[Colin Day]

I went to price this job up today. Really damp house with moldy thread bare carpets that the landlord is demanding the tennant has professionally cleaned.

Will M-Power sort this out or am I going to have to go in with harder chems? Also, does mold this bad pose a health risk and should I be wearing the correct PPE....?

[Colin Day]

More yummy pictures....

[neil 47]

Colin

 I sprayed some of this on carpets and agitated similar to that and they came up great.


Neil

[lesterM]

That looks more like wet rot coming through from the wood underneath. Always best wear protection.

[robert meldrum]

Think there's a fair bit of rot in there which might NOT be " cleanable " used to be an excellent product from Bio Productions which gave me some unexpectedly good results on this type of problem.

Part of Stapro ............

[Colin Day]

Colin

 I sprayed some of this on carpets and agitated similar to that and they came up great.


Neil

I've got some of that as well....

You're right LesterM, It'll be a face mask and disposable overalls this Thursday.....

[peter maybury]

you would be better to treat the area with a product such as mill-kill to try to inhibit its return. The colour change is often discolouration rather than staining so cannot always be reversed.

Peter
www.carpetcleanersnewport.co.uk

[jasonl]

you would be better to treat the area with a product such as mill-kill to try to inhibit its return. The colour change is often discolouration rather than staining so cannot always be reversed.

Peter
www.carpetcleanersnewport.co.uk

Just to expand on this, what you applied will remove the staining well, and quell the odour. Aproduct such as mil-kill/milgo  will actually kill the cause of the mould or mildew, though looking at the picture there seems to be a deeper, more serious cause of the mould, which is not really a carpet issue.

[Mr Dvae]

looks like a health and safety job to me , i think we should start running chemical courses and 'How to' days to inform people of what to and how to solve problems.
shame suppliers charge such hefty money to learn the industry courses.

[Paul Redden Countryfresh]

A disclaimer stating you are not responsible for damage should the pile fly out on cleaning 

[cml]

Hi,

You may want to lift a corner of the carpet to see if the problem extends down to the floor boards and if so after cleaning you might want to recommend that the landlord get those boards checked to ensure there is not any form of raising damp occuring which would be a bigger problem than just cleaning the carpets.  Otherwise this problem will keep comming back.

Good luck

[from edge2edge]

Morning Colin I assume you have told the tenant to have more than a word about the mold as it isnt acceptable to not deal with such an obvious problem.I am sure you will do everything possible to clean/sanitize these carpets but to me its a throw away job as the Landlord surely is taking the P.Best of luck anyway mate and hope things are going well for you in sunny Cornwall.Regards Alan(swindon)

[adimarsh]

Sorry to disagree guy's. I wouldn't touch it. You may well remove the mildew etc but there is, as previously suggested, an underlying problem (see mould on the walls). I would advise the landlord to pull all the carpets up and inspect underneath. Temporary removal will not win any respect. If a trades person came to your home and just covered-up a problem instead of curing it would you use them again? Sometimes not doing the job is the better option.

[adimarsh]

Just an afterthought. My neice, whilst living in student digs, actually sued a landlord some years ago for not sorting a damp problem in the house. She suffers from Asthma and this sort of mould/mildew is a health risk. Perhaps the landlord should be made aware of this.

[The Great One]

Hi

There is actually The Landlords Act of 1995

A Landlord must ensure the property is airtight and watertight otherwise they are breaking the law

Regards

Martin

[Paul Heath]

Intersting one Colin...looks like you would be better to use your cooker cleaning chemicals  Seriously i would make it clear from the start you might get rid of the mold, but the carpet might be perminatly damaged. I would say they want a dehumidifier running in the property. Best of luck with it, be good to see how you get on.

[clinton]

Colin maybe you will have to replace the underlay as well..

[craigp]

Hello, Some good advice above,

I recently went on an IICRC that covered mold, I would say the carpet should be thrown, the building needs drying, looks like a serious lack of ventilation.

Yes it can pose a health risk, its scares me that a family could move in here unaware, if they have ashma or allergies its really bad for them!

Really an expert is needed to advise. Tell them to get chemdry in because they know all about this and have the equipment and no how to deal with it. 

looks to me as though it needs cleaning, drying and fogging with a antimicrobal, ppe should be worn. conditions need to be looked at so it does not revert back to this state.

PS. If it were me I would walk away and tell them they need an expert, and suggest they call chemdry or simular flood damage company.

[Neil Williams]

Must admit I would walk from this.
I can't believe the previous tenants put up with living in such conditions but this looks like it has been going on for some time.
I can't see the point in doing the job. Even if you do some how manage to get it clean, the amount of moisture in the air as it dries is just going to make it re-appear soon again. Oh and if you are still going to do it, make sure the machine stays outside because you don't want all that blown back into the house.

[Colin Day]

I've decided NOT to go ahead with this job. The tennants landlord seems adamant that she gets it cleaned and has made her life hell apparently. I will quote some of the comments made on here.... Thanks again, you may just have saved my health!

[jasonl]

I definately would not walk , I would sanitize, clean and write a short report stating that the situation is serious and needs remedial works carrying out,and that I have only carried out emergency measures.
I would charge about £100 for thiat.

[Colin Day]

I see what you're saying Jason. But the way I am seeing it is the landlord's aware of the situation.... He wants it all cleaned to mask a severe problem so some other poor unsuspecting family move in.... If a child ended up seriously ill or worse, I don't think I could live with that....

[cml]

Hi in situations like this where there is severe condensation there could be one of two things.

1. Neglect by the tenant for having too much furniture and stuff in the room, overheating the property and not letting air into the rooms by opening windows or doors or

2. Landlord neglect - a property that suffers generally from damp and condensation who may have had it temporarily covered up by some antifungal wash or stain blocker only for it to surface again at some later date, unforturnatley for this tenant.

Condensation is a H&S problem and can cause serious illness as stated. Landlords  thas been sued time and time again for this type of problem and will try and get away with it where they can.  Under L&T Act he has a duty to ensure that that the propery is safe where a problem arises i.e adequate DPC applied to walls etc.   If this is the case the landlord can shout from the roof tops because no court will allow a landlords legal repairing obligation to be passed to the tenant.  The only way this could be done is if the tenant fixes the problem and off sets this with their rent.

Therefore unless you are sure it is just mould to carpet, I agree that you leave it and report your findings

[neil 47]

Colin

Colin
If you feel uneasy about doing this, listen to what your conscience is telling you.

If ever i have any doubts  I always leave it



Neil   

Ps looks like trouble


Neil   

[Phillip Mold]

This problem really is nothing to do with me, I wish people would use the English spelling of Mould !!

[Joe H]

 

[jasonl]

The seriousness of this is the very reason that I would not leave or walk away from this ,, so long as you qualify the position and make clear that this is a temporary "sticking plaster" rather than a full solution you are doing a great service to the customer. Otherwise you are leaving them in a home  , which you know is unhealthy.

[Colin Day]

This problem really is nothing to do with me, I wish people would use the English spelling of Mould !!

I googled it to make sure I'd spell it right Sorry if I've got you in any bother Mr Mould

[Colin Day]

The seriousness of this is the very reason that I would not leave or walk away from this ,, so long as you qualify the position and make clear that this is a temporary "sticking plaster" rather than a full solution you are doing a great service to the customer. Otherwise you are leaving them in a home  , which you know is unhealthy.

They've moved out Jason and I've walked anyway.

[expro]

Colin,

In no way can this be described as a cleaning job.

It is a rip up and throw away job.

[jasonl]

For future reference , I have been involved with jobs like this that have been VERY lucrative , like 50grand lucrative, Mould can be worse than asbestos, in that when asbestos is gone it is gone.

Mould , if not properly treated can and will return. It  is well worth either learning to or partnering with somebody who is into this kind of work , often  the carpet cleaner is the first port of call and can refer and make a commission.

[Colin Day]

For future reference , I have been involved with jobs like this that have been VERY lucrative , like 50grand lucrative, Mould can be worse than asbestos, in that when asbestos is gone it is gone.

Mould , if not properly treated can and will return. It  is well worth either learning to or partnering with somebody who is into this kind of work , often  the carpet cleaner is the first port of call and can refer and make a commission.

Thanks very much for the advice and I'll certainly take on board what you've said. I never thought of it from that angle Jason.... In fact, I've got connections in the building trade.... Mmmmmm!

[murky]

I think the tennant has a good case to go to Rent tribunal for a refund on her rent. That mould is a building prob and looks like bad ventilation.

We have  a flat we rent out, tennants managed to lock themselves into the kitchen, so they found the tool kit in there and bashed their way out!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We replaced the door and took the costs off their deposit, they fought it and went to tribunal.

Judge said we should have tried all locks to see that they worked (they have for the last 5 years) and took the cost of the hinges and the paint off the final bill because the old hinges could be used again and we didnt need to paint it

Oh and its a ground floor flat, so could have jumped out the window and let himself in. I know, dont ask.

My point is that the judge will almost probably fall on the side of the tennant.

[lesterM]

I am glad you walked.     Its all a matter of self image.  I like to think I am a cleaner.   Once upon a time I was a remedial builder.  Taking off one hat and putting on the other   adds a 0 at the end of the bill.   

[Andrew Briscoe]

Had my niece working for me today, she lives in a rented house, it has a mould/damp problem, other day she had an asthma attack, which was first in a long time.

She regularly airs the rooms, she reported it to her landlady, who sent her a text back, saying " give me plenty of notice before you send keys back" 

told her to take photos, see her doctor, and pay citizens advice a visit, will tell her to get in touch with rent tribunal.

Andrew

[Joe H]

Be interesting to hear how that develops Andrew, keep in touch.
Not very sympathetic view from the landlady knowing how serious asthma attacks can be. (paid enough visits to hospital when my son suffered badly with it in his teens).

[Colin Day]

I think that landlady just might regret sending that text, I'd be straight to the news papers to name and shame her

[John Kelly]

Thanks very much for the advice and I'll certainly take on board what you've said. I never thought of it from that angle Jason.... In fact, I've got connections in the building trade.... Mmmmmm!

Colin, most builders wouldn't know what to do about these situations if it was growing out their ears. And that goes for a lot of Chartered surveyors as well.
Like Jason we do this work in a seperate business. Its a big problem especially in double glazed properties where the moisture created by cooking, washing, drying clothes, even breathing, can't escape and ends up condensing in the fabric of the building. It is very serious. Every square centimetre of visible mould (the visible part is only the fruiting body and a small part of the actual fungus) can give off up to 200, 000 fungal spores. These can cause long term lung and even brain damage.
By the way that one looks more like a penetrating damp issue. Anyone with similar problems contact a surveyor from here: http://www.isse.org.uk/ they should be able to help or advise you.

[Colin Day]

I didn't persue it any further, too busy I'm glad to say

This house was single glazed with inadequate heating....