Needing help from real people ... the true Mold Experts!

[Guest guest]

Hello,

I'm new here but have been reading all of your posts. You all seem

to be the true Mold-Experts ... unlike the people who claim to be.

Recently, my family and I moved into an apartment and have had

nothing but problems since day 1. It seemed as though the apt.

office " roped " us into this apt. - and I think I know why now.

We lived here for about 2 weeks before it was necessary to turn on

the A/C. We live where it is very HOT and DRY ... so I really

didn't think mold would grow here. Boy was I wrong.

Once we turned on the A/C we all started experiencing sinus

infections, tonsillitis, migraine headaches, UTI, URI, severe hair

loss, dermitis, bloody noses, heart palpitations, malaise, chronic

fatigue, depression, difficulties breathing, and the list goes on.

The only person who wasn't affected as much was my husband, who

works outside of the home. During his vacation, although, he was

home all week. On the third day he fell ill with a severe URI.

We've been trying to get someone from the apt. office up here to

investigate the leno flooring which has turned black underneath and

seems to be " growing " throughout the apt. The " blackness " seems to

be coming from the spaces underneath the cupboards (in between the

cupboard floor and the kitchen floor) and in the bathrooms it stems

out from the toilet water shut-off valve.

Every time we turn on any water faucet in the apt. all we smell is

mold / mildew. It's very strong. Also, within 7 days of cleaning,

the toilet bowls are covered with a thick layer of black sooty-type

stuff. Doesn't seem to be " growing " but rather, just hanging out

there.

We pulled up areas of the carpet where our cats FREAKED OUT around

and sure enough, the wood under each of those spots is BLACK! It

seems just before we moved into this apt., the management had the

carpet replaced, as well as the leno flooring AND had at the very

least 8 layers of paint sprayed all over EVERYTHING! There is so

much paint that it dried in DRIPS! According to the power / gas

bill, the apartment was empty for about 4 months before we moved in

and this complex does not have apartments set empty. These are

usually rented a week after someone else vacates. Not in this case.

Around the edge of the carpet there is a brown substance growing ...

mold???

The air in here is THICK and it burns our nose / throat / eyes ...

and when we have guests, they report the same.

We wrote a letter to the managers after several attempts to get

someone up here and told them we were not paying the rent until the

items making our apartment uninhabitable were addresses and

repaired. They sure responded to us then. Everything (else) was

repaired that same day and they said they would send up their " mold-

expert " . What a joke. He came in and without even looking at the

floor said it was the glue. Then, when he pulled the carpet back he

said it was mildew ... but agreed that the large stain on the

bedroom ceiling that has grown to about 10 feet long and 2 feet wide

in 2 months ... was mold.

We said we'd just like to have another apartment so we wouldn't be

sick. He said he'd have the manager speak with us the next day and

let us know which apartment we could move into. The next day came

and went ... we call the office and always have to leave a

message ... though nobody calls us back ... ever. Instead of a new

apartment, that night at almost bedtime, someone stuffed an eviction

notice in our door.

The next day I called the office and again had to leave a

message ... with no response from the manager.

MY QUESTION TO EVERYONE IS ... Are they supposed to test the air in

here ... or do any type of testing? We have been to the doctor 8

times in the past 2 months - there is SOMETHING in here making us

sick. The wood under the carpet isn't that bad ... I am pretty sure

it was replaced before we moved in with the carpet ... but I really

think the problem is coming from the HVAC system. If I had to guess

I would think the 4 months this place was empty they were trying to

do mold remediation but didn't correct the source of the problem.

We now spend most of our time outside and really only sleep here.

We don't have any place else to go ... this is why we were trying to

get a new apartment. In the city where we live ... if we skip out

on a lease, we will not be approved to rent anywhere for a long

time. The industry standard here is to obtain 2 past rental

references and it has to be excellent history. If you skip out,

break a lease, owe money ... nobody, and I mean nobody will rent to

you.

PLEASE ... CAN ANYONE ADVISE US? There doesn't seem to be any

official anywhere who will even disucss this issue. It's weird.

Thank you so much everyone ... your assistance is greatly

appreciated.