Damp floors in new rental house
Hello BPN community,
We just moved into a new rental home and are finding the house very damp. When I wake up in the morning my cloth slippers that have stayed on the floor all night are damp. The walls feel cool and damp as well. There are double paned windows throughout the house and we want to avoid running the heater all winter long for the enviornment and cost.
With the rain the other day the back area of the house which sits directly on the ground (ie no crawl space) developed some damps spots on the carpet.
My question is 2 fold for the main area of the house that has a crawl sapce what can we do to help with damp floors, walls and it getting to cold? In our previous apartment the landlords installed a vapor/moisture barrier in the crawl space. Is this an option? Who would you recommend?
For the carpet area can you recommend anyone that works with insulating and installing non-toxic flooring (as I am assuming some insulation and new flooring will be needed) and who can help figure out where the damp spots are coming from?!
Thanks!
Parent Replies
Oh dear. I once lived in a damp studio apartment on the ground floor of a tall 3-story house and had major issues with mold and mildew - I suspect you know that's a risk and why you're being so proactive w/ remediation - good for you! Before any of that, however, I would get on Amazon immediately and buy one or more dehumidifiers to pull the water out of the air. Something like this: https://a.co/d/dXO2bUO I didn't take action soon enough and had mildew on my clothes in the closet, on the pages of my books, on the walls... you get the picture. Good luck!
This is really concerning and I would highly recommend you contact Five Star Restoration. I have used this company several times over the past 6 years for various water leaks. They specialize in detecting areas of water intrusion. You could be dealing with mold development. fivestarrestoration.com
Oof. Can you move? This may be so bad that it violates the warranty of habitability, and your landlord should certainly reimburse you for the cost of any measures you're taking to remediate it. If you're in Berkeley, try making an appointment with one of the housing counselors at the Berkeley Rent Board.