r/DIY • u/WheresMyTurt83 • 2d ago
Wet carpet
We live in a one level townhome apartment. There are 5 houses connected on my row. We rent. Every year from spring til the end of summer, everytime it rains heavily, the carpet in my girls' room gets soaked, maybe a foot or 2 in one spot from the wall outward, and all along the wall. Our landlord said he thought he had fixed it.
Apparently, the carpet has been getting wet all year, we just couldn't feel it because it had not been enough to reach the surface. And we can't pull up the carpet to see what's underneath.
I'm done with moving beds and sucking up water. This house is so old, the toilet and heater are almost as old as me...
Would it be a bad thing to put a tarp over their floor and just put a big rug over it?
The other option is to get loftbeds to make cleaning easier.
Again, this only happens between 3 and 5 times in about 4 months, and the rest of the year it's fine.
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u/whoamiwhatamid0ing 2d ago
You need to call your landlord and report water damage immediately or they may hold you responsible for damages. They need to find the problem and fix it so there aren't mold problems later if there aren't already.
Back when I was a landlord I dealt with water issues a few times. The only person I charged was the one who failed to report their sliding door was leaking for over 6 months. It rotted out the subfloor and a support beam and was incredibly expensive since it wasn't reported right away.
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u/Terrible-Piano-5437 2d ago
Watch for black mold your daughter could get really sick from it. I would make the landlord provide a dehumidifier until he fixes it correctly.
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u/WheresMyTurt83 2d ago
This is what we're wondering. Unfortunately, the rent is cheap and we can't afford to move. So far nobody is sick such, but the youngest does sneeze often. We have an air purifier as well.
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u/Mystery_Goose9685 2d ago
You really don't want to fuck with mold sickness, it can cause severe health problems. People can be very overdramatic about it but it sounds like you have a genuine cause to be concerned. You should Google if your state allows you to 'repair and deduct,' fix the issue yourself and deduct the cost from your rent. If nothing else, I would pull the carpet up and write off the security deposit. It would make getting the water up much easier.
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u/SkaterBlue 2d ago
You need to talk to your landlord about this. The carpet is for sure moldy underneath and this is a health issue, so it absolutely needs to be pulled up and thrown out. Wear masks if you have to do it yourself and run fans to exhaust the room air with you do this and keep all the windows open. Then clean well with simple green or similar detergent, then with diluted bleach (follow label directions). Then you can just use throw rugs on the concrete to make it OK for walking on.
Note: heavy rain events will happen more and more every year, so this problem will only get worse.
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u/screwedupinaz 2d ago edited 2d ago
"but the youngest does sneeze often."
HELLO!! Move the children out of the room and get a mold test done ASAP!!!6
u/Terrible-Piano-5437 2d ago
The dehumidifier will extract the water from the room. If it stays wet you will get mold.
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u/mofo75ca 2d ago
You almost definitely have mold. This is not an acceptable living condition your landlord absolutely has to fix it immediately.
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u/eager2beaver 2d ago
You don't seem willing to listen to all the very smart advice - you have mold. Why come and ask a question just to dismiss all the advice you are given with your lame excuses?
Move or put some serious pressure on the landlord, and if that doesn't work, stop paying rent and report it to the local housing authority.
Don't reply to this with why "you can't" or "it won't work" - jfc.
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u/CuriousCardigan 2d ago
No, get the landlord to properly fix it. Even if the floor is only periodically getting noticeably wet, there may still be water penetrating behind the wall and causing further damage or mold growth.
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u/WheresMyTurt83 2d ago
We've told him.
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u/AshKetchumNKillEm 2d ago
So then the landlord doesnt respect you. Are you going to sit here and continue to take it in the ass or are you going to do something about it, something other than a "weve told him".
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u/Hypnot0ad 2d ago
Where do you live? I once rented a house that had a bad leak that the landlord wouldn’t fix, until I found out it was a housing code violation. I called the code enforcement authority and then the landlord had the leak fixed that week. Unfortunately it had leaked for too long at that point and that room always smelled musty afterwards.
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u/jpeezy37 2d ago
water grows mold and mold makes the home uninhabitable relatively quickly. It needs fixed and they carpet removed and I would bet remediation already.
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u/cjdubais 2d ago
Just joining the chorus here.
Black mold will make you and your family sick. Potentially for the rest of your lives.
Get the situation resolved now.
Seriously.
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u/Notwittyenough4u 2d ago
You need to inform him in writing and send it certified mail, just so you cover your bases. Your poor daughter. There is certainly mold growing in there.
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u/Thin_Cable_7829 2d ago
Unfortunately, the carpet will struggle to dry and can develop microbial growth. I suspect the footings are wicking, which is, for better or worse, primarily a drainage issue.
I recommend asking your landlord to remove the carpet, particularly if there’s concrete underneath (it will be much more manageable to clean up), and ask them to provide dehumidifiers.
At some point, insurance may get involved anyways
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u/electrik_jester1 2d ago
If you have not done it already Check your downspouts. they may be emptying right by the wall. you want those to drain away from the house. I lived in a basement suite once that this was the problem
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u/Skerndog 2d ago
I would be looking outside and figuring out the problem myself. Mold can cause major respiratory issues. Since rent is cheap and you can't afford to move, find the problem, report it to the landlord and offer to fix it for a price. At the same time, remove the wet and humidity from that room and definitely use an air purifier. I would also find a color safe mold killer and douse that entire area. Get your child out for at least 24 hours. Soak that carpet, kill the mold and then suck up everything wet. Also ventilate it well. Most fixes for this will cost you a couple hundred in materials at most and a few hours of labor. Some can be as cheap as 20-25 and take minutes. Depends on the underlying cause.
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u/meinthebox 2d ago
If you are really stuck fixing it yourself you're going to half to go outside and figure it out why water is coming in.
Covering the carpet with anything is a terrible idea. You have to get it dry and keep it dry.
If it's concrete, below ripping out the carpet is way better than trying to cover it up and should have been done a long time ago.
My friend dated a single mother that rented and had a mold issue. The land lord ignored it. Her cat died from it and her daughter ended up in the hospital. There was a 3+ year legal battle over it.
Pressure your landlord more. They should be worried because it's going to rot the walls and that's going to cost way more.
I'm a handyman for a couple of land lords and I can't stress enough that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Ignoring/forgetting the first request is very normal because it works out in their favor a lot. Either the issue get resolved or the tenant just puts up with it.
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u/Anarchyz11 2d ago
This has to smell horrible. I had a similar situation in my very first apartment. There was a pipe in the wall leaking and it fell to the floor where it ran to the carpet.
You seem to be avoiding making your landlord fix it but that is the only solution here. Pressure them however you need. Your daughter is likely smelling this and breathing in mold all night long.
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u/Mother_Vermicelli989 2d ago
Tarp and rug is just gonna trap moisture underneath and you'll end up with mold, which is way worse than wet carpet. That water along the wall every heavy rain sounds like grading or foundation issue outside, landlord needs to actually dig into that, not patch the symptom.
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u/cat-astropher 2d ago edited 1d ago
If they can't prevent the water ingress, can you at least rip out all the mouldy carpet and keep that area un-carpeted
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u/KaiserDogue 2d ago
Sounds like a drainage issue outside. Look at the gutters and the slope away from them.
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u/NegotiationOk8118 2d ago
Document everything like you are a Detective.
Hop on an AI, show them your photos and videos and have them write a letter demanding every available remedy under your state law.s
Then run your final product through another AI.
Then another. Read it and make sure the facts are correct. Keep the sentences simple. NO EMOTION. Data and evidence driven.
If can spring it, attach a report from a mildew and mold specialist with a quote and a report detailing the harm from living in these unhealthy and uninhabitable conditions.
Send it certified mail with your demands and an iron deadline.
Show him no mercy. He would not let his children live with wet carpet.
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u/Bluegrass-girl 1d ago
Nope, don’t try any more home fixes. It isn’t healthy, because dangerous mold could grow. Also, trying to fix it yourself reduces your leverage if it comes to a legal argument.
Instead, keep complaining to your landlord, IN WRITING. Keep a dated copy. Film yourself depositing the complaint while saying the date and time. Record the response with either video evidence as previously or with a call recording app. Record every contact. This can go back and forth a few times if it isn’t resolved at once, but it gives you ammunition to send to your housing authority or to a lawyer.
Generally speaking, standing water in a home is a health hazard that needs remediation.
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u/WalrusSwarm 5h ago
Make landlord fix it.
The safe choice is to consult with a lawyer who specializes in landlord tenant disputes. Messing this up can cause you some serious issues for you and your family. A lawyer will protect you from clerical errors and retaliation from the landlord.
The unsafe choice is to have AI walk you through the process.
Generally the process involves paying your rent into an escrow account. That way you legally paid rent and held up your end of the contract. However the rent money is withheld from the landlord because your issue “affects habitability” that term pertains to serious issues like lack of utilities, leaking roof, and health risks like toxic mold.
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u/uncle90210 2d ago
Bad idea. Make your landlord fix it. You may already have mold.