Is this mold? (apartment, lease, tenants, landlord)

[sephiro499]

I live in a small 500sq foot apartment in south central pa. It is a basement apartment where the bedroom is underground and living room has a door that goes outside. I have tenants on each side as well as above. Today I went to flip my mattress over and I noticed what looked like mold. I have a severe deviated septum and do not smell very well. I took the boxspring off the floor and noticed a pillow and pillow case that was lodged in between the wall and the mattress. It clearly looks like something is growing on the pillow case.

It looks like everything is covered by this 'dust' of some kind.

There have never been any leaks or flooding of any kind nor do I eat or not keep my bedroom clean. It is clean but it's not organized. I have a lot of health problems and those take up the most of my time. I'm saying all of this because it may seem obvious to some people that there is a problem and I was just ignoring it or something. I'm not very observant and am mostly concerned with getting through the day.

I'm mainly concerned now that my mattress is ruined; I just paid 800 dollars for it last november when I moved in. I'm also really concerned about my cpap machine and if mold found it's way inside. The machine costs a lot of money.

I remember when I signed my lease they told me if mold was ever a problem they would give me a dehumidifier. My problem is I'm afraid some of my property is already damaged. I'm unsure and worried about how to proceed, since in general I do not trust any landlord.






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[STT Resident]

I can only hazard a guess as in order to determine if it is serious mold would require expert testing but it looks to me like mildew. You should wash down the affected areas with a diluted bleach/water solution and take up the LL's offer of a dehumidifier. It probably would have ben a good idea to have accepted the offer in the first place as they've no doubt had mildew problems before in the basement (where it most often occurs).

[sephiro499]

Originally Posted by STT Resident

It probably would have ben a good idea to have accepted the offer in the first place as they've no doubt had mildew problems before in the basement (where it most often occurs).

Keep in mind they offer the dehumidifier if you have a problem; it is available after the fact. I just now discovered this problem. I would like to salvage my bed if at all possible. My reading online though says it throw it away since you can't stop the process once it starts.

[STT Resident]

If you google, "mildew treatment" you'll find tons of information on treating affected areas and I've successfully treated leather articles such as your shoes (and also a mildly affected mattress) with no problem and no further outbreaks once a dehumidifier was installed. Just remember to empty the dehumidifier very regularly. If you feel strongly that you would rather get rid of your mattress then write to your LL via return receipt certified mail, advise him of the problem and see what he says.

[sephiro499]

I am going to look into it now. I would prefer not involving my landlord whenever possible. As long as it can be fixed and prevented I'm fine with it.

[sware2cod]

Did you say the boxspring was on the floor? It should be on a bed frame. You don't want the boxspring on the floor.

[sephiro499]

Yeah I bought a frame with my bed from sears but it was unstable and not secure. I returned the frame shortly after receiving delivery of the bed. I'm now going to buy a sturdy bed frame online and air out/ clean the mattress and box spring along with a thorough cleaning of the room.

[KonaKat]

you can get a simple metal frame at any furniture store that sells mattresses for about $40 to $50,you probably don't need to order online and pay shipping for one.

[Ghengis]

I'm not sure but I think you got Poo under your bed