1

I need a help to decide if I will move out from this building because of mold and health risks. Is it dangerous to live in a buliding in which the hallway is full of mold? I've been reading about mycotoxins flying in the air, but I don't understand if there is a threat to health for me in a nearby apartment (without mold).

Here are the pictures of walls in a hallway of building. There are really lot of mold stains. But to repeat, there are not in my apartment. All of this mold appeared in just two days, during floods in the Balkans.

enter image description here enter image description here enter image description here

bib
  • 33,725
  • 10
  • 66
  • 100
Erzsebet
  • 11
  • 2
  • 1
    If you see that much mold in an interior hallway, it's likely that there's a lot more mold inside walls/ceilings that you can't see. If you're worried about mold, there are home mold test kits that can help you identify the type of mold. (note that some inexpensive kits only test for presence of any mold, then they charge more for laboratory analysis to determine the particular type). – Johnny Oct 03 '14 at 19:03

2 Answers2

1

Most molds are harmless, or are at most an allergen. There are a fairly small number which are toxic to one degree or another.

So a lot of the fear you see is overreaction, or is folks with serious allergies. If you aren't allergic, and don't have reason to suspect that this is one of the nasty ones, it's mostly an eyesore.

The real problem is that, once established, mold can be very hard to get rid of short of ripping out any material it has grown into. A bit of dampness and old spores can bounce right back.

keshlam
  • 28,994
  • 5
  • 48
  • 98
  • Thank you so much for an advice! The thing is that I'm just renting an apartment so it will be easer for me to move out than to try to repair walls. – Erzsebet Jul 04 '14 at 09:42
  • It may be even easier to ignore it and consider it the owner's problem. Or it may not. Up to you. Have you tried pointing it out to the owner and suggesting that they might want to hit the wall with a suitable disinfectant? (Or offer to do so yourself if they'll reimburse?) – keshlam Jul 04 '14 at 14:24
0

I hope you moved out. The mold you are seeing is likely just the tip of the iceberg. Without performing a full analysis, it is impossible to tell the species of mold involved. That said, there are clearly multiple species proliferating in the structure.

There is a very reasonable chance that there is much more mold inside the walls.

Although you may not be able to see mold in your own unit, you cannot know the levels without having an expert perform a full inspection within the walls and in the air. Within an infected building, many units will share the same mycotoxin and spore filled air, even if mold is not easily visible in some of the units.

What you are seeing is indicative of a serious mold infestation, and the healthiest thing to do is to leave right away.

End Anti-Semitic Hate
  • 2,253
  • 8
  • 36
  • 61
  • Mold spores are everywhere. If not on the walls next door, in the soil outside the window, and floating around in the air. There's no need to pack up and leave just for that. – isherwood May 18 '21 at 14:09
  • @isherwood Wrong. Some species of mold spores are endemic to certain areas. Some species are harmless. Some even taste good. But many species, especially in high quantities, are very dangerous to animals and humans and can result in severe short-term and long-term health problems. Spend 4 years of your life studying mycology, and then we can talk more. I don't mean to sound rude, but you clearly have no education in mycology and project the common "bravado" and ignorance that results in people needlessly suffering for years. – End Anti-Semitic Hate May 19 '21 at 00:18
  • @isherwood Pretending that mold can't be very dangerous is like pretending that SARS-CoV2 can't be very dangerous. – End Anti-Semitic Hate May 19 '21 at 00:22