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Question about testing for mold in home

Posted on 6/24/16 at 8:23 pm
Posted by MSCoastTigerGirl
Baton Rouge
Member since Dec 2008
35525 posts
Posted on 6/24/16 at 8:23 pm
I know this is a really long post, but Google isn't helping me at all.

I rent (trashy, I know), and I'm pretty sure I have mold in my bathroom ceiling that's making me sick. Besides the smell, I'm having many symptoms of mold exposure, including waking up every morning extremely conjested and with a headache. I start to feel the same way not long after I get home every day. When I'm here I'm always thirsty, I get dizzy, and I have multiple respiratory symptoms. After I'm out of here for about 30 minutes or so I feel much better.

A few months ago, the pipes in the apartment above me were leaking. There was visible black mold on the ceiling along with visible water damage. The first time I called maintenance, they came and painted over the visible mold with latex paint (which any idiot knows doesn't kill mold). About a month or so later, it was visible again so I called maintenance, again. He came and sprayed bleach on the ceiling and told me that it was mildew and I didn't know what I was talking about. At that point, besides being extremely pissed off, I realized that they weren't going to do anything about it, so I said frick it. The pipes above me continued to leak...mold and water damage spread. About 2 months later the ceiling above my bathtub caved in because it was saturated from water damage. It was about a 3 foot by 5 foot section.

They relocated me for 4 days so they could repair the damage and "kill" the mold. Welp, they only replaced the part of the sheet rock that caved in instead of replacing the entire ceiling. There is still some visible water damage, however, there is no visible mold at this point.

When the ceiling caved in, there was extensive water damage to the structural beams, along with a shite load of visible black mold. I immediately got a terrible headache, sneezing, etc. and had to wait outside for maintenance to come. They fixed the leak, replaced the sheet rock, painted the ceiling and moved me back in. There is no way they had time to properly handle the mold. I'm almost positive that the only thing they did was fix the leak and replace ceiling.

Can mold on the structural beams be making me sick? I've been trying to find info online about testing for mold, and most sites mention home testing kits. What is a good home testing kit to buy and are they accurate? There is a mold clause in my lease. Basically, if it tests positive for mold they either have to fix it or I can gtfo without penalty.

tl;dr. Mold in bathroom ceiling. I need a good home testing kit (if such a thing exists). Any recommendations are greatly appreciated. TIA.
Posted by Paul Allen
Montauk, NY
Member since Nov 2007
75283 posts
Posted on 6/24/16 at 8:25 pm to
tl;dr
Posted by Rouge
Floston Paradise
Member since Oct 2004
136855 posts
Posted on 6/24/16 at 8:31 pm to
Can take indoor swabs and/or air samples

Have to compare indoor sample to outdoor samples to see if you have elevated spore counts.

Test cassettes run about $10 a piece. Sampling runs about $60 per test. Sure that your town has a few labs that can provide analysis.

Want to mainly compare penicillum/aspergills (sp) and stachybotyrs fungi
Posted by djangochained
Gardere
Member since Jul 2013
19054 posts
Posted on 6/24/16 at 8:31 pm to
So poor and stupid?
Posted by Calvin Candie
The Cleopatra Club
Member since Dec 2014
485 posts
Posted on 6/24/16 at 8:40 pm to
You need to move asap.
Posted by soccerfüt
Location: A Series of Tubes
Member since May 2013
65943 posts
Posted on 6/24/16 at 8:40 pm to
It was a dark and moldy night....

tl/dr
Posted by Spankum
Miss-sippi
Member since Jan 2007
56123 posts
Posted on 6/24/16 at 8:55 pm to
At this point, you are obviously not going to be happy living there any longer. Have you just asked to see if you can get out of your lease? May save both you and them a hell of a lot of bs to just part ways now...
Posted by Capital Cajun
Over Yonder
Member since Aug 2007
5528 posts
Posted on 6/24/16 at 9:00 pm to
I think you can get a mild test kit from home depot but mold exist naturally in the environment. The only way to get an accurate reading is from an environmental company.

Tell the comolex to relocate you to another unit or tell them they will be hearing from your attorney. I bet they will move you or have professionals come out to abate the affected area.
Posted by dbbuilder79
Overton NV
Member since Dec 2010
4155 posts
Posted on 6/24/16 at 9:02 pm to
Are any of the walls in the exposed areas a fire wall where there would be another unit on the other side? Of so, ask if they're having the same problem.




Or just lawyer up
Posted by GrantTheFan
Baton Rouge
Member since Nov 2010
336 posts
Posted on 6/24/16 at 11:05 pm to
Mold has been around since the beginning of time, it seems to have started bothering plaintiff's lawyers in the 90's.

If you have a few grand laying around, a low rent lawyer will sniff the case. After payment, you'll learn that if you smoke cigs, weed or vape (they'll test you) your case will die. If not, you have a pretty good chance of getting out of the lease.

All said, unless it's high dollar or you have a very long term lease, just leave and let the chips fall where they may. Odds are they'll leave you alone if you move out and threaten to sue.
Posted by CelticDog
Member since Apr 2015
42867 posts
Posted on 6/24/16 at 11:37 pm to
get an attorney.

Posted by HES
Member since Feb 2015
121 posts
Posted on 6/25/16 at 8:57 am to
Shoot me an email.
Info@haltranes.com
Haltran Environmental Services, LLC
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