Mold, and why I sometimes hate tenants...

Today I received a phone call from one of my tenants..."I've got MOLD under my daughter's bed and in the bathroom. I had to buy 3 dehumidifiers. My rent will be short this month."

Of course, mold is to be taken seriously when it's real. The key word is "real."

We immediately (within 2 hours) went to her unit to discover a small mossy mold under her daughter's bed...reminiscent of a juice spill. Of course, this could never happen. In the bathroom, there was indeed "mildew" behind the toilet, next to the bathtub...with the look of "water splashing." The tenant thinks that since there is mold in the lower unit (it's unoccupied, in the state of demo) that the mold has come UP through the ceiling and into her daughter's room. Well, the ceiling in the room directly below hers was a nice, pristine white.

We are going to take care of the bathroom issue by installing a plastic shield directly up against the tub so that the tenant will not have to worry about splashing...and then cleaning.

On a side note, there were not any "new" dehumidifiers in the unit...Must be still in the car...

AMAZING what tenants come up with when rent is due (and overdue...)