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u/321lemon

r/ToxicMoldExposure r/Mold
Image 1 — Is this mold in the sofa?
Image 2 — Is this mold in the sofa?
Image 3 — Is this mold in the sofa?
Image 4 — Is this mold in the sofa?
Image 5 — Is this mold in the sofa?
Image 6 — Is this mold in the sofa?
Image 7 — Is this mold in the sofa?
Image 8 — Is this mold in the sofa?
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Image 10 — Is this mold in the sofa?
▲ 1 r/Mold

Is this mold in the sofa?

I just moved in into this rental place. It's fresh new, only used for year.

The sofa has a clear footprint on the wall - can that itself be mold? Is there a way to clean it? There is no dust on it, just color in the wall. Can it still be hazardous for me?

Sofa cushions - no idea how to check for mold, nothing is visibly seen on that pattern and inside the cushions it also looks ok.

And then this under the sofa - is it dust or mold? How can I know with more certainty (sadly, no tape lift tests in my country)?

Overall, can this sofa be safely used or should it be thrown out?

I'm sensitive to mold and smells (still recovering from major exposure a while back), and I'm reacting strongly to something in the apartment, but it could be off-gassing from MDF furniture. Unfortunately, there is some sawdust left in the cupboards so it's very hard to differentiate the smells and sources until I deep clean it all. The sofa situation seems to have some unique smell but maybe it's just body odor on the cushions from the previous tenant. I'm very lost and don't know if I need to flee again or I can somehow make it liveable, please help to figure this out.

u/321lemon — 4 hours ago
▲ 1 r/Mold

Is this mold? I'm about to rent this place, need to decide within a day.

Is this mold? How can I know?

This is behind a headboard. The bed was pushed to the wall. The owner mentioned that there was high humidity ("maybe 60%") for a while and then they bought a dehumidifier which I was asked to use when needed. This is in a newly built apartment complex, rented for a few years before me.

On one hand, I don't want to overreact. But I'm just starting to recover after major health issues from mold exposure elsewhere. There are no other obvious issues but with fitted closets and kitchen this was about the only place I could easily check.

I just signed a rental contract for a year here but I could get out of it if I act on this immediately, what do I do?.. What's my risk level here?

u/321lemon — 25 days ago
▲ 4 r/ToxicMoldExposure+1 crossposts

I own an apartment with mold issues. I developed health issues from living there, I moved out, but don't have the capacity to remediate right now. What can I do to prevent further damage to the apartment until I can fix it?

More details:

- New build. External walls are solid, internal - solid or drywall. Air ventilation is through recuperation/HRV - I suspect it's the source of mold, so I keep it turned off. No other air ventilation installed, but I can open windows and kept one slightly open.

- Suspected timeline: mold in HRV unit from the beginning a few years ago (always felt weird when using it, so mostly used windows), then situation got much worse last summer with unusually high humidity outdoors.

- Spotted some humidity damage, some baseboards started peeling off. Found some mold in HRV (small patches in the draining pan), in the mattress (small area under zipper), under baseboards, in one shoebox. I suspect most mold will be hiding behind an integrated sliding door, but haven't had a chance to open up the wall yet.

- Otherwise no visible mold, except small patch in the shower.

- I've also seen at least 2-3 species of small creatures that love humid environments (like booklice) - only 1-2 individuals of each, everyone is hiding well :)

- Strong earthly smell. During dry winter it had no smell but it's back now when room humidity reached 35-40%. Thus looking for solutions urgently.

- I assume that smell is from mold. But it could be from a bacteria or smth. It smells like somebody just replanted my plants (they're still there but watered minimally to survive, so not that, the smell is way too strong for that).

- I haven't done the tests yet as it's hard to find a reliable provider (I'm in Europe). That's partially the reason why I want to keep it as is until I find how I can test it (so that it's easier to know how to heal from the mess).

What can I do to stop the mold from growing or spreading?

Is it enough to keep humidity at 30-35%? If I keep humidity low with a dehumidifier, is it better to keep the apartment air tight or with slight air circulation through windows? But then can I ensure sufficiently low humidity?

Or is the humidity a wrong approach here? What would you do to minimize risks/damage?

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u/321lemon — 2 months ago