Landlord Question and Answer Forum

My tenants called to ask me to call someone in to check the house for mold because one of them has been sick with respiratory issues. She also stated that her father says it smells like mold. They have not reported any visible signs of mold anywhere in the house. Is this a reasonable request? and who would I call to 'find' mold without a visible sign of it anywhere?

It seems unreasonable to me.

Posted by rosalie l, OH on Monday, December 28, 2009

Hi Joselyn, Mold typically grows on the BACK of the drywall. So by the time you actually have visible mold the time to act has long since passed. Landlord advocates claim mold requires various conditions to grow, but damn near all of them exist where drywall was wet. Take the Andy Griffith approach. Walk her unit (with her permission) with some friends. Take a sniff test in the home. If it smells musty, there's probably a problem. Check your records for water leaks, look for stains on the ceiling and water stains in the walls. Walls that have gone more than 72 hours are often already moldy. Do NOT paint the inside of the apartment with Kilz or any other primer to cover mold. Remove the drywall. Masterchem, the makers of Kilz has told me personally that Kilz does nothing to kill mold. It's designed to "Kilz" stains. Remember, wax rings often result in leaking water BETWEEN tiling and subflooring. So you may not see visible evidence. There are mold sniffing dogs but they're expensive to rent. There's a place you can get a home test kit that will identify the type of molds. It's about $99 and you do the sampling your self. Many lawyers will tell you not to test because it makes you responsible for any "omissions" however why the heck would you want to leave someone sick if it can be stopped. Most people that suffer mold problems just want them to go away. You can find Remediation companies who will test but often they test "positive" to get the work. So you want a 3rd party test. Another would be using Infrared. Also any wet surface releases VOC's (Volitile Organic Compounds) that can also combine to create health problems.

Posted by Paul F, CA on Wednesday, September 7, 2011