Mould in East Geelong

I received an email from my PM today - below. Tenant has been in the house 3 years and been great.
House is 1950s, wooden with that funny wall daub stuff. Newly painted inside and outside when she moved in. Now she thinks she is suffering from mould issues. But I really can't think where the mould is coming from. I have had the house since 2008 and no issues.
I'm happy to explore the issue further.

Is anyone aware of mould issues in Geelong on Wood houses?


As per my voicemail message (and phone call), I would like to arrange to get the property inspected for mould. I have been extremely unwell for the past 3-4 weeks with symptoms of mould allergy and i have not been able to stay there for the past week (rash and symptoms have subsided since i have not been there).

When i first moved into the property there was signs of mould on the windows of the bedrooms and in the bathroom that was noticeable which i clean however it comes back.
I'd get hives and itchy skin every now and then now that i think about it but not as severe as it has been lately.

I feel that there may be a much bigger issue as within a couple of hours of being inside i break out in bad hives as well as angiodema which has resulted in a couple of trips to emergency.
As you can imagine i'd like to get this rolling as soon as possible so that i can get to the bottom of this as well as being able to live back in the house that i love so much.

 

I've used mould doctor here in the past and they did a god job of clearing it and can help with diagnosis. I think they do Victoria too.

 

It's VERY important that you get onto this quickly. If it's a good trustworthy tenant and she's genuinely suffering severe health problems, there's a very high risk of legal action if you and your PM don't act quickly and decisively.

That said, and I know this sounds awful, but do keep in mind that it's reasonably common for tenants to blame phantom mould for all sorts of health problems, so make sure it exists before you go to all the expense.

I'd suggest the PM drop out asap to look for visible signs of mould. If there aren't obvious signs of mould right away, get it tested. You should find out around this stage what is causing it- is the house not being properly ventilated, gutters blocked, roof leak, etc. If there's a cause, fix it.

Next step is to get it treated, and make sure you use a professional mould treatment company. All sorts of cleaners will claim they can get rid of it, but they don't do a thorough job and it just comes back.

 

check that the shower isn't leaking. This is a common source.

 

Lived in a house without a damp course. I was forever cleaning up the mould and got seriously sick but unable to take action (in retrospect legal action may have been fair) in a 1980s build. After we left, damp course installed, no more mould.

It needs to be inspected and any problems fixed or could cause further damage to your house. Better to spend a little now than a lot further down the track.

You may be able to declare the tenancy void due to mould and look at fixing the issue and finding another tenant once that's done (reasonable compensation to current tenant).

 

Is retrospectively applying a damp course expensive...what does it entail?

 

Yes, cutting horizontal brick joints with 8" ankle grinder (sic) in 1m sections, fitting section of alcor dpc, repoint brickwork, skip 2 m, rinse & repeat. Come back a few days later and replace the 'missing teeth'. Then the next sections.

There is a Major risk of wall collapse so works should be carried out under engineer's supervision/direction.

 

Holy crap ok I get the point.

 

Quite a bit of expert work (a few thousand for the small unit I was talking about I believe). Still should be cheaper than demolishing or leaving it and having to replace walls. There are some other products out there now that are easier to install according to a quick internet search. How to Deal with Damp | Homebuilding & Renovating

 

Thank you everyone. Your advice was excellent.
Mould test done and there is a small amount on the bathroom ceiling. There is a fan in the bathroom and the window is not kept open. Everything else came back dry with no mould.
A couple of floorboards near the aircon are turning brown but are not wet. A couple of downpipes let the rainwater run onto the lane outside which can fill the backyard with water but there is no mould and as those pipes have been there for years, I can't imagine a problem there/

Tenant has been asked to jack the window in bathroom open a little (there are bars) to let moisture escape. And spray a bit of stop mould on the really small area of mould on the bathroom ceiling.