Re: should I start mold diet if I still have to live here a little longer?

[Guest guest]

You should by all means tell your landlord. How else would they fix

it, if they don't know.

Bear in mind, though, that often that makes you a target, so you

should document the situation well as well as make plans to move.

Most of us who have lived in rentals have had the experience of

struggling to get their landlords to adequately address mold problems.

In general, the lower income the tenant is (that seems to be more

important to them than the rent, because they will often make a

judgement about whether you can afford a lawyer and base their actions

on that.)

Well to do people, seem to sometimes get things done right. One of the

people on this list had neighbors who actually got ther landlord to

remediate fully, in a short, managble amount of time and put them up

in a hotel while it was done!

And as far as I know, they were not made permanently ill.

It helps to be ready to defend yourself, but that is a hard image to

present if you are unemployed because the landlord must realize that a

tenant has few options.

Oh, make sure that when bulk or QPCR vacumn dust samples are taken for

testing, and mailed in, they are collected by a reputable third party

who is not a party to the situation, and mailed in by them, preferably

immediately, with payment (money order from you is fine, or check from

you, but they have to mail it and sign the form. Sequentially, and

uniquely number each sample and keep complete notes on each one)

(You can photograph or video the entire process)

Google " chain of custody " to find out what the rules of evidence are

in your state.

Adequate documentaion of a situation can be expensive but it makes all

the difference.

You mentioned mold on windowsills. Do you have double paned windows

that close completely, Also, What is the humidity in your apartment?

If you have a shower, you should have exhaust fans in shower area..

All homes should have an exhaust fan in any kitchen areas, etc, if you

do cooking.

This is basic stuff, just ignore it if its obvious to you.

Mold growing behind bathroom tiles can be a serious problem but as a

renter, your only option may be making sure the bathroom is as clean

as possible and switching from showers to baths.. (which release a lot

less water into the air..)

is there insulation in the walls? How old is the building?

On Tue, Nov 11, 2008 at 8:42 AM, onechance_oneearth

<onechance_oneearth@...> wrote:

> i belive mold is making me sick!!!!! Im starting to get somewhere now

> with medical stuff. well im not that far, but its confirmed i have the

> highest allergie reading for the molds(yesterday) today more blood

> work.

> Im not sure how to approach the landlord yet, i know that he knows!!

> But I dont know how to do this transaction of moving without going

> broke, or him not cleaning the building and allowing new tennats to

> move in.

> i know im all over the place....Should I start the diet now or when I

> move?? Does anyone know about what kind of stuff I must throw away???

>

>

[Guest guest]

I'm sorry, I latched on to one thing you said and didn't answer your

main question.

I don't have the short term memory I used to have, so I screw up on

things like that, I'm sorry.

Basically, all mold problems seem huge to somebody who is getting sick

from mold, but the truth is, there is a wide variation in how serious

they are. This is a very complicated subject, unfortunately, and there

are ranges of opinion on a lot of things.

You want to know a lot of things at once.. Mold does make people sick.

Other things in buildings make people sick too. Often, its several

things at the same time.

If your home is making you sick, maybe it is something that is easy to

fix, maybe it isn't. If it is easy to fix, then, hopefully your

landlord or you, if its something you control, can fix it.

Then, that problem may be on the way to being solved. If its not

fixed, and you still are getting sick, then move on to the next

possibility.

Its a gradual process of elimination.

With mold there is the additional problem of mold contaminating your

belongings to various degrees. If you are really sick, or the

contamination was severe, you may have to throw out POROUS belongings

if they are not cleanable.

Many hardsurfaced items are cleanable, basically metal and glass items

that can be washed very well can often be washed and they no longer

are reactive for people.

Semi porous items like wood furniture, (not upholstery, which is

POROUS) can also often be washed with a solution of soapy water and in

some cases, strong bleach.. then scrubbed and the strong bleachy soap

left on them for 15-30 minutes, then rinsed with clean water

thoroughly, then dried.. (This is best done outdoors...)

Items like sheetrock inside of wall cavities that have become moldy

need to be disposed of very carefully. The area they are in (like a

room, or wall cavity) should be emptied of everything else, especially

any porous items or upholstered furniture, bedding, etc, and the room

isolated from the surrounding area with a " containment " made of sheets

of plastic, and duct tape, making it airtight, then the sheetrock

should be removed and put in large sealed plastic contractor grade

bags, and tied closed tightly. Then the area around it should be

washed and dried and then, after its completely dry, the new sheetrock

put up.

Whoever does this or who is in the area needs to be using in many

documents at least a N-95 particulate mask, but in my opinion this

kind of work for someone who is sick or who is doing any kind of

cleanup of anythng more than very minor, minimally a N-100 or P-100

(NIOSH rating) filtration mask and waterproof gloves.

The crucial issue is containing the mold dust which is easy to

accidentally spread into a home.. Its very important to be careful not

to spread mold into the living area, because they have the potential

to make you very ill. Professionals use special equipment to put the

areas they are working in under negative pressure.. to do this they

need fans which blow air outside.. This is problematic in cities

because windows often open into so called " air shafts " (now some are

trying to change this to " light shafts " implying that people dont need

air!) where they can blow right into a neighbors apartment! This

situation can be a mine field for everybody involved.. it needs to be

taken seriously..

Who should do mold cleanup? Pros should do mold cleanup. But who is a

pro? Many people who say they are, aren't.. lets just say that..

What a mess.. But, to get back on track, IF there is a serious problem

with hidden mold in the walls, any person who does this work at the

beginning (when the cavity is opened up and the sheetrock or other

building materials are being removed and the area cleaned) could

EASILY be exposed to enough mold to make them and you, very sick, and

the mold released if its not done correctly could make an apartment

unlivable, and your stuff toxic to you..DON'T LET SOMEBODY WHO DOESN'T

UNDERSTAND THIS DO ANY WORK IN YOUR HOME BECAUSE THEY COULD EASILY

CONTAMINATE EVERYTHING YOU OWN AND MAKE YOU SICK AND THE CHANCES OF

GETTING REIMBURSED BY SOMEBODY IN YOUR POSITION IS VERY SMALL.

This is really a complicated situation for tenants to navigate on

their own, with some very serious risks..

Even very experienced tenants are really at the mercy of this

situation because the kinds of landlords that let their buildings fall

into major disrepair are hard to convince to do anything expensive

that the law doesn't REQUIRE them to do.

If cleaning up an apartment costs several thousand dollars to do

correctly, ensuring that you are not made sicker, you need to figure

out how to get them to see that that is the only way..

Also, tenants who work are at a disadvantage because when they are not

there, landlords can do whatever they want and then the chances of

them not containing the mold and making tenants sick are very real..

Sorry that this is so disorganized, I was just trying to give you an

idea of what some of the issues might become..

Others can probably flesh this out and IMO, answer your other

questions better than I can...

[Guest guest]

--- In , LiveSimply <quackadillian@...>

wrote:

Thank you so much for really helpfull info! The neighboor and i told

the land lord we wanted him to come over and look at the mold. he

kept stalling us all day then he canceled. Meanwhile i had fasted for

more blood work hungry all day waiting for nothing! I saw the doc

today told him I was allergic to mold (tested yesterday) i bring up

the mold every vist! I told him my allergis doctor told me to move,

he didnt flinch, i mentioned taking anti fugal medicans and he wants

to raise my sleeping medication! Im just relived he oredered an ultra

sound, I know someting is not right in there and i prey its not to

serious.

I really have no where else to stay right now but in this building. i

dont really have family to stay with, i do but that enviroment is

extreamly toxic in other ways!!! If I go there i will be dead quicked

then the mold..maby bout the same time! Im still trying to convince

my boyfreind we need to move asap and we are going to have to loose

everything we worked so hard to get.

My boss wants me at work right now and they all think im making this

up!!!!!! That im really fine and it is because of my adderall! Which

i stoped taking days ago, cause with my low pottassium it cause

adverse effects, exspceially now that im having pulpulations/arrithmia

(cant spell right now)

so im having problems getting the world to work with me!!! I dont

drive either which is wonderfull by me but, it is making all this

tuffer exspecially with this fatigue!!! sorry im complaining now, it

just frustrating. So tomarrow if my boss isnt being a drunken baffon,

making derogitory remarks to me, while the rest of the crew laughes

at my " imadgened illness " maby i can stay home and get a test kit,

call my land lord and a thrid party over do the test with 3 of us

present, and ill tell the land lord i seeked legal consul and this is

what we have to do! And maby that will scare him enough to act

accordingly!

do you know anything about animals? how should i treat my pet?

>

> You should by all means tell your landlord. How else would they fix

> it, if they don't know.

> Bear in mind, though, that often that makes you a target, so you

> should document the situation well as well as make plans to move.

>

> Most of us who have lived in rentals have had the experience of

> struggling to get their landlords to adequately address mold

problems.

> In general, the lower income the tenant is (that seems to be more

> important to them than the rent, because they will often make a