Mould - DIY Fix or Mould Specialist ?

Curtain mould magic

Just tried the product mentioned by Abra - it certainly seems to work well. My daughter's bathroom ceiling had bad mould and this stuff worked great on it. Waiting now to see if it will last.
Can only purchase it on line and they are somewhat slow with their delivery, but if it works long term then it's worth it.
 
Hi all,
I have a mould problem in my PPOR, can anyone share a good effective de-humidifier?

My daughter suffers from asthma and its a constant battle to keep the mould under control (although as mentioned above clove oil seems to do a search and destroy on it).

Thanks
Scott

Tried for a while to find a de-humidifier and instead settled on some of the moisture absorbing crystals/beads available at Supermarkets, Bunnings etc such as the below which worked well

We also used vinegar and oil of cloves

178888.jpg
 
The mould started in the toilet and spread to the bathroom and you want to blame your tenants? Glad I don't rent from you!!

Mould is a result of moisture, it is pretty hard for tenants to cause the kind of mould you are describing. There are LOTS of causes of mould. As the handyman said - ventilation (this is your responsibility not the tenants) I have also seen houses where the roof tiles were so old with no maintenance done on them (I would hazard a guess that this may be the case here) that they are soaking up any rain, this then soaks through to any insulation in the roof which then sits on the ceiling space and causes mould.

Get a professional to inspect and report on the cause of the mould. If it turns out to be the tenants fault then charge them, otherwise, it sounds like something you should be taking care of immediately to prevent further damage to your property and potentially having to pay your tenants compensation for not meeting your legal obligations as a landlord.

Hi Sez,

I keep all inspection reports from my property manager, the entry report stated all ceilings in the house were in good condition, after the tenants have lived inside for over 2 months, the mould starts to grow from the toilet ceiling to bathroom, now the bedroom.

Yes, I do have responsibility to supply them a safe and mould free property, which was my entry property condition report proofed, but in the same time, the tenants responsibility is to have good ventilation for the house, they cannot just keep all doors and windows closed, rarely open them, also long showers a big problem too.

After I got the new inspection report, I questioned my property manager, it was not a complaint from any of them or PM, as a landlord, I suggested to do an investigation for the issue and give me a solution, that's why the PM told me that was ventilation problem by her handyman. Now I realized what PM said to me before the tenants looking after my property is not the truth, I asked PM to tell the tenants to do something with ventilation, such as turn on the ventilation fans, they are always in good working order, but I suspect they use them, because in one inspection report the tenants complained about the big noise of the ventilation fans and requested replacement, of course I would not accept it, because they inspected the facilities before they signed the lease, they cannot ask for what they want afterwards.
 
We wire bathroom fans with the lights to prevent tenants from using the showers without having the fans running. It means they are noisy, and of course, we cannot ensure they use the fans if they don't turn on the lights to shower (during the day).

We live in Brisbane, so mould is not such a big issue for us up here, but we did have one mould situation a couple of years ago where one tenant was fighting the problem on her own. She was a naturopath and knew what to use to fight the mould, but it just spread along the ceilings through the house.

We had a roofer check the tiled roof. He said it was "delaminating" and would need complete replacement for the cost of about $24K (from memory). We had a second roofer look at it and say that was rubbish, that it was fine. I think it was simply we had a lot of rain. We've had that house over 20 years with no previous issues.

The tenant had been using oil of cloves and our painter used something (bleach product that he used and added something to the paint to help stop mould) and we have had no further problems since then (18 months ago).

So once it starts, it isn't always the tenant that "allows" it to spread and not always the tenant's fault. I've always heard Shannon Lush say that bleach doesn't kill the spores, but just bleaches them, but the bleach product worked where the natural product (oil of cloves) didn't.

Fingers crossed it stays gone.
 
We wire bathroom fans with the lights to prevent tenants from using the showers without having the fans running. It means they are noisy, and of course, we cannot ensure they use the fans if they don't turn on the lights to shower (during the day).

We live in Brisbane, so mould is not such a big issue for us up here, but we did have one mould situation a couple of years ago where one tenant was fighting the problem on her own. She was a naturopath and knew what to use to fight the mould, but it just spread along the ceilings through the house.

We had a roofer check the tiled roof. He said it was "delaminating" and would need complete replacement for the cost of about $24K (from memory). We had a second roofer look at it and say that was rubbish, that it was fine. I think it was simply we had a lot of rain. We've had that house over 20 years with no previous issues.

The tenant had been using oil of cloves and our painter used something (bleach product that he used and added something to the paint to help stop mould) and we have had no further problems since then (18 months ago).

So once it starts, it isn't always the tenant that "allows" it to spread and not always the tenant's fault. I've always heard Shannon Lush say that bleach doesn't kill the spores, but just bleaches them, but the bleach product worked where the natural product (oil of cloves) didn't.

Fingers crossed it stays gone.

Thanks a lot Wylie!

That's a great idea to wire the lights and the fans together in the bath room!

I had people checked the roof for me as well, told me no problems at all.

PM told me the tenant keeping cleaning the damaged ceilings but they still come back all the time, but I don't believe it because one mother looking after 2 very little kids inside the house, how can she clean the high ceilings without distracting by her little kids?

PM told me that she had already sent a few cleaning tips such as clove oil, vinegar ect to remedy the mould problem.

As I thought about maybe any injuries or incidents would occur if the tenants really clean the high ceilings and distracted by her little kids, I would be responsible for this, so I asked PM to discuss with the tenant to supply them professional ceiling cleaning service or they get one professional cleaner themselves at their cost. But PM came to me said they refused to get professional cleaning service. So this time PM told me she would keep an eye on this when she had the next routine inspection done, if the moulds are still there, she would issue breach of lease to them.
 
So this time PM told me she would keep an eye on this when she had the next routine inspection done, if the moulds are still there, she would issue breach of lease to them.

I liked your reply... until I read this bit :eek:.

I don't think you should (or can) breach them for this issue. If anything, I would guess they have the power to take you to the tribunal for not fixing a mould issue.

I would tread carefully on this issue, try to fix the problem and not expect your tenant to fix it.
 
I liked your reply... until I read this bit :eek:.

I don't think you should (or can) breach them for this issue. If anything, I would guess they have the power to take you to the tribunal for not fixing a mould issue.

I would tread carefully on this issue, try to fix the problem and not expect your tenant to fix it.

Hi Wylie,

It is the lessor 's responsibility to supply structure no problems properties to tenants, it is the tenants responsibility to keep good ventilation inside the property to avoid mould growing further and further.

As I said earlier, it was a mould free house before they moved in - proved by the entry property inspection report, also had roofs checked just in case any leaks on the roof for raining season, but was told no leaks at all.

But the mould is growing, not stopped, no body mentioned a word to me until I fund mould problems myself from reading the routine inspection reports and asked about it to PM, then she started to tell me the tenants keeping cleaning the damaged ceilings, if it was my fault, I believe my tenants would make a complaint much earlier to PM, they always complain this or that, asked for this or that too. It is clear, for mould issue, it was the tenants own fault - not open the doors and windows, not turn on exhaust fans, maybe too long showers etc to let the mould growing inside the property.
 
In QLD, this is the Authorities position. Check the one in your state.

https://www.rta.qld.gov.au/Renting/During-a-tenancy/Maintenance-and-repairs/Mould

Thanks a lot Pertw!

I asked PM about the mould issue in WA, she told me checking the roof first, if it was leaking somewhere, it's my responsibility to rectify them, which I agreed and she got a handyman checked, no issues at all.

That's why I started to talk about the tenants responsibility.After I sent PM a spreadsheet to compare how the ceilings gradually changing from her 3 inspection reports and asked her to do something for me, PM told me the tenants needs to do something such as ventilation, cleaning the moulds, and also she sent them some tips how to clean them properly too, tenants agreed to clean mould themselves, that's why PM said she would keep an eye on mould at next inspection day, if mould still stays, she would issue a breach of lease. I cannot see any wrong here, actually because as a landlord, I tried my best to find problems myself and always am willing to do something if PM suggested rectifying anything wrong inside the property within my legal responsibilities, even for the mould too.
 
I think your PM needs to be a little careful with sending them DIY cleaning tips, the dangers of mould (and cleaning it without the correct protective clothing) are well known and by giving them DIY cleaning tips is essentially recommending a DIY approach (advice on stopping future mould by doing things like ensuring adequate ventilation is of course not connected to this & would be expected of a PM).

If it is an issue cause by tenants (which it sounds like it might well be) your PM really should be recommending they talk to an expert to cover themselves (and possibly you).

Good luck, hope you get to the bottom of the problem and get it resolved.

Thanks a lot Wylie!

That's a great idea to wire the lights and the fans together in the bath room!

I had people checked the roof for me as well, told me no problems at all.

PM told me the tenant keeping cleaning the damaged ceilings but they still come back all the time, but I don't believe it because one mother looking after 2 very little kids inside the house, how can she clean the high ceilings without distracting by her little kids?

PM told me that she had already sent a few cleaning tips such as clove oil, vinegar ect to remedy the mould problem.

As I thought about maybe any injuries or incidents would occur if the tenants really clean the high ceilings and distracted by her little kids, I would be responsible for this, so I asked PM to discuss with the tenant to supply them professional ceiling cleaning service or they get one professional cleaner themselves at their cost. But PM came to me said they refused to get professional cleaning service. So this time PM told me she would keep an eye on this when she had the next routine inspection done, if the moulds are still there, she would issue breach of lease to them.
 
I had a bit of mould growing in one of my properties.

Just sprayed a product called "exit mould" on it and it disappeared. I still scrubbed it a little and hopefully it won't come back. Then painted over it for good measure.
 
I think your PM needs to be a little careful with sending them DIY cleaning tips, the dangers of mould (and cleaning it without the correct protective clothing) are well known and by giving them DIY cleaning tips is essentially recommending a DIY approach (advice on stopping future mould by doing things like ensuring adequate ventilation is of course not connected to this & would be expected of a PM).

If it is an issue cause by tenants (which it sounds like it might well be) your PM really should be recommending they talk to an expert to cover themselves (and possibly you).

Good luck, hope you get to the bottom of the problem and get it resolved.

tomwhite Thanks a lot for your good advice!

Like you said, it needs to be very careful, that's why I insisted PM talkiing to the tenants to get professional cleaner to clean the mould properly at Tenants cost, but tenants refused, how can I do?

I keep all these communications records too, just in case if the tenants went to court to sue us, I could prove what I suggested to avoid the trouble, but they refused, which I cannot force them to do any more, even though discussed more than one month.
 
Read Shannon Lushs advice about mould. She recommends oil of clovesfor mould spores in showers for example. interior condensation, use sticks of chalk in the runners of sliding windows. Low cost strategies that are well worth a try, good luck.

We use oil of cloves. Bleach just whitens things, oil of cloves actually kills the moulds. Have minor issues on the bedroom we are renting, used sugar soap to clean it up, then sprayed oil of cloves afterwards. That was a year ago, wall is still mould free.

The bottle of oil of cloves cost around $50. Only used a few sprays as well.

Good luck.
 
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