Apartment smells like Mildew, What to do? (Mildew in carpet?)?

Question

I live on the ground floor of an apartment building. The foundation is a concrete slab. In summer it's humid, and sometimes the kitchen floor actually gets condensation on it. I figure if that's happening on the kitchen floor, it's probably happening under the carpet too.
Yesterday I came home and my apartment stank so badly of mildew it started to make me feel ill. The apartment has always sort of had the smell, but it was just awful.
I let in as much sunshine as possible, and generally try to air the joint out as much as possible, but now winter is fast approaching, and I can't just air it out.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to #1 get rid of the stink, and #2 approach my landlord regarding this.
From what I can tell they must of had some mold troubles in the past cos the lease has all sorts of rules regarding running the fan after you shower (Unfortunately the fan doesn't suck the air outside, it just rotates it), limiting the number of house plants people have, ect

Thanks for the help. I can't really tear up the carpet, as it is a rental unit and I don't want to pe responsible for it. I'm going to try to clean it up a bit and ask my landlord to come over and check it out. Of course I notice it is horrible when my apartment looks like a tornado hit it as I have been out of town for weeks!
BTW: I think the problem is already causing me health problems as I am having horrible headaches and can't sleep!

Does anyone think a dehumidifier would help once the carpet is either replaced or whatever?

Answer 1

Eww, poor thing!

Only things I know: for immediate relief:

Point a fan towards an open door or window & get the bad air OUT.

Kill what you can see with bleach.

Use those DAMP RID granules you can find at Walmart or grocery store in the cleaning department ( around the mothballs usually).

There are LAVA rock packs you can buy to help absorb moisture--you'll probably need MANY packs of them to hang or lay around (don't work well in my experience, but I only have one for my entire basement).

You probably know there's danger when inhaling spores & all that, so be on the lookout for a new place to live if you develop any upper respiratory or coughing, dizziness, headaches, skin rashes, etc. You SHOULD send a registered letter to your landlord just stating the problem--just in case of illness or if you need to break your lease or whatever (keep a copy for your files with the registered receipt to prove he got it).

You may can find a professional who can check things for you by asking a homeowner's insurance agent for a qualified cleaner...these cleaning teams go in & clean after floods & fires & disasters....they have tools (I have a moisture meter that one of them left at my house that can detect minute amounts of moisture just by sticking it's prongs into my carpet or into the baseboards, etc....the faster it beeps, the more moisture there is present! Really cool!). These people know what to look for & how to detect the problem & how bad it is.

Answer 2

Talk to your land landlord and tell him what is going on. You need to get this fixed ASAP because constantly breathing mildew mold is actually bad for your health it's more than just a bad smell. As far as the smell is concerned, I bought this product called DampRid for about $7.99 and it really works. My basement had a slight mildew smell so I hung one on a cabinet knob and now the basement smells so nice and fresh.
The bags have these little blue and white crystals inside them and you hang them on a door knob or where ever and you can actually see the collected moisture from the air form in the bag. When the white crystals dissolve, you put a new one up they last about a month and a half I guess it depends on the mildew you have.
And oh I found the DampRid I have from Walmart in the air freshener or detergent section but I'm sure other stores have it by now.
There are also cleaning companies or services that specilize in cleaning mildew look them up in your phonebook. Hope this helps and good luck!

Answer 3

It seems that your damp apt. might be harboring some mold. Which is very, very dangerous and NOT something to be taken lightly. You need to talk to your landlord ASAP and get out of that apt. ! The carpet needs to be ripped out and NOT replaced.. Try hardwood floors or laminate. Also, the walls could be affected as well as your belongings. I suggest you make a doctor's apt. and get yourself checked out. Have the doctor document your symptoms.. If the landlord won't do anything about your living conditions contact the health dept. and have them to some mold testing.. You might be surprised at what they find.... In the meantime spend as little time as possible in the apt. and keep your windows open and fans running to dry the place out as much as possible.. A dehumidifer would help but, that 's NOT your responsibility.. Good luck

Answer 4

Call the Department of Health locally and have your apartment checked. I do not think there is a charge, but ask just to make sure. If it is a mold problem you are out of your lease and the landlord probably has some financial responsibility toward getting you relocated. Good luck!

Answer 5

Your landlord is legally responsible for providing his or her tenants with a safe place in which to live. You are not living in a safe place right now. You can also call the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) if your landlord will not cooperate with you.

Unfortunately, the mold is probably in the pad under the carpet so the only way to get rid of the current mold is to have the carpet and pad torn out and replaced.

I wish you luck!

Answer 6

you could clean the carpet, but you can also set out several bowls of ammonia or white vinegar and leave them for a day or 2. That will help. Plus charcoal is a good for absorbing odors. these are all pretty cheap ways to at least try to get rid of the scents. Then go get you a nice electric potpourri pot and melt some yankee candle disks. They are awesome, but try to remove most of the odor first, or you will just be masking the smell. Good luck.

Answer 7

I agree with bevrossg. Call the health department. Mold is very bad. I would take a corner of your carpet up and see if you have mold underneath it. It sounds like your apartment complex is built on a wet land.