Landlord Question and Answer Forum

One of my houses has tenants with two small children. There has been a SMALL amount of mold that keeps regrowing under the kitchen sink. I have had a plumber out and there is no water leaking anywhere, the handyman has cleaned it and sprayed with a special spraypaint called "kill", but it regrows again. I am now having him go out and cut the drywall out and replace it. I have advised the tenant that if it regrows again to PLEASE just spray it with bleach or vinegar. Does anyone know if I have any further legal obligation in California to tear out the entire kitchen and replace just due to a small amount of mold under kitchen sink?? The lease is up for renewal on Oct. 31st, and my current thought is to not renew the lease if they keep complaining about it.

Mold is such a bad issue, for the health of your property alone you may want to consider tearing down the old drywall and replacing it. This project may be overwhelming however it is necessary and can prevent law suits or something even worse. No matter how small mold is it is important to remove it by any means necessary.

Posted by Patty H, on Monday, August 17, 2015

Perhaps you could get a mold test kit and determine which kind of mold you're dealing with. Not ALL molds are hazardous. Other than that, there are products you can purchase (of all sizes) that will absorb humidity from the air. They contain little pellets or something like that, and as I said, absorb moisture. In my experience, where there is mold, there is usually moisture. Pam Leach Rockland, Maine

Posted by Pamela L, ME on Monday, August 17, 2015