years, and just replaced the sheetrock and painted every year or so instead of fixing the roof/drainage issue.
I would recommend having an honest talk with the owner and offer to help him fix the problem before letting it become a legal battle. A couple weekends worth of labor fixing gutters and sloping the ground away from the house could make the guy your friend instead of an enemy.
You lost me with the "Mike Holmes" reference.
Stating unequivocally that "It's not the aquarium" (as you did) is a leap of faith I would never take.
bryanrudd
New member
I used to do a little work with mold it can get out of control fast if you don't do anything about it. Depending on how bad it is you may be able to take care of it yourself which bleach. We even used pool chlorine in liquid form. But the tenants couldn't be there for all that. Since you are renting let your landlord know immediately. Else it could be on you.
