Mold detected in Apartment inspection. I have a baby. (lease, tenant, house)
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I am looking for some guidance on what to do next. I noticed some black spots on my bedroom window, AC vents & Closet. Since I have an infant I decided to call a mold inspector to check it out. He took an outdoor air sample, bedroom air & closet air sample, and Swab for the window, ac vent & closet. Results came back positive for Mold. I am still waiting for a final report from the company but they shared the lab result with me in the meantime.
I am really not very familiar with Molds and what are harmful/harmless etc so asking here if someone can look into the attached report and what they think from a safety perspective, esp. due to the infant present. Once I get the report I will be speaking with the apartment management but at this time I am thinking to get out of the lease and move somewhere else.
The main concern is Stachybotrys detected in the AC vent & air sample.
I have 3 options:
1. Ask apt. mgmt to fix the mold
2. Ask apt. mgmt to move us to a new unit
3. Get out of the lease and move somewhere else.
I have no clue as to how to read those results. Wait for the report or look up each type on the interned to see what harmful quantities are.
As to your choices, please read about the landlord's potential obligations regarding mold. This page is to the Texas State Law Library and has a couple of links to articles about mold.
I hired a private mold inspector myself. They sent it to the lab and confirmed the presence of Mold esp Stachybotrys. See the lab report image I posted.
I have no clue as to how to read those results. Wait for the report or look up each type on the interned to see what harmful quantities are.
As to your choices, please read about the landlord's potential obligations regarding mold. This page is to the Texas State Law Library and has a couple of links to articles about mold.
Stachybotrys sp. - Aw (water activity) - 0.94, optimum Aw (water activity) - >0.98. Several strains of this fungus (S. atra, S. chartarum and S. alternans are synonymous) may produce a trichothecene mycotoxin- Satratoxin H - which is poisonous by inhalation. The toxins are present on the fungal spores. This is a slow growing fungus on media. It does not compete well with other rapidly growing fungi. The dark colored fungi grows on building material with a high cellulose content and a low nitrogen content. Areas with relative humidity above 55% and are subject to temperature fluctuations are ideal for toxin production. Individuals with chronic exposure to the toxin produced by this fungus reported cold and flu symptoms, sore throats, diarrhea, headaches, fatigue, dermatitis, intermittent local hair loss, and generalized malaise. The toxins produced by this fungus will suppress the immune system affecting the lymphoid tissue and the bone marrow. Animals injected with the toxin from this fungus exhibited the following symptoms: necrosis and hemorrhage within the brain, thymus, spleen, intestine, lung, heart, lymph node, liver, and kidney. The mycotoxin is also reported to be a liver and kidney carcinogen. Affects by absorption of the toxin in the human lung are known as pneumomycosis. This organism is rarely found in outdoor samples. It is usually difficult to find in indoor air samples unless it is physically disturbed. The spores are in a gelatinous mass. Appropriate media for the growth of this organism will have a high cellulose content and a low nitrogen content. The spores will die readily after release. The dead spores are still allergenic and toxigenic. Percutaneous absorption has caused mild symptoms.
How this plays out and what protections you have (should you need to break the lease) will depend on the answer to these questions. Since you are in Texas, when you first suspected potential mold:
1. Did you report your suspicions to the landlord when you first suspected mold?
2. If so, what was their response?
3. If not, why not?
How this plays out and what protections you have (should you need to break the lease) will depend on the answer to these questions. Since you are in Texas, when you first suspected potential mold:
1. Did you report your suspicions to the landlord when you first suspected mold?
2. If so, what was their response?
3. If not, why not?
I had opened a ticket several months back stating possible mold in ac vent. The maintenance guy came and said it was just dirty. Took out the vent and replaced it with new. But now here we are. The main reason I went with private co. was I had a feeling they wouldn't take it seriously and wanted to get to the bottom of it bcoz my 16 months sleeps in the room.
Unless you have a leaking roof, mold and mildew inside a house is a house cleaning issue. If you don't want mold, start doing a better job of cleaning.
Maybe if you ask, management will let you out of your lease and you can move. Just be aware, that no matter where you go, if you don't keep the house clean, you will get mold or mildew there, too. Always run the bathroom fan whenever you run any water for anything in the bathroom. Always run the kitchen exhaust fan when you are cooking. Dry things off. Report any plumbing leaks promptly. Leave space for air to circulate behind furniture and in closets.
Really? Spots on the window? You could not take some windex and a paper towel and remove them instead of watching them for a few weeks and then calling someone else in to deal with them?
When it comes to health and safety, a tenant would be foolish to wait for the landlord's consent.
Sounds like something a landlord would say if he didn't want to pay for mold remediation.
Good reason to have the evidence of the health hazard before notifying the landlord.
If this is a true mold issue and I doubt it is.. then yes, the landlord should address it. I never said otherwise.
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