- Joined
- Jun 20, 2003
- Messages
- 3,707
Okay, I live in a humid area near Virginia Beach. This was my first time renting in a number of years, with the previous experience in central OH. My employer sent me across the country for 10 weeks, shortly after signing my lease.
I clearly stated in writing that management had authorization to enter my apartment for any maintenance work or other necessity while I was away. While gone, the drain for my air conditioning unit clogged up and spilled water on the floor, which made it's way under the walls and into my bedroom and living room carpet. I actually had mushrooms starting to grow in my bedroom closet.
After discovering this, I went up to the office the next day and they immediately called the maintenance man to come and unplug the drain, fixing the root of the problem. An hour later the carpet man they called showed up. The carpet man sprayed some stuff around the place to kill mold, although he did not do a stellar job of getting at all the potentially moldy areas. He made comments about it being "not too bad", left 2 air blowers, and said he'd be back a couple days later to pick up the blowers and clean the carpet on the way out.
I must say, he did a nice job of cleaning the carpet...but the apartment was still soaking wet. I got home at 7:00 that night, went to Home Depot and personally rented 2 air blowers to try and dry things out some more. After a couple days of this, it seemed like most of it was dry to touch. I thought my bedroom closet was good to go when I peeled back the carpet and found water was actually pooled on the padding underneath, along the edge of the wall. So, the padding AND carpet are finally dry in the closet.
Yet, I walk around the rest of the apartment and there are many damp, cool areas on the floor. I suspect that a substantial amount of the padding underneath is wet. On top of that, mold grew on my water-damaged bookcase and chest of drawers. I sent samples to my microbiologist friend, who said there were 8 different types of mold, 2 of which can sometimes cause sickness, though usually in people with compromised immune systems. There are still some mold spots on the underside of the carpet and padding, as well as the door frame.
How should I proceed? I think the maintenance guy feels I'm good to go, because it's all dry to a hand touch, but I'm really not satisfied with the job, will have to live here for one more year, and hate the possibility that I could get any illness.
I clearly stated in writing that management had authorization to enter my apartment for any maintenance work or other necessity while I was away. While gone, the drain for my air conditioning unit clogged up and spilled water on the floor, which made it's way under the walls and into my bedroom and living room carpet. I actually had mushrooms starting to grow in my bedroom closet.
After discovering this, I went up to the office the next day and they immediately called the maintenance man to come and unplug the drain, fixing the root of the problem. An hour later the carpet man they called showed up. The carpet man sprayed some stuff around the place to kill mold, although he did not do a stellar job of getting at all the potentially moldy areas. He made comments about it being "not too bad", left 2 air blowers, and said he'd be back a couple days later to pick up the blowers and clean the carpet on the way out.
I must say, he did a nice job of cleaning the carpet...but the apartment was still soaking wet. I got home at 7:00 that night, went to Home Depot and personally rented 2 air blowers to try and dry things out some more. After a couple days of this, it seemed like most of it was dry to touch. I thought my bedroom closet was good to go when I peeled back the carpet and found water was actually pooled on the padding underneath, along the edge of the wall. So, the padding AND carpet are finally dry in the closet.
Yet, I walk around the rest of the apartment and there are many damp, cool areas on the floor. I suspect that a substantial amount of the padding underneath is wet. On top of that, mold grew on my water-damaged bookcase and chest of drawers. I sent samples to my microbiologist friend, who said there were 8 different types of mold, 2 of which can sometimes cause sickness, though usually in people with compromised immune systems. There are still some mold spots on the underside of the carpet and padding, as well as the door frame.
How should I proceed? I think the maintenance guy feels I'm good to go, because it's all dry to a hand touch, but I'm really not satisfied with the job, will have to live here for one more year, and hate the possibility that I could get any illness.
