Its mold news

So our condo has mold, well not our unit but our neighbor’s, but since they share a wall with us we now have it too. They had an undetected leak for some time. We smelt the moldy smell awhile ago, but it has since grown stronger. It was our questions that even alerted them to the problem to begin with—a leaky pipe in their bathroom vanity unit, which is aligned with ours. The vanity we just put a new granite countertop on. Anyway, the leak was so bad on their side that their wooden cabinets were corroded. They used our carpenter to repair their set and figured that was that, however as I mentioned the smell got worse on our side. So bad that poor Raphael has been getting the brut of it by sniffling, coughing severely and has even had to sleep out on the couch to escape the fumes. Apparently, if you are allergic to mold it affects you more and we just discovered that he must be, since it doesn’t really bother me, I just wake up a bit congested. I can definitely smell it though.

We had the carpenter open a hole in the wall from our side and discovered mold all over the sheetrock, thus their leak had spread to the walls. We sprayed some bleach to kill it but now he has to repair the sheetrock from their side and hopefully that does the trick! Our neighbors though aren’t well off, in fact, the husband is mentally handicapped, so it’s really an unfortunate situation and it also sucks that we’re suffering from a leak that we didn’t even cause. In the meantime, we have the windows open and a fan on at all times blowing the mold spores out. Yeah, so that’s what I’ve been dealing with the last few days. Who knew mold could be so problematic?

We’ll be away next week, I’m going to be working from the NY office and covering the Tribeca Film Festival again as press (did so back in 2006 too), so hopefully all the mold airs out while we are gone. Stay tuned to my blog for Tribeca coverage next week and I’ll be having another exciting giveaway this time for a Flip camcorder!

13 comments

  1. Wow, interesting information on that mold problem. How awful.
    Look forward to your Tribecca stories.
    April

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  2. Be very, very careful of the mold, especially if it is black mold. Our old house had a constant black mold problem and, after doing some research, it turns out that it's highly toxic and can cause all sorts of respiratory problems both temporary and long-term. Essentially, it releases some severe toxins into the air and can poison you slowly over time. I can't tell you how much our lungs and heads have cleared up since moving to our new (mold-free) house.

    They recommend that if it's any extent at all that you have a certified professional check it out. I'm not the sort to have someone "professional" check out stuff in my home (because I'm a DIYer through and through) but when it comes to that one, I can believe it. Thankfully we could move out before it was a big issue (we were planning the move anyway, so in the meantime we sprayed a LOT of bleach and kept the fans on).

    Good luck!

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  3. mold...that sucks. Like Tarsi210 suggested make sure a pro weighs in on the mold. I know two people now that are suing over black mold. One is suing their home builder (for a slew of problems including mold) and the other their landlord for a leak that went haywire. I believe an actual professional needs to come in to clean things up.

    Good luck with everything and have fun in Tribeca

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  4. Oh man that's so gross! Hope you guys stay healthy and mold free. Have fun at Tribeca!

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  5. Yes-MOLD is a serious concern.Most molds produce mycotoxins that can cause many symptoms- arthritis, cancer, tremors, sinus infections, respiratory illness, digestive problems, rashes, skin burns, SIDS..just to name a few
    I am a mycotoxin survivor, our book IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD-tells our family MOLD story. Please see our site www.moldmadness.com

    Simply SHaron ~ the mold lady

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  6. I hope the mold problem gets done for. That is the last thing you need. I am going to be looking forward to your Tribeca posts. Take care and be safe!

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  7. me. want. flip camcorder.

    that is all. :-)

    (oh, and ewwwwww...that really sucks about the mold. :-( )

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  8. Those little tiny creatures that invade the comfort of our homes, and the serenity of our sleep...
    It is a serious problem, and the worst thing about it is that you can never notice it until it is a BIG problem!!
    I know what you mean when you say allergic to mold,,, Because I am I can cough it a mile away!!

    Very nice descriptive manner.. I like your writings.

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  9. We reciently had two room plastered in the middle of winter. Here in Spain the walls are brick and the whole thing is cover with plaster (about 1cm thick).

    The problem is, so much water is used and it was in winter... the walls just never dried and everything was covered in mold.

    Yogurt anyone?

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  10. You have to get it professionally removed! Mold will just grow back if it's not taken care of correctly. I used to manage buildings. Don't DIY with this stuff. You need a pro!

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  11. oh, i understand now.
    Is this ("mold") some alergic or sickness? Probably is something like that.

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  12. Oh no i see now. You mean "mould", i see this word on my dictionary but there it is not "mold" but it is mould. I am not Enlish speaker person. I get it now.

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