Black Mould From a Leaking Toilet and Sink

by Eva Valentine
(Nottingham , england )

I moved into my house in November 2008. As I am a single parent to 3 boys it has taken me some time to decorate and furnish each room. Right now I'm working on my bathroom and have just paid someone to decorate and paint, and install a new shower screen and bath panel.

On Thursday of last week I was having a floor fitter out to fit a new linoleum floor for me. When they removed the non slip floor that metropolitan housing/Mears repair agents had installed in May 2011 (when I had a new bath and shower put in), I discovered that they had actually laid a floor on top of a floor!! So when I pulled these both up with my mum who has just been re-diagnosed with breast cancer, I discovered that their was black mould underneath and that my toilet and/or sink must have been leaking since I moved. The toilet and sink were the only things that were not changed when I moved into the property in 2008. So myself and my 3 boys have been living with this getting wetter and growing.

My friend came over and took the skirting boards off as they were sodden and covered with mould on the other side and took my bath panel off so we could figure out where the mould was coming from. The housing company is trying to blame me for getting the bathroom wet!!!

Our Response

Eva,

Sorry to hear about your problems with mold. It sounds like this could be a rather large mold problem since your leak could be several years old. We would recommend you bring in a couple of professional mold remediation companies to inspect your property and determine the extent of the problem. This sounds like something you definitely don't want to handle yourself. Here is more on the mold remediation process.

If the mold was caused by a leak there is a good chance that your entire cleanup cost will be covered by your homeowners insurance. Call your insurance company to find out.

Since mold can cause health issues you need to resolve this as soon as possible. Mold can be very dangerous for all members of your family. If you live in a rental I suggest you also call your local department of health and ask them for advice. You may be able to break your lease and move out if it is a dangerous situation. Depending on the amount of mold present, it may not be safe to stay there.

We recommend you have some professional remediation companies come in before you try to do anything yourself. Your families health could be at stake so you need to proceed cautiously yet quickly.

For more information on black mold and proper removal of black mold, just follow the links.