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I consulted with someone about whether I could maintain the air quality in the living space with high quality hepa air purifiers and dehumidifiers if the landlord chooses not to remediate the mold at the source. In other words, if the mold continued to grow under the floor/basement, spewing spores into the living space, whether I could essentially eliminate enough of them to create healthy indoor air quality.
He said he could not say for sure. He had no answer to that. The mold specialist submitted a report to the landlords and said that the remediation needed was not all that expensive and consisted of laying a moisture barrier sheet over the dirt basement floor and installing a dehumidifier in the basement (there may also be some leaky pipe but he did not see standing water. He also did not really enter all the way - it is a crawl space rather than a full-height basement. The furnace is down there.) So, after they received this report and contacted me, they mentioned nothing about this, only that I can take the cost of air purifiers and dehumidifier out of my rent for the living space. Nothing about remediating the basement or the source of the mold growth.
Making matters worse, of course, is the fact that I am working from home due to Covid/social distancing requirements. I hardly go anywhere but when I do, I smell like mold! I had to go to the grocery today and when I was in the car I smelled my hair - I have long hair - and it smelled strongly of mold.. That's pretty bad. It's strong enough that I basically smell like mold.
I just moved in. I have lived here less than a month and often have a low grade headache from it. My eyes got itchy but that is better now. But my breathing is tighter, like there is pressure on my breast bone.
I have sprayed mold killer on everything, even though the mold growth is actually not in the visible living space. I have aired out the house a lot. I have run fans out the window in the worst room. All of that helps but I am wondering if I should even try to make this place livable. I dread moving, but I think I have to face up.. They do not plan to remediate it, even though it is not that expensive in this case, I am told.
What do you think? Bail or try the hepa air purifiers?
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Well i was exposed for almost 2 years. I got sick within a month and it progressively got worse . We moved within a week of finding the mold. When you spray bleach on mold the black color disappears and people believe it is gone but the spores are not gone and the longer you are exposed the more likely for it to get in your lungs and that is what normally people die from. We were told by specialist we have to dispose of all of our belongings. We did about 90% and then we cleaned the rest. 3 steps : clean with Bleach let it dry , then clean with vinegar let it dry , then clean with ammonia mixed with water 5-1 mixture. What we kept were picture frames and books and memorabilia of our family and our children. We kept a few clothes. People are landlords for knowing there is mold and doing nothing about it . We are suing now. I am 67 and never been sick, have injuries but no illness. I have been sick non stop for over 3 years. It has been horrible. In Texas licensed mold inspectors cannot do remediation. They test the mold and identify the type and then text air quality. It cost us about 1400. But we’ll worth it . It sounds like it is airborne and probably in the AC/heat system and that makes it even more dangerous . We hated moving but we knew it was bad and it can kill . If it was me I would move and if not at least get the mold tested and see what type is there. Your landlord does not seem to care much about your situation, but most people are not aware of the danger. I will research your state and mold tonight and if I see anything important I will contact you . We had 3 of the most toxic molds there is . I learned through my sickness that it is so difficult to find correct information and I am on this forum to pass on what I learned over the past 3 years . I do not want anything out of this but to offer free the information I have learned. I do feel confident to say that if you have toxic mold that bad based on your description, you can develop more and more symptoms and it can cause permanent damage to you and anyone else that lives there . Take care and good luck .