How To Help Your Tenants When They Discover Mold

12/8/2020 (Permalink)

Mold damage in Franklin, NC

Understand The Signs Of Mold

As a landlord in Franklin, NC, you receive a lot of calls from your tenants about a variety of things. When your tenants call because they think they've discovered mold in the bathroom, they're usually pretty panicked. The good news is that most mold isn't toxic, so there's no need to rush out of the apartment. There are a few tips that you can give them so that they can tell if it's actually mold, and you can handle mold cleanup if it is.

1. Do a Sniff Test
One of the first signs of mold is a musty smell. The smell is not from the mold itself but from the gases that it emits as it grows. Mold grows in humid environments such as poorly ventilated bathrooms.

2. Know What to Look For
While most mold is black or green, it can be a variety of different colors. Mold is usually fuzzy in appearance and loves dark corners and wet places like around your shower head or under the sink. Mildew is a little different. While it is technically early stage mold, it hasn't rooted. Mildew cleanup can be done with detergent, bleach, and elbow grease. Mildew is more powdery and white or black, resembling dust or dirt.

3. Describe the Size
Is the spot your tenant is describing small or is it covering a large portion of the wall or ceiling? The size of the suspected problem will give you a hint as to how extensive the mold contamination might be.

Call for Help
Once you've spoken with your tenant and seen the problem, it ultimately in your and their best interest to call a mold removal and remediation specialist to deal with the problem. Proper mold cleanup can become an extensive process as they check into walls and under flooring. You don't want to be responsible for spreading mold spores by trying to do the work yourself.
Helping your tenants to understand the signs of mold will help you to determine the extent of mold cleanup that needs to happen.