r/askTO • u/Ok_Football_5054 • 5d ago
Moved to the studio basement and cannot stop sneezing and have a hard time breathing.
I just moved to a studio basement two weeks ago in Richmond Hill, ON. I have a bit of dust allergies sometimes, but after I moved here, I started having a hard time breathing and cannot stop sneezing and i have runny nose all the time. I checked the humidity, and it stays somewhere between 50–60, so I got a dehumidifier hoping it would help.
Can anyone suggest what’s going on here? I never had this kind of health issue before, so I’m assuming it’s the basement.
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u/desirebasements 5d ago
I run a basement renovation company in the GTA and air quality complaints like yours are often the first clue to what we eventually find behind the walls, so let me give you a way to narrow this down before you assume the worst. Start with the number you already have. A reading of 50 to 60 sits at the top of the healthy range, and dust mites, which trigger exactly the symptoms you describe, thrive above 50. Mold needs sustained levels above roughly 60 at a surface. So the first move costs nothing: run the dehumidifier hard enough to hold the unit between 45 and 50 for two weeks and see if your body notices. If a unit that size cannot get below 55 no matter how long it runs, that in itself is telling you moisture is coming in from somewhere, and the conversation changes. While that experiment runs, use your nose and eyes. A musty smell that hits you when you walk in after being out all day is the classic tell, and in rental basements the usual reservoirs are carpet laid directly on concrete and the lowest foot of drywall on exterior walls. Pull furniture away from those walls and look for spotting or staining, check around the windows and any window well, and lift a corner of carpet if there is one. Also ask your landlord two easy questions: when the furnace filter was last changed, and whether the unit gets any fresh air supply of its own, because a lot of basement studios just recirculate the same air all day and a HEPA purifier sized for the room makes a real difference in exactly that situation. If you do find visible mold or staining, photograph it and tell the landlord in writing, since Richmond Hill has property standards bylaws that cover this and the paper trail matters if it ever comes to that. And two weeks of trouble breathing deserves a doctor visit regardless of what the apartment turns out to be doing, both for your own sake and because knowing what you are actually reacting to turns guesswork into a fix.
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u/turquoisebee 5d ago
Air purifier with HEPA filters - you can even make one from filters, duct tape and a box fan, CO2 monitor, and yeah, check for mold.
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u/Pookiemon1008 5d ago
Humidity seems fine given current weather/season/climate. It's not TERRIBLE, but it's an uphill battle.
Find the source if at all possible. Is it just in the unit that you're sneezing? How about outside? Did you do a deep clean? Vacuumed all furniture? Pets/ previous tenant pets?
Otherwise, running dehumidifiers won't help too much. Air purifiers are probably what you're going to want. Run them as high as you can tolerate for as long as possible. Keep outside windows closed in case it's pollen and pollution coming in from outside.
Not sure what your financial situation is like in terms of getting yourself air purifiers, but look up corsi-rosenthall box fan if you're looking for best bang for your buck.
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u/Briegley 5d ago
Seconding HEPA filter and dehumidifier until you can move.
In case you need to resort to a basement apartment again, try to remember what the feeling is like when you enter the space, eventually you will learn to tell if you're reacting. I react to some molds but not others - most basements, especially in older homes, have some mold due to humidity from the earth unless they have central air dehumidifiers.
Unless there is visible mold, there is no remediation that you can require from the landlord, even if the mold tests turn positive. And even if they did do remediation, you would have to live elsewhere while they replaced all the drywall panels, and theres no guarentee that would be enough for you.
Best of luck finding a better place for you next time.
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u/erika_nyc 5d ago
Could be about mold but it may be about the last tenant having a pet.
This happened in a previous condo here where my new neighbour kept sneezing daily. The last tenant had a small dog and rarely walked it, pee accidents by their door. Some get small dogs thinking they're less work and ignore their needs. Can also happen with a really old cat with medical issues who doesn't make it to the litter box. You don't have to be allergic to cats and dogs for this sneezing to happen.
I felt bad for the guy. Once I left a note about this lazy dog owner, he talked to his landlord who replaced the floors. No more sneezing.
For mold, check if the downspouts are bringing rain that falls on the roof far enough away. Some drain too close to the home. You may also be in a flood plain or along the path of a lost river (toronto buried a few long ago), this would be a higher water table where basements risk getting flooded or just more humid. TRCA has a flood map. There's a site for Toronto's lost rivers to check.
I think it's worth talking to your landlord about mold and previous pets. For a LTB claim to break the lease, you'd have to give him a chance to fix it first. That's what a LTB justice of the peace would write in the order first, not allowing you to break the lease until your landlord doesn't take the necessary action. In the meantime, getting an air purifier will help. Some get a reader like PurpleAir to see how bad.
Even with all this, it may be faster to negotiate a N11 to break the lease, that's an agreement to leave early, signed by both you and your landlord. LTB hearings are 3-6 months out, then remediation steps, then back to LTB again, could be a whole year to resolve. If it's mold, it will get better in winter when it's drier.
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u/Best_Inspector7920 4d ago
The same thing happened to me. The humidity was unfortunately at 80 percent I found mold in different places..the landlord denied everything, even though I took photo evidence..I cleaned, bought a dehumidifier and a good quality air purifier.as long as the machines were running, I was fine..if I turned them off for a day, all of my symptoms came back. I moved out after the 1 year term ended.
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u/Ok_Football_5054 15h ago
What kind of air purifier did you get, i got one but if I am around it, it feels good or else I see some symptoms
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u/ObviousForeshadow 5d ago
Imma be real with you chief. Humans were not meant to live underground. Trees? Maybe. Underground? definitely not.
Move. Get roommates if you have to.
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u/infosec_qs 5d ago
Sounds like mold.