Mold in bathroom carpet (tenant or landlord’s responsibility)

[an]

I’m posting this for a friend. She has a rental and the place has carpet in the bathrooms. The tenant’s son is allergic to mold, which cause asthma attacks. The mold in the carpet is mild mold problem but it’s there due to the tenant getting out of the shower wet and the water gets into the carpet. The tenant have been there for 2 years and only start complaining about it now. It’s easily remedied by hiring a carpet cleaner. However, the question is, who should pay for the cleaning service? This mold is not caused by leaky pipes or anything. So, is it the tenant’s responsibility or the landlord’s?

[Coronita]

oooooooooo…..tough one…
I think this is where I would bite the bullet and pull the carpet out of the bathroom and put in vinyl or something like that….

Regardless of whether the tanant’s son is allergic to mold or not, the fact is carpet in a bathroom, most people are not going to give crap about taking care of it anyway…So it’s gonna be a problem later down the line anyway when/if the tenant moves out…Chances are it’s not just the carpet, but underneath/etc….

I’d bite the bullet, find a cheap contractor to install vinyl flooring…

[Cube]

+1 to what FLU said.

Carpet in the bathroom is a recipe for mold.

[NotCranky]

I’d say it’s the landlords problem based on how bad carpet is for a rental bathroom. My entire rental floor is semi-gloss porcelain tile with dark grout. It’s nice enough looking stuff. It’s almost indestructible. I am very happy with it.

[Reality]

The landlord should clean the carpet or better yet get rid of it.

Carpeting in the bathroom = BAD IDEA.

[Coronita]

to clarify.. Technically, I think this would be tenant responsibility because he/she/they totally messed it up. But then again, you really don’t want the mold to accumulate.. Most tenants don’t give a crap since it’s not their place, so they won’t have an incentive to keep the bathroom carpet dry…

Tenants can be a unreasonable PITA in other cases. In this case, it’s not that you’re trying to accomodate the tenant…You’re protecting yourself from more expensive water/floor damage if carpet stays.

[CA renter]

[quote=Cube]+1 to what FLU said.

Carpet in the bathroom is a recipe for mold.[/quote]

X2

The landlord should get rid of the carpet in the bathroom and install vinyl or tile flooring.

[no_such_reality]

Depends on if your friend is the landlord or tenant.

It is a tenant created problem. The tenant should pay. The reason is simple, it had carpet when the tenant moved in. (As gross as that is) If your friend is the tenant, she should plan on getting it cleaned, however, I suggest them talking to the landlord because…

The landlord should be smart and replace the carpet with tile or vinyl when the tenant moves out or at the first opportunity. If your friend is the landlord, she should replace and be thankful the tenant brought it up before it completely molded and rotted the floor.

[an]

Thanks all. I will relay the unanimous suggestion.

[Essbee]

I have actually seen mushrooms sprouting out of wet carpet. I also vote to get rid of it!

[ocrenter]

[quote=CA renter][quote=Cube]+1 to what FLU said.

Carpet in the bathroom is a recipe for mold.[/quote]

X2

The landlord should get rid of the carpet in the bathroom and install vinyl or tile flooring.[/quote]

x3, carpet in the bathroom makes no sense whatsoever. I suggest a $500 fine and mandatory landlord school.

is this another Mira Mesa specific problem like the infamous lack of interior wall issue we have heard so much about?

[an]

[quote=ocrenter][quote=CA renter][quote=Cube]+1 to what FLU said.

Carpet in the bathroom is a recipe for mold.[/quote]

X2

The landlord should get rid of the carpet in the bathroom and install vinyl or tile flooring.[/quote]

x3, carpet in the bathroom makes no sense whatsoever. I suggest a $500 fine and mandatory landlord school.

is this another Mira Mesa specific problem like the infamous lack of interior wall issue we have heard so much about?[/quote]
nope, this house is in one of your master planned community built after 2000. Afaik, none of the house in Mira Mesa have carpet coming up to the shower. She bought the house with tenant in place, so there was no chance to remove the carpet after purchase.

[TenaciousSD]

Let the landlord know that you have a mold issue in the bathroom. They’ll clean the mold and most likely replace the floor with a low-cost vinyl. Having resolved the issue within a reasonable amount of time, they will thank you for letting them know there was an issue. Everyone has a nice day.

Here’s what I’ve seen happen if the landlord strays from the above. The tenant will claim to suddenly come down with some type of mold related health issue. [fast forward past the details] They will go to the court house where there are lawyers waiting outside claiming to work for free on the tenants behalf. Lawyers will claim that there was some type of habitability issue. The lawyer bills the landlord. The landlord still needs to clean up the mold issue.

[spdrun]

What kind of bad acid were the builder and the tenant on? Yes, it was the tenant’s CHOICE to rent the place with such a stupid misfeature.

[Diego Mamani]

Can someone explain to me where this silly idea of carpet in the bathroom comes from?

I bought a new house in Orange County back in 2001. The builder was Centex, and I was shocked to learn that the “list price” included carpet in the secondary bathroom. Carpet in the bathroom is like lining your fireplace with paper..

[Author]

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