Don’t Shoot Yourself in the Foot!
In performing a recent inspection, a tenant had complained to their landlord about being affected by possible mold. The wife has a difficult medical condition which affects her significantly and performed an at home ‘mold test’ showing positive results for mold. As a result, the landlord scheduled the inspection.
The inspection was performed it was found that a potted plant was in the master bedroom which had a designed hole in the bottom of the ceramic type of pot with the plant also being in a plastic container it was sold in inside the pot. You likely can see where this is going.
It was found that much of the carpet had a high degree of moisture for a majority of the bedroom which apparently came from this potted plant. Because there was not a ‘tray’ to catch any excess water when the plant was watered this did, in fact, get the carpet wet over several months. For some reason the tenants did not notice this.
When this happens bacteria starts to grow in the now wet areas in 3 to 5 days and more acutely by the end of the first week which becomes more dangerous bacteria that is in the same category that comes out of your toilet. The industry refers to this type of water as ‘Category 3 or black water’. Mold starts growing within 24 to 48 hours when a water/moisture source is present. So, without realizing it the couple had created this potentially dire Health Hazard and wanting to blame the landlord for what was affecting the wife.
So please be careful when setting up indoor plants so as not to create or allow wetness to develop outside the pots of the plants.
Steve Mullins (i.e. mold detector)
CMC (Certified Microbial Consultant) #2008028
Moisture and Mold Detection, Inc.