If you move into an apartment or a home and you sign a lease, some people might think that they’re stuck with that lease even if they discover that the property has a substantial mold problem. This is not true.
No matter who you’re renting from or what kind of property, it is the landlord’s responsibility to provide you with a healthy place to live. If you or your children become sick due to the mold located in the home, apartment, or business you are leasing, your landlord can be held responsible.
The only thing that you have to do first is prove that mold exists in your rented space. That burden or proof is on you because in most leases, mold testing, inspections, and removal are not covered by the landlord. Landlords do not pay for these; you do. If there is a problem, you have to prove it.
If the rental property is infested with mold, the landlord might be liable for the damage to the tenant’s health, the medical bills associated with mold, loss of income due to sickness, and for the damage to clothing and other possessions. Other possible liabilities include the expense it takes to move to a mold-free environment, the difference between the rent at the mold-infested rental and the new, habitable rental, and for any mold inspections, testing, and remediation of the rental that were paid for by the tenant before moving out.
You should mail a notice to your landlord via certified mail that there is a mold problem first and foremost and provide proof within the envelope. An analysis and identification of the mold sample you collected using a mold test kit signed by a mold laboratory is a good way to prove that mold exists in the property.
Even better than this is to have a written report signed by a certified mold inspector along with the above mentioned laboratory report. If notice is ignored by your landlord, you can choose to send a second notice stating that due to the failure to have the mold removed from the property, you are withholding your rent.
Lastly, if that is ignored by your landlord, you should send another notice via certified mail that you are vacating the premises and that legal action is going to be taken, especially if you have suffered health complications due to the mold. You shouldn’t need a lawyer to draw up these notices for you, as long as you are clear and to the point that mold exists on the landlord’s property that you are renting and you want it removed and if you are suffering any health complications, these should be stated very clearly and with proof, as well. Most landlords will respond promptly.
Showing posts with label mold removal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mold removal. Show all posts
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Mold and Your Insurance: generally uncovered unless it is the result of something that is covered by the home’s insurance policy
Under most home insurance policies, mold is one of the few things (along with rust, rot, and fungi) that are generally uncovered unless it is the result of something that is covered by the home’s insurance policy, such as flood damage and the water caused by a burst pipe. However, mold that has been caused by leaks, condensation, or flooding (in the case where the homeowner does not have flood insurance) is not covered.
Even though mold has been around for thousands of years and will continue to be for thousands more, the amount of mold claims that have been submitted to insurance companies have increased significantly. Insurers are beginning to insert some language into their policies that is very specific as to what is covered and what is not. Some companies may soon decide to offer to cover damages caused by mold and will raise the price of the policy and others may choose to continue to completely exclude mold from the homeowner’s insurance policy. In order to guard against the failings of your homeowner’s insurance, removing mold and preventing it from returning is essential if you wish to retain the value of your home and your health.
Anyone who owns or rents property should be aware that mold should be cleaned up as soon as it is discovered and that mold cannot grow without a decent access to moisture. Repairing water damage, the cause of excess humidity, and other leaks should be done immediately in order to minimize the amount of mold that will grow in that area of the property. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that people take measures to safeguard not only their properties, but also their health by making swift work of the mold growing where they live and/or work and taking appropriate measures to make sure it does not return.
Your home should not be completely air tight and a home that is cannot breathe. Homes that air cannot flow freely through are breeding grounds for mold because the air is allowed to become stagnant. You should have vents installed in the bathrooms, laundry room, and kitchen in your home.
Wood and other cellulose-based debris should not be placed in any crawl spaces or against the side of the home because mold eats these and any other organic-based material.
Carpet shouldn’t be installed anywhere in the home where moisture should be a problem such as the bathroom where toilets or bath tubs can overflow or in the laundry room where the washer could leak out into the floor.
Even though mold has been around for thousands of years and will continue to be for thousands more, the amount of mold claims that have been submitted to insurance companies have increased significantly. Insurers are beginning to insert some language into their policies that is very specific as to what is covered and what is not. Some companies may soon decide to offer to cover damages caused by mold and will raise the price of the policy and others may choose to continue to completely exclude mold from the homeowner’s insurance policy. In order to guard against the failings of your homeowner’s insurance, removing mold and preventing it from returning is essential if you wish to retain the value of your home and your health.
Anyone who owns or rents property should be aware that mold should be cleaned up as soon as it is discovered and that mold cannot grow without a decent access to moisture. Repairing water damage, the cause of excess humidity, and other leaks should be done immediately in order to minimize the amount of mold that will grow in that area of the property. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that people take measures to safeguard not only their properties, but also their health by making swift work of the mold growing where they live and/or work and taking appropriate measures to make sure it does not return.
Your home should not be completely air tight and a home that is cannot breathe. Homes that air cannot flow freely through are breeding grounds for mold because the air is allowed to become stagnant. You should have vents installed in the bathrooms, laundry room, and kitchen in your home.
Wood and other cellulose-based debris should not be placed in any crawl spaces or against the side of the home because mold eats these and any other organic-based material.
Carpet shouldn’t be installed anywhere in the home where moisture should be a problem such as the bathroom where toilets or bath tubs can overflow or in the laundry room where the washer could leak out into the floor.
Mold and Our Pets: dogs most affected by blasto are larger, male, young dogs, and any breed
Most of us who have pets aren’t really aware that mold is just as dangerous to them as it is to us. In fact, pets, especially young ones and birds, are more susceptible to the affects of mold than human beings are. They are in the category of the first to suffer from the health complications associated with mold and some have even died while living in mold infested homes. Infants, pets, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are the most threatened when it comes to most environment-related health risks. One kind of mold in particular is more dangerous to our pets than others are and that is blastomycoses.
Blastomycoses is also a dangerous kind of mold that has been known to cause pneumonia, skin, and other respiratory infections in our pets. Other organs can be infected and it’s no surprise that these symptoms and complications can also occur in human beings. Much like the canaries in mines that were used long ago to detect poisonous gases, pets are often the ones to warn us that there is a problem in our home. While blastomycoses is a natural part of our every day environments, excessive amounts of it can be extremely harmful. It takes the form of a mold in an indoor or outdoor environment, but when it comes into contact with human beings or animals, it becomes a yeast. Once it has taken on the form of yeast, it is no longer contagious. The animal (or human) can only contract blastomycoses by inhaling the mold spores or by allowing them to enter the body through a cut or sore on the skin.
Unfortunately, pneumonia is the most common form of blastomycoses symptoms in pets and can lead to eventual death if it isn’t untreated. Dogs often cough, become tired or lazy in appearance, have trouble breathing, and cease eating. Skin infections often are wet and itchy and can damage muscle and bone structure if something is not done about them.
Blastomycoses can be dealt with using antifungal medications and a full recovery can be made in up to six months, although a blasto infection is often misdiagnosed and by the time it is diagnosed correctly, it is often too late.
The dogs most affected by blasto are larger, male, young dogs, and any breed that spends a lot of time outdoors, even though blastomycoses is a mold that can grow indoors.
Blastomycoses is also a dangerous kind of mold that has been known to cause pneumonia, skin, and other respiratory infections in our pets. Other organs can be infected and it’s no surprise that these symptoms and complications can also occur in human beings. Much like the canaries in mines that were used long ago to detect poisonous gases, pets are often the ones to warn us that there is a problem in our home. While blastomycoses is a natural part of our every day environments, excessive amounts of it can be extremely harmful. It takes the form of a mold in an indoor or outdoor environment, but when it comes into contact with human beings or animals, it becomes a yeast. Once it has taken on the form of yeast, it is no longer contagious. The animal (or human) can only contract blastomycoses by inhaling the mold spores or by allowing them to enter the body through a cut or sore on the skin.
Unfortunately, pneumonia is the most common form of blastomycoses symptoms in pets and can lead to eventual death if it isn’t untreated. Dogs often cough, become tired or lazy in appearance, have trouble breathing, and cease eating. Skin infections often are wet and itchy and can damage muscle and bone structure if something is not done about them.
Blastomycoses can be dealt with using antifungal medications and a full recovery can be made in up to six months, although a blasto infection is often misdiagnosed and by the time it is diagnosed correctly, it is often too late.
The dogs most affected by blasto are larger, male, young dogs, and any breed that spends a lot of time outdoors, even though blastomycoses is a mold that can grow indoors.
Penicilliosis In Southeast Asia: symptoms of a case of Penicilliosis are generally anemia, fever, lesions on the skin, generalized lymphadenopathy, ab
Even though Penicillin was developed back in the 1940’s to help combat infections caused by bacteria and it was developed from penicillium mold, other species of penicillium molds can also cause diseases. One such disease, called penicilliosis, occurs predominantly in Southeast Asia.
The mold that causes the disease, Penicillium marneffei, is indigenous to the region and so the cases of the disease are generally confined to that area, although people traveling to the region can become infected if they are not careful. People particularly at risk are those diagnosed with HIV and AIDS and it has been called the third most common opportunistic infection in these people.
This mold is a fungus at room temperature, but like with any other mold, when it enters the body and is warmed up to body temperature, it changes into a yeast. The symptoms of a case of Penicilliosis are generally anemia, fever, lesions on the skin, generalized lymphadenopathy, abdominal pain, and weight loss. The skin lesions generally are located on the genitalia, face, ears, toes, and fingers, but the symptom that happens the most often is a skin rash that can cause small bumps on the top skin layer and some of these bumps can have ulceration. This happens most often on the upper part of the body.
Fungus cultures can be grown from the swabbing of skin lesions and this is to identify the infection as being Penicilliosis, but this is not the only way to detect this infection. A biopsy of bone marrow, skin lesions, or lymph nodes can also detect the presence of the fungi in the body. When the fungus is grown in a Petri dish, it has a flat green surface and a red color on the bottom.
It is advised that anyone with HIV or AIDS who is going to be traveling to the region of Southeast Asia should be very careful or to not travel there at all. This is a dangerous infection, especially in someone with a compromised immune system. Without treatment, this disease tends to have a high mortality rate and even when treatment is administered, the mortality rate still lingers around the area of twenty percent. Treatment often comes in the form of an antifungal drug called amphotericin and is followed up with a maintenance-type drug named itraconazole. If you have been to Southeast Asia recently and are experiencing any of the symptoms named here, you should seek medical treatment immediately.
The mold that causes the disease, Penicillium marneffei, is indigenous to the region and so the cases of the disease are generally confined to that area, although people traveling to the region can become infected if they are not careful. People particularly at risk are those diagnosed with HIV and AIDS and it has been called the third most common opportunistic infection in these people.
This mold is a fungus at room temperature, but like with any other mold, when it enters the body and is warmed up to body temperature, it changes into a yeast. The symptoms of a case of Penicilliosis are generally anemia, fever, lesions on the skin, generalized lymphadenopathy, abdominal pain, and weight loss. The skin lesions generally are located on the genitalia, face, ears, toes, and fingers, but the symptom that happens the most often is a skin rash that can cause small bumps on the top skin layer and some of these bumps can have ulceration. This happens most often on the upper part of the body.
Fungus cultures can be grown from the swabbing of skin lesions and this is to identify the infection as being Penicilliosis, but this is not the only way to detect this infection. A biopsy of bone marrow, skin lesions, or lymph nodes can also detect the presence of the fungi in the body. When the fungus is grown in a Petri dish, it has a flat green surface and a red color on the bottom.
It is advised that anyone with HIV or AIDS who is going to be traveling to the region of Southeast Asia should be very careful or to not travel there at all. This is a dangerous infection, especially in someone with a compromised immune system. Without treatment, this disease tends to have a high mortality rate and even when treatment is administered, the mortality rate still lingers around the area of twenty percent. Treatment often comes in the form of an antifungal drug called amphotericin and is followed up with a maintenance-type drug named itraconazole. If you have been to Southeast Asia recently and are experiencing any of the symptoms named here, you should seek medical treatment immediately.
Mold And What It Does : Mold living in your home can cause all kinds of medical problems
I hate mold and you hate mold, but unfortunately it’s something that we all have to deal with on a daily basis. It lives either outside on the ground or inside our homes in the walls eating away the internal structure. You have no doubt seen it living on foods in your kitchen that have spoiled, perhaps on fruit or in jars of grape jelly. It is unsightly and also unhealthy. So, what is mold exactly?
Mold is a fungus. It lives both indoors and outdoors and there is not much that you can do to escape it. It is truly almost everywhere humans are and are not. They typically come in the colors of grey, blue, green, brown, black, and red and even more. While they are definitely unsightly, what most people do not realize is just how unhealthy living in a home contaminated with mold can be.
Mold living in your home can cause all kinds of medical problems and which one you will end up with is a matter of chance. You never know which condition mold will hand to you. It has been known to cause allergies and to aggravate people who have asthma and other respiratory conditions and also to cause skin rashes, damage to the central nervous system, and problems with vision.
The people who should be the most concerned with mold are the elderly, small children, pets, and those who have a weakened immune system. These tend to be people who are pregnant, who are HIV-positive, or are recovering from a surgery, especially a major one. They should take special care and if mold is found in a home, anyone fitting these descriptions should relocate until the mold is removed.
Mold also does damage to the internal structure of the home, eating the wood, sheetrock, carpet, and anything else that is organic. The sole job of a fungus such as mold is to decompose organic material such as dead plants and dead animals.
If you suspect that mold lives in your home, it is highly suggested that you purchase a mold testing kit and test your home for mold yourself. Follow the instructions exactly or the tests will be of no use. Send the tests off to be analyzed by a mold laboratory and when you receive the results back, if they are positive, contact a professional mold remediation company.
Mold is a fungus. It lives both indoors and outdoors and there is not much that you can do to escape it. It is truly almost everywhere humans are and are not. They typically come in the colors of grey, blue, green, brown, black, and red and even more. While they are definitely unsightly, what most people do not realize is just how unhealthy living in a home contaminated with mold can be.
Mold living in your home can cause all kinds of medical problems and which one you will end up with is a matter of chance. You never know which condition mold will hand to you. It has been known to cause allergies and to aggravate people who have asthma and other respiratory conditions and also to cause skin rashes, damage to the central nervous system, and problems with vision.
The people who should be the most concerned with mold are the elderly, small children, pets, and those who have a weakened immune system. These tend to be people who are pregnant, who are HIV-positive, or are recovering from a surgery, especially a major one. They should take special care and if mold is found in a home, anyone fitting these descriptions should relocate until the mold is removed.
Mold also does damage to the internal structure of the home, eating the wood, sheetrock, carpet, and anything else that is organic. The sole job of a fungus such as mold is to decompose organic material such as dead plants and dead animals.
If you suspect that mold lives in your home, it is highly suggested that you purchase a mold testing kit and test your home for mold yourself. Follow the instructions exactly or the tests will be of no use. Send the tests off to be analyzed by a mold laboratory and when you receive the results back, if they are positive, contact a professional mold remediation company.
Cleaning Moldy Fabric : contaminated with mold can be cleaned and the mold
Sometimes we look into the backs of our closets while we are cleaning them out and we discover an old article of clothing with a fuzzy substance all over it. If you find something like this in the back of your closet, the best thing to do is drop it immediately and go wash your hands. What you were handling was a piece of clothing that has been contaminated with mold and it has been advised to not touch mold spores with your bare hands. This can possibly cause an allergic reaction or just some skin rashes, but either way, there will probably be consequences to deal with.
Most items of clothing that are contaminated with mold can be cleaned and the mold done away with, but most of the time the mold ends up leaving stains. Using bleach to remove the stains can be effective if you are dealing with mold on white clothing, but this is not always the case and chlorine bleach is not effective in killing molds on porous surfaces. You can use a brush to remove the majority of the mold and put a pre-wash spray on it; allow this to soak for about 45 minutes and put it through the washing machine. After this, allow them to dry outside naturally in the sun. Using an artificial source of heat to dry the clothes can set the stain deeper into the fabric and if you are dealing with white clothing, the sun can actually help to bleach the fabric further.
If you are looking to remove the mold and mold stains from something that was made with real leather, you are probably not going to have any luck. Items made out of leather become discolored very easily and mold does a good job of this. They cannot usually be restored after coming into contact with mold.
You can clean off upholstery or curtains that have come into contact with mold using the same method described above and one of the best purchases you can make to keep your home mold free is a vacuum that has a HEPA filter in it. Use this vacuum and its brush attachment to suck up all the mold and its spores; the filter will make sure that the spores are not re-released into the air in your home after being collected.
Most items of clothing that are contaminated with mold can be cleaned and the mold done away with, but most of the time the mold ends up leaving stains. Using bleach to remove the stains can be effective if you are dealing with mold on white clothing, but this is not always the case and chlorine bleach is not effective in killing molds on porous surfaces. You can use a brush to remove the majority of the mold and put a pre-wash spray on it; allow this to soak for about 45 minutes and put it through the washing machine. After this, allow them to dry outside naturally in the sun. Using an artificial source of heat to dry the clothes can set the stain deeper into the fabric and if you are dealing with white clothing, the sun can actually help to bleach the fabric further.
If you are looking to remove the mold and mold stains from something that was made with real leather, you are probably not going to have any luck. Items made out of leather become discolored very easily and mold does a good job of this. They cannot usually be restored after coming into contact with mold.
You can clean off upholstery or curtains that have come into contact with mold using the same method described above and one of the best purchases you can make to keep your home mold free is a vacuum that has a HEPA filter in it. Use this vacuum and its brush attachment to suck up all the mold and its spores; the filter will make sure that the spores are not re-released into the air in your home after being collected.
Mold Health Issues with your sinuses, vomiting, and sometimes even cancer
Everybody knows that mold is unsightly and can cause health problems, but exactly what kinds of health problems are we talking about here? We shouldn’t just be concerned with the respiratory or skin effects of mold, because these are not even close to being the only things that mold can cause in a person.
Mold can produce allergic reactions in people by producing allergens, irritants, and toxic substances called mycotoxins. No matter what kind of mold you’re dealing with, it’s a bad idea to touch it or inhale any of its spores. Some molds can cause cold or flu-like symptoms or in infants, even bleeding of the lungs. Incessant coughing, asthma, allergy symptoms, and vision can occur and even problems with a person’s central nervous system can arise. Abnormal amounts of fatique, headaches, problems with your sinuses, vomiting, and sometimes even cancer can be caused by mold infestations in the home or the workplace. Where mold is concerned, you’re basically playing roulette: you don’t know which number is going to come up or for who.
Air conditioners are one of the worst culprits of spreading mold infestations from one area of the building to the other. They thrust the mold spores up into the air and you inhale them, drawing them into your lungs, and this can be dangerous, especially if you’re one of the people who are particularly at risk for sickness. This includes infants, pets, the elderly, and anyone who has a weakened immune system. People with weakened immune systems are those who are pregnant, people who have just had surgery, or those with HIV, AIDs, or other immunodeficiency conditions.
Most people don’t realize that there are so many health complications that can be caused by mold and since this is true, they don’t understand how big of a problem mold can be in the home. They think that they will be alright if they put off removing the mold until they can afford it, but it’s not a good idea.
People with good constitutions and are generally healthy can survive in a home that has a mild amount of mold for a while without any adverse health effects, but staying there without any attempts to treat the home and remove the mold can be a costly mistake. If you discover mold where you live, you should do what you have to in order to get the mold removed or find another place to live.
Mold can produce allergic reactions in people by producing allergens, irritants, and toxic substances called mycotoxins. No matter what kind of mold you’re dealing with, it’s a bad idea to touch it or inhale any of its spores. Some molds can cause cold or flu-like symptoms or in infants, even bleeding of the lungs. Incessant coughing, asthma, allergy symptoms, and vision can occur and even problems with a person’s central nervous system can arise. Abnormal amounts of fatique, headaches, problems with your sinuses, vomiting, and sometimes even cancer can be caused by mold infestations in the home or the workplace. Where mold is concerned, you’re basically playing roulette: you don’t know which number is going to come up or for who.
Air conditioners are one of the worst culprits of spreading mold infestations from one area of the building to the other. They thrust the mold spores up into the air and you inhale them, drawing them into your lungs, and this can be dangerous, especially if you’re one of the people who are particularly at risk for sickness. This includes infants, pets, the elderly, and anyone who has a weakened immune system. People with weakened immune systems are those who are pregnant, people who have just had surgery, or those with HIV, AIDs, or other immunodeficiency conditions.
Most people don’t realize that there are so many health complications that can be caused by mold and since this is true, they don’t understand how big of a problem mold can be in the home. They think that they will be alright if they put off removing the mold until they can afford it, but it’s not a good idea.
People with good constitutions and are generally healthy can survive in a home that has a mild amount of mold for a while without any adverse health effects, but staying there without any attempts to treat the home and remove the mold can be a costly mistake. If you discover mold where you live, you should do what you have to in order to get the mold removed or find another place to live.
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