[peekyboo]

In my living room!

Okay, first, we're in a rental. And over the winter, I pulled my old trunk that was in the corner of the living room out from the corner to do some serious vacuuming. And I noticed little rust spots on the carpeting from the trunk.

I thought to myself "That's weird. No one's spilled anything wet over here."

And then I realized that mosture must have somehow come up through the slab and into the carpet, causing the rusting. I also noticed that wallboard had been replaced an inch abover the baseboard running across the corner.

So I put a thick throw rug down in the corner and put the trunk back (I had considered turning that into the play corner for my dd's, but thought against it after that.)

I discovered this in February, we thought we were going to move, so decided to deal with it for the time being and then forgot about it.

Well, tonight I noticed there was a major musty smell. I'd been smelling musty for a week or so now - first b/c we had a leak in the laundry room and clothes got wet. Then dh spilled half a gallon of vinegar on the floor. So I've been cleaning all that up. But the smell was still there. I thought that maybe the cat had peed in the corner there (he pooped there once after we first got him), and went to investigate.

The whole corner is WET! Well, damp. And now moldy. There's mold on the back of the trunk, inbetween the baseboard and the wall (I peeked), and lord only knows what the carpeting looks like underneath!

Until we can get a hold of the landlord, what can I do? My friend suggested sprinkling baking soda over it to soak up some dampness and smell. I have a Bissel carpet cleaning machine, but it's out in the garage.

Also, what should I use to clean mold off my 100+ year old trunk?

I'm dreading to see if it's on the underneath of the couch.

Help!

 

[julesinottawa]

I don't know a lot about mold but definitely reducing the humidity will help keep it from spreading. You need to really dry everything out and probably invest in dehumidifier (you can sometimes find them second hand for less money). As for getting the mold out...if you can get your trunk outside in the sun that should help but I'm not too sure about the carpet. I think I would want the carpets checked and replaced if they are bad. If you can feel dampness there must be a leak coming from somewhere so you really need to get your landlord to find it. Good luck!

 

[Threefold]

lurking b/c our rental (we just moved in in March and have a year lease to go, *if* we can scrape up the $$ to move at that point) has musty smelling carpets in all the bedrooms. If something fabric sits on the floor for more than 1 day it smells when you pick it up.

Really hoping none of us get sick from this.
I tried borax on the carpets and have been spraying with a tea tree oil solution (tto and h2o), but I have no idea if this is the way to go.