Mould in Mattress

[flyernzl]

I have a tenant who reported a problem with mould in one bedroom of her flat.

She was quite right - when we invesitgated we found a leak on one side of the aluminium window, which we are working on to repair.

Hoever, she now complains that mould has got into a mattress that was in the room and want me to pay for cleaning the mattress or replace it.

Can this be succefully cleaned, or is replacement the only option?

If cleaning is available, any idea of likely costs?

[drelly]

You can kill the mould but unlikely you'll be able to remove the stain. I paid $80 to have a mattress cleaned.

[PTILoveYou]

Light doze of Exit Mould spray?? haha...

[Meehole]

I would ask her to prove it, that the leak caused the mould.

[LAUREN]

I am pretty sure the reason the mould gets in is your responsibility - eg like you say your fixing the window - and the mould itself is tenant related. She should have been on to the leak sooner... then mould wouldn't have resulted as if i noticed a leak i would put the mattress outside or under a heat pump to dry and therefore no mould would occur... i see it as a tenant related cost although if you do wish to keep her happy you could ask a carpet cleaner to head around. my guys would charge around 150 to clean a mattress here in Nelson and would include sanatize etc.

[Viking]

Here ya go.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/69201421/budget-buster-declaring-war-on-mould-and-moisture

http://curtaincleaners.co.nz/whys-and-all-about-curtains/about-mouldy-rooms-and-mould/

[BigDreamer]

Light doze of Exit Mould spray?? haha...

Haha I'd like to see how the tenant will react to that.

Anyway, I think it is the tenant's responsibility to clean the mattress. However, if you like to keep your tenant happy then get the mattress cleaned.

[flyernzl]

I do feel some reponsibility for the situation - she is a tenant who is good at paying her bills and she did bring the matter to my attention in a timely manner.

Having said that, I have no real desire to buy a brand new mattress for her to replace her old one.

I'd start to get a bit annoyed if this cost me more than about $100

[eri]

a mattress in itself

won't collect moisture from the air above ambient levels

each night it gets there from the body of the person sleeping on it

each day that moisture needs to be carried away by normal air currents within the room

if mold is in the mattress

it's either on the wrong base, so the air can't circulate through the mattress

or the room isn't being ventilated correctly, so there is insufficient difference between the bed air and the room air for the moisture to be carried away

every morning if there is moisture on the inside of the windows

they need to be left open until it is gone

if the latches don't allow that safely

fit the double tongue type from M10 etc. that do

[sidinz]

a mattress in itself

won't collect moisture from the air above ambient levels

each night it gets there from the body of the person sleeping on it

each day that moisture needs to be carried away by normal air currents within the room

if mold is in the mattress

it's either on the wrong base, so the air can't circulate through the mattress

or the room isn't being ventilated correctly, so there is insufficient difference between the bed air and the room air for the moisture to be carried away

every morning if there is moisture on the inside of the windows

they need to be left open until it is gone

if the latches don't allow that safely

fit the double tongue type from M10 etc. that do

But in this case, wouldn't it be the leaky window causing excess moisture in the room air and therefore the insufficient difference between the bed air and the room air?

[eri]

you could have a bucket of water sitting in the room

and it wouldn't prevent the mattress drying out if there was sufficient air flow around the mattress + in the room

you'll have problems drying out the room if there is 90-100% humidity outside

but no one can do anything about that

[ivanp]

but no one can do anything about that

heat pumps can

[eri]

apparently yes

but with conditions that many tenants would find too onerous

Will a Heat Pump dehumidify my home?

Yes, but there are a few tricks to it. A heat pump has heating, cooling and dehumidifying modes. In heating, it does not remove water from the air but because the air is warmer, the house is typically drier. In cooling mode a heat pump is physically removing water from the air and in dehumidifying mode the unit is also removing water from the air but it is not maintaining a set room temperature.

For the water removal to be effective in dehumidifying mode the room air temperature should be above 19 deg C.

So in the cold of winter when damp is at its worst, use your heat pump to get the room warm and then switch it over to dehumidifying mode to dry it out.

[ivanp]

So in the cold of winter when damp is at its worst, use your heat pump to get the room warm and then switch it over to dehumidifying mode to dry it out.

Yes, and that's obvious, isn't it?

[eri]

not as obvious

as opening a window