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Experience with mold?

darkness05

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Hey everyone. Just curious if anyone here may have any experience or advice with this issue.

We have a tenant who has sent us a few pictures of their toilet which clearly shows black stuff (assuming mold) coming from the rim of the toilet. There may or may not be some mold in the bathroom vent fan (took pictures but cannot say for sure if it is mold - could just be dust)

Tenants are very demanding and unreasonable and they are requesting a $1000 air test. I spoke with an air specialist and gave him the breakdown on what has been happening and he believes that it could just be in the very beginning of the mold outbreak. The apartment that they are in is VERY humid. The humidity thermo is holding around 70 degrees which seems unusually high for a dry climate.

The specialist has said get a dehumidifier in there ASAP, get the the toilet and fans cleaned with bleach/water and get the bathroom fan functioning at full capacity before doing an air test.

Told the tenants this and they are unsatisfied and still demanding the test.

What are your thoughts? Can the tenants legally demand this test? I have a call in with RTB but awaiting a call back.

Thanks
 

kfort

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Mould feeds on organics. The only organics in that porcelain toilet come from not cleaning it. Clean the toilet.

Mould cleaners contain ammonia, not bleach.

And yes, get the humidity down. Replace the fan with one that moves a high cfm (& low sones!).

And get better tenants. People like this cause undue stress, life's too short to put up with this regardless of your market. Get good at selecting tenants as well as advertising.
 

adriano

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Sounds like these tenants are just looking for some sort of pay out . I agree with kfort, tell them to clean there toilet.
Also I would get better tenants and get rid of the headaches
 

Matt Crowley

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@darkness05 I find something good to say to tenants like this is: "I don't like the way this relationship is going. It is clear you are not happy here. Wouldn't you rather live somewhere you enjoy?"

For hypochondriacs & extortionist tenants... look after the real issues. Humidity can cause incredible damage. That fan needs repair ASAP.

We have a tenant who has sent us a few pictures of their toilet which clearly shows black stuff (assuming mold) coming from the rim of the toilet.

I'm not sure what you mean by this... if it is mold inside the toilet with the refuse goes that is due to lack of cleaning. If it is a mold-looking thing at the base, then it is most likely a degraded wax seal and you have some sewage spilling out as a result. Time to replace that wax seal. $20, and an incredibly disgusting job. Get er done ASAP.

Then, after you get the necessary repairs done, request the tenants provide you proof of tenant's insurance (which should be in your lease). Tell them that they are responsible for any damages from humidity.
 

darkness05

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Thanks for all the info everyone. The fan is functioning ... I was just going to upgrade it to a higher powered motor to try to prevent issues like this in the future. There is only black dirt/mold looking stuff IN THE BOWL. Absolutely no sign of mold anywhere else in the house. Tenants are convinced its everywhere because their bread goes moldy after sitting out for a week. No sh*t.

So anyways ... I met the tenants last night at the condo with a dehumidifier and told them to let it run for a day or two to bring the humidity down. It was at 71%!!! Told them it needs to be at 45% max and then the auto fan will shut off in the bathroom and life would be good.

This was unacceptable to them. They demanded an air quality test and full remediation. Told them again that other than what is in the bowl, there is no sign of mold so no need to go to those extremes yet. If the dehum + fan didn't fix it after a week or two and it kept popping back up we would go from there. The boyfriend started yelling at me and swearing. Getting hostile. I calmly proceeded to walk out and left.

So this has turned into a real treat.

We definitely screen very well. Excellent income for these two. Excellent credit. Sometimes the crazies just slip through the cracks.

@matt - we have yet to include the proof of insurance in our leases. We will definitely do so going forward. My concern is if they leave it as is then the mold will grow (if it is there) and things could get out of hand.
 

kfort

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Let them know that to ensure you are thorough enough you'll need a vacant unit to solve the problem. And move on.

Quit going there to get yelled at. People treat you how you let them treat you and you are not required to let them abuse you.
 

darkness05

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Did I say anywhere that I was allowing them to do so? Was the first and last time. I don't get paid enough to listen to that.

Took @matt's advice above and asked them if they wanted to leave. They said yes. Signed the mutual end of tenancy and just waiting for it to come back. Either way, they are on a fixed term lease which obviously won't be renewed.
 

kfort

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Good to hear you're not willing to put up w this sort of thing.

Best bathroom fans I've ever found are the Panasonic ones. But you pay dearly. I'd probably not do it in a rental but definitely get the highest cfm and lowest sones one that fits your budget. Pop the old one out as there are differing bases for them, not all compatible.
 

carrie palmer

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This is mold outbreak, if it is the inital stage just , it is safest to remove it with soap and water. Provided if it covers a large area and is suased by polluted water , approach a professional mold remediation service
 

James Benson

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Hiring a mould remediator is not required unless there is 100 square feet of mould. Anything less can be done bye anyone, however certain precautions should be taken to prevent the spores from getting into the air, especially air ducts.

Also, not that thus applies in this case, but never caulk around the bottom of a toilet. It's a very common mistake people make. The wax seal is what stops water from leaking on your floor, so if there's caulking around the base of the toilet, and the wax seal is broken, the water will pool under the toilet and rot out the subfloor and possibly the joists beneath it, and damage anything els that's under it. Also it's not uncommon to use the wrong caulking in bathrooms and kitchens. Mould resistance is not mould proof.

Also it's important to balance the ceiling fan and range hood CFM to the volume of the room. Too little and it will obviously not remove enough moisture. Too much and you need more air intake to make up for the volume, and they are louder and more expensive for no reason.
 
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