Found Mold in Apartment and Landlord Not Helping

by Richard Mclargin
(Louisville KY, USA )

We moved into an apartment last June, 2015. We took pictures of the place to document any damage and oddities, so as to get our deposit back when we moved out. Prior to moving into the apartment, we rented an old house for twenty years. The landlord wanted money for a new roof, hot water tank, furnace and air conditioner, and wanted us to pay half.

Well we moved here and were asked after moving in to put down carpet. It was not in the lease, but was asked to put down carpet to keep noise levels down. We live on the 1st floor, there was one apartment above us. We were allowed to bring our dog. There was damage from a small dog on doors and spots where it may have been wet at one time. We took pictures for safety and to protect ourselves because our dog was well trained. We got padding and carpet remnants for $700.00, not bad. The manager never addressed the sink problems of drainage, and the basement where the laundry room is floods from foundation problems. There was mold present. Water also backs out of washer drain pipes while using the washing machine. The whole kitchen flooded including the lower cabinets and under the fridge and stove. The water went into the flooring and into the dining area. We placed fans everywhere to dry it out. It took management two days to get a plumber here. We pulled up the carpet from the dining area because there was a moldy smell in that area. We found yellow, green and black mold had grown under the carpet some six feet by three feet and had grown up the wall slightly. It looked almost like a black jelled area! We took pictures of everything, and have fallen ill.

Since we moved in the dog has been sick and has been to vet numerous times. She now a tumor growing near her stomach and liver and she will have to be put down soon. I have come down with everything reported as symptoms on your website. I made the mistake of trying to clean the stuff before I knew really what I was dealing with. Actually we still don't know what we are really dealing with because no one wants to test an apartment for mold because we don't own it, and the management people have not called back so what do we do?

Reply by Editor

Hi Richard,

Sorry to hear about all of these problems in your new apartment. If it were me, I would move out of there as soon as possible. Nothing is as important as your health and the longer you are exposed to mold the worse your symptoms can become. Here is more on the symptoms of mold exposure to look out for. Take pictures of everything to document your situation.

You should call your local department of health and ask them to step in. In most towns they will help you remedy the situation very quickly. If they are not helpful you can call an attorney and they can advise you of your rights. Also as far as testing goes, you can hire a mold tester to test your apartment. It costs money, but the results will give you definite answers. You can follow this link to get a list of professional mold testers in your area. You will get a report that will tell you how bad the mold problem is, and what kinds of mold are present. If you have renters insurance the policy may cover your moving costs and the cost of a hotel until you are able to find another place to live.

Mold in Apartment

by Louise Williams
(Harvey LA)

I'm a home health caregiver. One of my clients has mold in his home. It is making him and me sick. How can I help him to get rid of the mold?