Pregnant and being exposed to mold! Help!

[Blzgak]

So, we've been living in this rental house for a little over a year. In the begining it was really nice, but started to fall apart soon after. They basically rented us a polished turd!!! Down here in Texas it can get quite humid at times and this older house does not have proper ventilation and now my husband and I have been discovering MOLD in our bedroom!!

We told our landlord right away and she took her sweet time addressing the problem. She made a time to come over and I thought it was going to be fixed right then and there. Well, she took two minutes to look at it and said she would buy some Tilex and give it to me to clean off. I just wanted to scream at here "HELLO YOU KNOW I'M PREGNANT!!!" Argh and then after she left she asked me to send her pictures to show to her husband. I did and now they said they need to come and cut the walls out.

I'm not quite sure of what kind of mold it is, but it sure does look like the start of black mold to me, which can be very dangerous. I tried looking up the effects mold has on a fetus and couldn't find anything except for women saying it will cause birth defects. I'm going to attach two photos if anyone could tell me what kind of mold it looks like or what problems I could be facing that would be amazing.

Oh and we would be moving out of this dump tomorrow if we could, but we're making a move cross country in June before my DH deploys, so we're trying to save every nickle we have. I feel like I'm stuck here and it's making me angry that my landlord isn't doing anything to fix a potentially dangerous problem.

 

[Jenna_1980]

To me it looks like it's just on the surface - I'd clean it with bleach/tilex.

Make sure you ventilate the house properly, even if that means running fans, opening windows, etc. Might invest in a good de-humidifier also- that would help loads.

If it's not just on the surface and actually inside the wall, I'd get the hell out of there.

Just my 2-cents.

 

[Blzgak]

I read that pregnant women should not clean up mold period due to the toxic spores.

 

[Mollykins]

I've had a rental home have that problem before. It is NOT surface mold. It turned out that there was a water leak under the foundation of the house and the water/moisture seeped into the walls. We had to move out and let the landlord deal with it.

 

[LaLaBelle]

I'm not sure how the laws work in Texas, but I know that in the city I used to rent in, there was a local health department that dealt in issues like this. Maybe call up your local health department and ask for some guidance on how to proceed?

Here's an example of action that a tenant took when the landlord refused to make appropriate repairs: Landlord Wouldn't Fix Leak For 5 Months I'm not sure what the laws are where you are, but sometimes you can make the repairs yourself and take it out of your rent, or move to a hotel and take that out of your rent as well. Definitely consult with a lawyer about the legality of this, or at least your local Housing Authority.

 

[Blzgak]

Thanks for the advice! I just texted her to push her more for a date after reading more up on the laws. Do you think it would be a good idea to get out of the house while he is doing the repairs to avoid inhaling all of the mold in the air?

 

[LaLaBelle]

Thanks for the advice! I just texted her to push her more for a date after reading more up on the laws. Do you think it would be a good idea to get out of the house while he is doing the repairs to avoid inhaling all of the mold in the air?

I absolutely think that would be a good idea. You may also want to get an air purifier that is rated for dealing with mold, to have running for a few days after the repairs are done.


I found this link, which may be helpful: https://texashelp.tamu.edu/011-disaster-by-stage/recovery/ER-027-Selecting-Mold-Remediation-Contractors.php

The webpage has this at the bottom:

For information about the Texas Mold Assessment and Remediation Rules, contact the Texas Department of State Health Services Indoor Air Quality Branch at 1-800-293-0753 or (512) 834-4509. Dr. Quade Stahl and his staff can provide information about the rules and licensing standards.

I would call that number, and talk to them about the situation. I used to work in a state university department like this one (not for mold) and the people who work there are there to help YOU, and are usually quite friendly and knowledgeable.

 

[Blzgak]

Thank you so very much for all of the information you gave me Lala! I will be calling them now!

 

[Tommee]

I could have wrote this post myself. Whilst I was pregnant with my DS I noticed mold spots in our bedroom and the living room. My DH cleaned it all up I reported it and the agent who works for the landlord told me that she was note it???

Last winter when DS was a few months old and the winter returned it became really bad enough to have to strip the wallpaper from both rooms, again I reported it the agent actually came to the house handed me a 'how to prevent condensation leaflet' and blamed us for using kettles, showers etc. Again DH treated it he used damp seal paint the painted over it.

Yes you guessed it has come back yet again not so much in our bedroom but downstairs in the living room, I left DH to deal with the agent this time I've had enough of it now it's making me ill all the stress and worry. Anyway FINALLY the builders are coming this Monday to replaster the living room back wall were the mold has been, we have damp from secondary flooding that we had here in the UK a few year ago.

Luckily DS and I have been ok but DH had a chesty cough which lasted ages. I'm staying away next week with DS whilst the builders are here just to be on the safe side.

The was lovely when we first moved in about 7 years ago now I hate all the problems we have with it. We should have moved a lot sooner but so many houses got flood damage there was nowhere to move to. Hopefully we won't have to suffer another winter in this house.

 

[jellytot3]

Before we moved I lived in a rented flat with my kids... Every room had mould like this. It drove me potty. The kids were ALWAYS ill and since moving havent been half as bad.
Everytime I cleaned the mould away it would be back in a few days.
There are mould removing products on the market but i never came across one good enough
Hope you get something sorted soon, mould is a pain in the a$$!! x

 

[xolily]

hot water, bleach and a dust mask.

 

[Jollybean]

we've had the same problem. My hubby has just bleached it, and put damp/mould treatment on the walls to stop any moisture coming through.

I cant imagine it being completely harmless to the baby, but when the baby comes we will be keeping the place well ventilated yet warm which in itself is meant to help the problem.
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