Mold Allergy - can I live in a house with a moldy basement?
February 23, 2016 1:46 PM Subscribe
I'm thinking of moving into a rental with a moldy basement. I love the place otherwise, but I have a definite mold allergy. Can this work?
Details:
- There's a very strong mold/mildew smell immediately when opening the basement door, and I felt some mild symptoms (nasal tightness, slightly hard to breathe) as soon as I entered. No symptoms in the rest of the house, though my experience they don't really hit unless I'm spending a significant amount of time in a place.
- Current housemates have inquired with the landlord about it previously, though they personally aren't bothered by it much. Landlord is not a professional (she's a former resident who raised her family there). She is generally hesitant to invest much money in the house and typically only wants to fix issues that need immediate care, even though they've explained previously that it will cause significant damage if left unchecked.
- This is a two story house, and my bedroom would be on the second floor. Under normal circumstances I'd just need to do laundry down there. But I'm worried that spores are probably present to some degree everywhere in the house, and I know I'll get headaches and fatigue if they are.
- I'm in a fairly humid area (outside Baltimore). Pretty sure this is regular mold, not the toxic black stuff.
My questions:
1. Is this remotely feasible for someone with a mold allergy, or should I run? I really like it otherwise, and I know that mold is going to be a potential issue anywhere in the area, so I'm not sure if I'm overreacting.
2. What should I ask of the landlord -- and is it worth trying to negotiate with this sort of landlord? I don't think there is dehumidifier down there, which is probably the main problem, so it might be an easy fix. But given that it's been neglected for who knows how long, it could easily be a big-ticket problem to fix, and I'm not sure if whether I should insist on pros coming out, rather than a general handyman.
3. My assumption is that I'm not going to be able to gauge the severity from looks alone, but is that correct?
Thanks!
Details:
- There's a very strong mold/mildew smell immediately when opening the basement door, and I felt some mild symptoms (nasal tightness, slightly hard to breathe) as soon as I entered. No symptoms in the rest of the house, though my experience they don't really hit unless I'm spending a significant amount of time in a place.
- Current housemates have inquired with the landlord about it previously, though they personally aren't bothered by it much. Landlord is not a professional (she's a former resident who raised her family there). She is generally hesitant to invest much money in the house and typically only wants to fix issues that need immediate care, even though they've explained previously that it will cause significant damage if left unchecked.
- This is a two story house, and my bedroom would be on the second floor. Under normal circumstances I'd just need to do laundry down there. But I'm worried that spores are probably present to some degree everywhere in the house, and I know I'll get headaches and fatigue if they are.
- I'm in a fairly humid area (outside Baltimore). Pretty sure this is regular mold, not the toxic black stuff.
My questions:
1. Is this remotely feasible for someone with a mold allergy, or should I run? I really like it otherwise, and I know that mold is going to be a potential issue anywhere in the area, so I'm not sure if I'm overreacting.
2. What should I ask of the landlord -- and is it worth trying to negotiate with this sort of landlord? I don't think there is dehumidifier down there, which is probably the main problem, so it might be an easy fix. But given that it's been neglected for who knows how long, it could easily be a big-ticket problem to fix, and I'm not sure if whether I should insist on pros coming out, rather than a general handyman.
3. My assumption is that I'm not going to be able to gauge the severity from looks alone, but is that correct?
Thanks!
Long-term exposure to mold could be problematic:
More severe symptoms that could result from continuous human exposure to indoor mycotoxigenic molds include:
• Cancer (aflatoxin best characterized as potential human carcinogen)
• Hypersensitivity pneumonitis/pulmonary fibrosis
• Pulmonary injury/hemosiderosis (bleeding)
• Neurotoxicity
• Hematologic and immunologic disorders
• Hepatic, endocrine and/or renal toxicities
• Pregnancy, gastrointestinal and/or cardiac conditions
posted by a lungful of dragon at 2:00 PM on February 23, 2016
More severe symptoms that could result from continuous human exposure to indoor mycotoxigenic molds include:
• Cancer (aflatoxin best characterized as potential human carcinogen)
• Hypersensitivity pneumonitis/pulmonary fibrosis
• Pulmonary injury/hemosiderosis (bleeding)
• Neurotoxicity
• Hematologic and immunologic disorders
• Hepatic, endocrine and/or renal toxicities
• Pregnancy, gastrointestinal and/or cardiac conditions
posted by a lungful of dragon at 2:00 PM on February 23, 2016
I think even if you were physically fine, you might psych yourself into feeling ill. I have a mold allergy and I tend to do this since the symptoms can be so vague. I wouldn't do it.
posted by Zosia Blue at 2:01 PM on February 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Zosia Blue at 2:01 PM on February 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Uhh.. nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.
I have a mold allergy and lived in a place with a horribly ventilated bathroom (mold covering the cracked ceiling paint) and I had awful, recurrent allergic conjunctivitis eye problems. Sometimes so bad that someone could visibly see the bumps on my eyes at an angle. It was hell. The treatments are expensive for the drops. (The landlord scrubbed and painted over and added a fan but I doubt they did it "right.)
Not to mention the long term health consequences of mold. But add me to the "Fuck no" list for living there.
posted by Crystalinne at 2:07 PM on February 23, 2016 [3 favorites]
I have a mold allergy and lived in a place with a horribly ventilated bathroom (mold covering the cracked ceiling paint) and I had awful, recurrent allergic conjunctivitis eye problems. Sometimes so bad that someone could visibly see the bumps on my eyes at an angle. It was hell. The treatments are expensive for the drops. (The landlord scrubbed and painted over and added a fan but I doubt they did it "right.)
Not to mention the long term health consequences of mold. But add me to the "Fuck no" list for living there.
posted by Crystalinne at 2:07 PM on February 23, 2016 [3 favorites]
If you don't enjoy your lungs or general health, it will work fine.
I recommend finding a place that doesn't have mold. If you have really done a good search in the area and all places in your price range have mold, you might have to bear it, but "can smell it just from opening the door" is a pretty high level of mold, you can probably find something with less -- or no! -- mold.
posted by jeather at 2:08 PM on February 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
I recommend finding a place that doesn't have mold. If you have really done a good search in the area and all places in your price range have mold, you might have to bear it, but "can smell it just from opening the door" is a pretty high level of mold, you can probably find something with less -- or no! -- mold.
posted by jeather at 2:08 PM on February 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
No, you should not live in a building infested with mold. No one should, regardless of allergies.
The landlord should do something about it ASAP, not for your sake, but for her own. Her property is loosing value every minute. The cost of fixing this problem varies wildly depending on the severity and the region, but it is not necessarily expensive. You could talk with her about it, and see if she is willing to act on it. Drying up the house and fixing the root cause of the mold can take between 6 weeks and 6 months.
I live in a rental apartment, and mold appeared in the apartment because of damage on some plumbing. My landlord offered to rehouse me for 6 weeks while they repaired the plumbing and used electrical heaters to dry up the mold. I was able to move to my summerhouse instead. I don't know their total costs, but I got the impression that they found it reasonable and were positively surprised by the level of improvement relative to investment.
If the mold has attacked the basic structure of the house, it might be more difficult and costly, but then obviously also more necessary and urgent. This is why the landlord needs to address this problem now.
Anecdotally, during a study trip to Morocco five years ago, I lived for three days in an ancient moldy building. I got the best room, at the top floor and with good ventilation. There were no signs of mold in my room or bathroom. I have still not recovered from the damage those few days did to my respiratory system.
posted by mumimor at 2:16 PM on February 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
The landlord should do something about it ASAP, not for your sake, but for her own. Her property is loosing value every minute. The cost of fixing this problem varies wildly depending on the severity and the region, but it is not necessarily expensive. You could talk with her about it, and see if she is willing to act on it. Drying up the house and fixing the root cause of the mold can take between 6 weeks and 6 months.
I live in a rental apartment, and mold appeared in the apartment because of damage on some plumbing. My landlord offered to rehouse me for 6 weeks while they repaired the plumbing and used electrical heaters to dry up the mold. I was able to move to my summerhouse instead. I don't know their total costs, but I got the impression that they found it reasonable and were positively surprised by the level of improvement relative to investment.
If the mold has attacked the basic structure of the house, it might be more difficult and costly, but then obviously also more necessary and urgent. This is why the landlord needs to address this problem now.
Anecdotally, during a study trip to Morocco five years ago, I lived for three days in an ancient moldy building. I got the best room, at the top floor and with good ventilation. There were no signs of mold in my room or bathroom. I have still not recovered from the damage those few days did to my respiratory system.
posted by mumimor at 2:16 PM on February 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
It's not your allergies. It's the mold itself.
For context, I'm allergic to cats but I live happily with my cats after allergy shots. Cats aren't toxic in and of themselves. I was allergic, but addressed it with immunotherapy (and while I waited for that to take hold, I addressed the symptoms).
Now mold, that's a different story. Mold - even if you aren't allergic - isn't good for you. You shouldn't live with mold.
posted by 26.2 at 2:26 PM on February 23, 2016 [6 favorites]
For context, I'm allergic to cats but I live happily with my cats after allergy shots. Cats aren't toxic in and of themselves. I was allergic, but addressed it with immunotherapy (and while I waited for that to take hold, I addressed the symptoms).
Now mold, that's a different story. Mold - even if you aren't allergic - isn't good for you. You shouldn't live with mold.
posted by 26.2 at 2:26 PM on February 23, 2016 [6 favorites]
You and the people currently living there could all move somewhere else together.
posted by amtho at 2:35 PM on February 23, 2016
posted by amtho at 2:35 PM on February 23, 2016
Oh, hells no.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:06 PM on February 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Thorzdad at 3:06 PM on February 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
A Lungful of Dragon has it eponysterically correct.
Don't voluntarily expose yourself to toxins.
posted by slateyness at 4:25 PM on February 23, 2016
Don't voluntarily expose yourself to toxins.
posted by slateyness at 4:25 PM on February 23, 2016
My understanding is that some health impacts of mold exposure are progressive, ie, get worse over time.
posted by salvia at 4:31 PM on February 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by salvia at 4:31 PM on February 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
I lived in a moldy place once and...
Noooooo..... Never again. Don't do it.
Will add that the landlord and real estate agent were shady as hell to boot. Which is sorta what I expect from people not taking care of the property now.
posted by jrobin276 at 4:59 PM on February 23, 2016
Noooooo..... Never again. Don't do it.
Will add that the landlord and real estate agent were shady as hell to boot. Which is sorta what I expect from people not taking care of the property now.
posted by jrobin276 at 4:59 PM on February 23, 2016
You didn't ask the question here on Metafilter expecting us to say, "Sure, go ahead and live with mold" did you? I didn't think so. So you already knew the answer. Take your own hesitation/advice and try to find someplace else. Even in a humid place like Baltimore is in the summer, there are places with no mold and certainly ones with less than "I can smell it when I opened the door to the basement" level.
posted by AugustWest at 6:01 PM on February 23, 2016
posted by AugustWest at 6:01 PM on February 23, 2016
Something to think about: if you're doing laundry in the mold room, aren't your clothes going to pick that up and carry it with you all day, every day?
posted by Night_owl at 6:29 PM on February 23, 2016
posted by Night_owl at 6:29 PM on February 23, 2016
I have a mold allergy. I used to live in a second-floor apartment in a house with major mold in the basement -- to be fair here, it developed after I moved in, but I always figured, meh, it's not in my living space. And then when I moved out, I found mold in my closet and I'm pretty sure there was mold behind the wall of my bathroom as well.
Mold in a basement is an indication that the structure overall has some issues with humidity and water. You are correct that you cannot judge the severity of a mold problem by a surface visual inspection, but I'd add that you also cannot assume that the mold is limited to the areas of the house where you see or smell mold.
FWIW, I felt better once I moved away from Mold!Apartment and I personally would not choose to live in a house with a moldy basement if I had another option.
posted by pie ninja at 6:19 AM on February 24, 2016
Mold in a basement is an indication that the structure overall has some issues with humidity and water. You are correct that you cannot judge the severity of a mold problem by a surface visual inspection, but I'd add that you also cannot assume that the mold is limited to the areas of the house where you see or smell mold.
FWIW, I felt better once I moved away from Mold!Apartment and I personally would not choose to live in a house with a moldy basement if I had another option.
posted by pie ninja at 6:19 AM on February 24, 2016
« Older Great Caesar's Ghost! I need some kid-friendlier... | Low cost alternatives to using PayPal while... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by pintapicasso at 1:52 PM on February 23, 2016 [7 favorites]