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The private inspector could have strong support on DD's side and I don't think it is expensive.
Houston should be horrible place to live!
Apartment won't fix my unit
- Thread starter deafdrummer
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The private inspector could have strong support on DD's side and I don't think it is expensive.
Houston should be horrible place to live!
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About $500. More if you want someone you can count on in court.
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In a nutshell, he is saying you can't confirm mold just by looking at it. He is correct. Samples have to be sent to a lab.
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CrazyPaul
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Well, DD really wants to get the hell out of there. If the landlord asks for a Dr's note, then DD is stuck with the lease. Lying will not send DD to jail.
If mold is detected, can DD terminate the lease or not?
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OMG! That's more expensive than I thought.
Damn, I feel bad for DD.
And it is actually a good value. Inspecting mold properly takes a great deal of preparation. Not only that, insurance for people who work with mold is incredibly high.
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what's he saying is exactly what TXGolfer is explaining.
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I think it's probably best if you stop giving out any more advices.
you've asked him to take a serious health hazard risk and now lying...
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Well, DD really wants to get the hell out of there. If the landlord asks for a Dr's note, then DD is stuck with the lease. Lying will not send DD to jail.
If mold is detected, can DD terminate the lease or not?
Legally, I think he can walk away from the lease now. I mean pack up and move tonight. And most likely he would be entitled to a refund.
BUT
Sometimes the law doesn't always work the way it is supposed to. It would possibly be years before he saw any refund. Possibly he would be sued which sucks even when you win. And most likely he would have a broken lease on his credit report. Granted he would be able to get that removed eventually, but until he did..... Not good.
What I personally would do at this point is march down to the office and say....
"Look, you don't like me and I sure as hell don't like you. I want out of here and you want me out of here so that you can raise rent. Why don't I give you the keys on the 28th, you mail me my deposit within 30 days and we never speak again. Otherwise, I am oping to gather my neighbors and let them know there is most likely mold in their walls too. Then I am going to take a collection to hire an inspector. I am going to post pictures of mold on Facebook, Yelp and City-data and Craigslist. I am also going to email the picks to the apartment guide and rent.com. I am going report this to county health, the Texas Dept of Health Services and the consumer reporter for KTRK. And when that test comes back I am going to sue your ass off. Your choice, you have 30 seconds to decide or I am going with option 2. We will only communicate through lawyers after that."
I have a feeling they will take option 1.
Edit to add: Then again being a small landlord in Houston.....they might have you shot.
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Oh I see, we had mold issue in basement in 2011 due to flow issue when rain pour the water and went into between soil and concrete block, but our relative has home insurance that cover for inspection and repair.
It is part of flawed design with McMansion and some of neighbors complained about mold issues in basement.
CrazyPaul
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I also have had mold issues here in my rental house. At least four times my property manager sent the handyman to recaulk around the sinks where mold usually grew and still does. Right now caulk is wearing out again. WTF? The handyman replaced the bottom board of the cabinet under kitchen sink because of mold and sprayed the can of "mold killer/remover" on the sides inside. One time wood in the bottom of door jamb in the bathroom was gone around 5 inches high behind paint skin due to mold. Not even once we were asked to leave the place for a few days while he worked on them.
We don't want to move out because we love this place in a great neighborhood. Anyway I never had that problem when we lived in other places in different cities before. I told my property mgr about that. He said he also has mold issues in his place in the same city where I live so I asked if the city water has something to do with it. He said probably.
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I also have had mold issues here in my rental house. At least four times my property manager sent the handyman to recaulk around the sinks where mold usually grew and still does. Right now caulk is wearing out again. WTF? The handyman replaced the bottom board of the cabinet under kitchen sink because of mold and sprayed the can of "mold killer/remover" on the sides inside. One time wood in the bottom of door jamb in the bathroom was gone around 5 inches high behind paint skin due to mold. Not even once we were asked to leave the place for a few days while he worked on them.
We don't want to move out because we love this place in a great neighborhood. Anyway I never had that problem when we lived in other places in different cities before. I told my property mgr about that. He said he also has mold issues in his place in the same city where I live so I asked if the city water has something to do with it. He said probably.
you're lucky to have a good property manager
naisho
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I also have had mold issues here in my rental house. At least four times my property manager sent the handyman to recaulk around the sinks where mold usually grew and still does. Right now caulk is wearing out again. WTF? The handyman replaced the bottom board of the cabinet under kitchen sink because of mold and sprayed the can of "mold killer/remover" on the sides inside. One time wood in the bottom of door jamb in the bathroom was gone around 5 inches high behind paint skin due to mold. Not even once we were asked to leave the place for a few days while he worked on them.
We don't want to move out because we love this place in a great neighborhood. Anyway I never had that problem when we lived in other places in different cities before. I told my property mgr about that. He said he also has mold issues in his place in the same city where I live so I asked if the city water has something to do with it. He said probably.
A good thing to do is to do some manual labor with scrubber pads and chemicals that molds are sensitive to. They come off really easily. I cleaned off some moss from the backyard of my house last month with the same issue, it's because there's not a lot of sun that gets in that direction.
In Socal it should get better when spring/summer and the heat comes back. Your problem sounds like the mold got inside, that's worse. Mine is just mosses/molds growing in the shade outside.
CrazyPaul
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I usually use Tilex "Mildew Remover" for shower stalls. The chemical smell is very strong so a window must be open or a vent fan must be turned on for a while. It works but eventually mold comes back. What a PITA! I read that a mixture of bleach and water (cheaper) will work, too so I will try that one but I don't know if it will damage caulkings since bleach is a very strong chemical.
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I also have had mold issues here in my rental house. At least four times my property manager sent the handyman to recaulk around the sinks where mold usually grew and still does. Right now caulk is wearing out again. WTF? The handyman replaced the bottom board of the cabinet under kitchen sink because of mold and sprayed the can of "mold killer/remover" on the sides inside. One time wood in the bottom of door jamb in the bathroom was gone around 5 inches high behind paint skin due to mold. Not even once we were asked to leave the place for a few days while he worked on them.
We don't want to move out because we love this place in a great neighborhood. Anyway I never had that problem when we lived in other places in different cities before. I told my property mgr about that. He said he also has mold issues in his place in the same city where I live so I asked if the city water has something to do with it. He said probably.
Oh wow, I'm glad that landlord took care of it.
If you are homeowner, you need to check the home insurance if it does cover the treatment for molds.
Same, I did to old refrigerator in basement but came back again.
I had to wear protective clothes and mask to clean it.
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I have a similar issue in back of my house on north side - I have a brick walkway and it get green every year. I just power wash it off every year. I also had a downspout that lets water wash over part of brick walkway so what I did was I took some scrap copper cut offs from my plumbing projects and place it on the splash block and let watere wash over it. it helps to reduce the green, but only in that area lol. I do the same on people houses I reroof for them. I take a copper strip flashing and put it across the top of house on north side that is under some trees. when you hide part of it under the last row of shingles - it hides the nails just like shingles, but still have enough copper sticking out for the rain to wash over and keep moss at bay.
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I also have had mold issues here in my rental house. At least four times my property manager sent the handyman to recaulk around the sinks where mold usually grew and still does. Right now caulk is wearing out again. WTF? The handyman replaced the bottom board of the cabinet under kitchen sink because of mold and sprayed the can of "mold killer/remover" on the sides inside. One time wood in the bottom of door jamb in the bathroom was gone around 5 inches high behind paint skin due to mold. Not even once we were asked to leave the place for a few days while he worked on them.
We don't want to move out because we love this place in a great neighborhood. Anyway I never had that problem when we lived in other places in different cities before. I told my property mgr about that. He said he also has mold issues in his place in the same city where I live so I asked if the city water has something to do with it. He said probably.
caulk don't wear out. If they used kitchen/bath caulk with mildewcide in it and still get mold, chances are there is mold inside the drywall that has spread over 4-12 ft circle. Contacting an asbestos/mold contractor consultant is your best defense right now. they can set up a tripod with a machine to collect a air sample and give you the ratio and type of mold it is. With this data in hand - you can go to your landlord and have a sitdown and discuss your options. The landlord will have to make a decision that is best for him/her based on how much it cost and it won't be cheap. They will have to do a tear in the drywall for inspection and see whats the next step to see how widespread the problem is. just replacing the caulk will not solve the problem as there is a serious mold issue somewhere along the wall. Trust me on this -- I have done quite a few remodels and seen the effects of mold. sometimes it was just a localized problem on one wall , or sometimes its a total gut. either way - you are looking at another place to stay if it not a localized issue on one wall.
deafdrummer
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HAHAHAHA! right!
AND you're right, Foxrac - Houston IS a horrible place to live, with hurricanes, humidity, heat, freak snow falls, being 60 miles across in size and too many people, and lots of people having never been outdoors. And they don't care if animals are run over, even a large-size dog laying on the street divider of a seven-lane major street for a WHOLE MONTH, swelling and rotting for all to see... A cat that was never picked up from a grass median on a 4-lane street and disintegrated completely into the ground. No compassion for the animals... I don't like the people here very much.
When I leave, I will not miss it. I'll miss the band we had here years ago, the parties we had, but those were all in the early years. I have to figure out where I'm going next.
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That was probably because the seals around the fridge door were bad, or it was left closed up without the power on....Same, I did to old refrigerator in basement but came back again.