Town Home Toxic Mold

Q. My family and I have been renting a 3 bedroom town home or apartment for about 5 months now. When we first moved in, I noticed that there was a foul, moldy odor under the kitchen cabinets, primarily where the sink is. Sometimes the smell is so strong, that you can smell it upon entering the kitchen or dining room area. The landlord and I looked at it upon moving in, and she did say that the pipes had been leaking previously, and that she had someone to look at it before to fix the problem. We noticed that the pipes underneath still leaked. When I looked closely under the cabinets, I saw patches of black spots closely together, that looked like mold. We contacted the landlord again several months later, and she sent someone out. He then replaced a rubber ring under the sink, however said that he could do nothing about the mold, except to put lime on it!!??? I have become so annoyed with the smell and the problem, that I don't even want to go into my kitchen anymore.  I have just started looking up information on black mold on the internet, and I am alarmed by what I am finding out! I did not know that this could be potentially dangerous to my family and I. My question is, does the mold that I have described to you sound like toxic black mold, and if so, what should we do about this problem, and our landlords non-caring attitude about it? [June 12, 2003]

A. Take a sample of the visible mold using the Scotch tape lift tape sampling technique explained on Lift Tape mold sampling and send it to a mold laboratory for mold analysis and mold species identification. You are very wise to be concerned about possible health damage to your family. Slow, continual leaks like under your kitchen seek are perfect conditions to grow the most dangerous of all molds, Stachybotrys which can destroy the brains of your family members. Even if the mold is not Stachy, any mold in elevated levels indoors can cause health problems according the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Most landlords will not voluntarily spend the funds required for effective mold inspection, mold testing, and mold remediation. After you get back mold test results that document the mold health problem your family is facing in the apartment, you may have to hire an environmental attorney to persuade your landlord to carry out the landlord obligation to provide habitable housing for tenants. Please visit Toxic Mold Lawyer. Make sure your landlord does the mold removal properly and safely by learning all of the steps required for effective mold remediation at Effective Mold Removal Techniques. If you cannot get your landlord to take care of the problem properly, you may need to move as soon as possible to a mold safe place for your family.
 

Is Your Landlord Unconcerned and Uncaring about Your Apartment or Rental House or Condominium Mold Problems?

Get both the landlord attention and action that you and your family deserve by using the 3 step [3 separate notices if necessary] after you have documented the mold infestation in your apartment, or rental house or condominium by using do it yourself or hiring a Certified Mold Inspector.