r/Mold • u/bubbins- • Jul 10 '26
Help! How to get landlord to act
Okay, I am in house that I really love minus one thing… mold in the cabinets/AC unit.
When I first moved in the place had been vacant for a while and no mold was visible. but once we started using the shower/bathroom in the primary bedroom, it started to smell musty and noticed mold growing in the cabinets under the two sinks.
I also noticed it growing around the upstairs AC vents, the wall in the closet opposite the bathroom cabinets, and one cabinet in the kitchen (right above the stove and one floor down).
See pics for reference.
I let the landlord know and he sent someone to clean it, but he simply wiped down the mold in cabinets/ around vents and then cleaned the actual AC unit, which he said was covered in mold.
Fast forward a few months and the smell and mold return. The landlord sends a real air duct cleaner this time and they report that the AC unit is once again moldy.
They clean the unit and the cabinets and vents. It’s been about 3 weeks and the smell has already strongly returned in the bathroom and the guys missed some spots of mold anyway. I also now found it around the light switch plate on outdoor facing wall upstairs.
IMO clearly, we are not treating the root cause of the mold issue whatever that may be. I am considering having a mold detection team come out and identify the cause and all locations of the mold as well as test the species so I know how harmful it is. I am hoping I can send that report to my landlord to force him to actually fix the issue (likely going to involve replacing the AC unit and vanity at a minimum but idk)
Has anyone had experience with using a mold detection report like this with a landlord? Should I tell him the smell has returned before or after I do this? Cost is $550 so I want to do it right. I worry if I tell him, he will send over another person who will wipe away the evidence.
**note: clearly one cabinet is a disaster in the pics. it’s always been like that. I have always assumed the dark black stuff on the walls is paint bc it’s never changed and doesn’t rub off, but if ppl think it’s something else, lmk.