Dodging Bullets

I deleted my last post called, "The Commitment". For those of you who read it, you are aware I inspected the rental cottage and satisfied it was clean and safe, signed the one-year lease. I was so thrilled and excited to move into my new place and finally be a resident of a wonderful community. The memory now horrifies me.

So clean. So deceiving.

 

I spent five hours cleaning, scrubbing and sterilizing every surface. As in past moves, this affords me the confidence to know everything is clean and safe. Unfortunately, I kept finding very odd signs of problems. Most I didn't understand, but I kept right on cleaning excited to finally find a home after many months of searching. Nothing a little cleaning won't take care of, right?

My first discovering was the cleaning people who were hired a month before didn't do a very good job. They missed the blinds totally and the filth matched the rug the landlady tried to give me. Really disgusting. But dirt doesn't necessarily mean danger so I kept working.

The next discovery was a little problematic. Under the kitchen counter there was a rubber-coated metal garbage receptacle attachment. It was dirty, caked with food, peeling and rusted. There were bits of old, dried food behind it. (I think the money the landlady paid the cleaners was truly a waste.) The rust was a little odd, but at the time I wondered if spilled liquid left and not cleaned was to blame.

Then as I wiped down the new shelving paper on the bottom surface under the sink, I felt a bump. I peeled it up and underneath found a pile of yellow dust. Hmmm....Did someone repair? Drill? Saw? And leave saw dust? Maybe there was a moisture problem and it was fixed? That would explain the rust. Why did the cleaners cover it with the shelf paper? I removed the shelving paper and cleaned it up looking for evidence of repairs. Couldn't see anything. For a half of a second I considered bugs. Naw! The landlord wouldn't rent a space with an insect infestation.

As I cleaned the floor I kept seeing tiny specks of black dots. Dirt the cleaners missed? Fly poop? (Eeewww.) I knew this space had been used for storage for the last two years so flies would be normal and I knew the cleaners were bad. I kept cleaning.

My lungs were hurting and my sinuses burning so I opted not to stay in the house overnight. It just felt wrong like it needed to be cleaned again. 

This is where I'm embarrassed. Did someone shanghai my instincts? Why am I being so incredibly blind and optimistic?

My lungs, sinuses and head were hurting all night and the next day. The evidence was gnawing at me all day as I packed up more belongs to take to the rental. Finally I got online to search for clues.

"particle board yellow piles of dust"  This is evidence of wood-boring bugs, either carpenter ants, termites or wood-boring beetles and therefore, evidence of water saturation.

"tiny black dots linoleum"  MOLD. FUCKING MOLD. How did I miss evidence of mold before I signed the lease?  It seems these little black dots are the mold growing underneath the tiles and seeping through the porous surface. The mold will also push up the tiles. While cleaning I did come across one tile that was loose and made a note to glue it back down. Another indication of mold is black around the edges of the tiles. I saw this near the front door. It didn't wash away so it seemed hard. I assumed it was remnants of black adhesive, maybe repairs.  I have never seen mold before and only know how to prevent it.

Sunday night I was in a panic. Oh my god! I left my cleaning supplies, some dishes and a MATTRESS in the rental. I envisioned the little mold spores infecting everything. But I didn't know for sure. It was all I could do to sleep and wait for morning.

At five in the morning I drove to my new digs to confirm the signs of mold to prepare to get the hell out regardless of the cost due to the lease agreement. Sure enough, I pulled up the one loose tile and there is dark black mold growing underneath.

Mold growing under tile.

The tiny dots of black on top of the linoleum are not as obvious as the dots underneath. They were much smaller, almost microscopic. I could see them while cleaning because I was on my knees and close to them. Walking around looking at surfaces before I signed the lease, I expected mold to be very visible. There wasn't any on walls or in the corners where I expected it to be.

 

 

Mold seeping out from tile edges.

 

Looking under the kitchen sink, the bugs are back at work and there is new little mound of yellow dust started.

Infestation dust

Before leaving I took photos. I read you should put a dated newspaper in the photo, but I think you are supposed to do that when you move out. I figured it couldn't hurt.

Overflowing water next to foundation outside kitchen.

 

I also took a photo of the overflowing rain barrel outside the house near the kitchen area. Then I packed up all my supplies and my mattress and shivered the feeling of YUCK off me.

I knocked on the door of the landlady at 8:30 a.m. She was still in her nightie. She was surprised to see me and I apologized for getting her out of bed, but it couldn't wait. I told her I couldn't move in to the cottage as the space is contaminated with mold growing under the linoleum. I showed her the piece of tile with mold shadows on the under surface. She didn't look surprised, but she feigned ignorance whining, "I don't know why no one told me." Really? It didn't matter to me whether or not she knew. I continued to inform her about the bug infestation and showed her the shelving paper with dust.

Wood-boring bug dust on underside of shelving paper.

Although her chosen words indicated she was apologetic, her demeanor was not. I think she knew about the mold. How could she not? I repeated I couldn't believe the cleaners didn't tell her as it would have been very apparent to them. She looked uncomfortable. We also discussed the possible problems of the house, the fact it was closed up and used as storage with no heat, the crawlspace height, and the water barrels. She admitted to being the one who installed the linoleum. I told her even if she got an exterminator in the building to get rid of the bugs, I can't be in the same space with those chemicals. And according to online information, she was going to need to rip out all the linoleum and maybe remove the wood floors underneath to make it livable.

She told me she had just deposited my checks so it would be a few days before she could give me a refund. This sounded hopeful. She's not going to hold me to the lease? We'll see. I told her I would really appreciate it.

Then she slipped and said, "I wish I hadn't deleted all those other responses to my ad because now I will have to re-post it and go through the process again of finding another renter."

I just stared at her. "Are you sure you want to rent it out without fixing the problems first? That mold can cause real health damage." She stared at me. I don't think she has any intention of fixing the problems and is hoping to get a tenant to take responsibility for them. I'm torn. If she finds another renter, I'm not liable for the lease and future monthly rent payments, but how do I live with myself for allowing another renter in there? If she doesn't or can't find another renter because she has to fix the problems, I might be liable for twelve months of rent. That's a whole lot of money.

I kindly told her I was really disappointed as I was looking forward to living next to her. She said she was also looking forward to being neighbors and showing me around town. I asked if I could come by to visit if I find another place and she said yes. We said our good-byes and I got the hell out of there.

At home I sterilized everything with hot, soapy water and bleach. The mattress I left out in the sun to heat up. Light kills mold. Not much else I could do with a mattress.

I just dodged a bullet. A deadly bullet. Suppose I had moved out of my house and put everything in this rental? What would I have done if I didn't have my safe haven waiting for me to return? Supposed I had stayed the night? Or continued to ignore the warnings and never did that online research?

This has been a huge learning experience! First, I'm an idiot. Second, I can desperately rationalize anything in hopes of a good outcome. Third, my optimism is bad for my health.

The whole experience is frightening. I'm hoping I don't put myself in the line of fire again. I'm a bit gun shy right now. My house is looking really lovely these days. At least it's not going to kill me.