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I had a pipe break in my wall. Since I rent an apartment in Southern California I had to beg my landlord to take this seriously and get it fixed. She took several weeks to address the problem and stop the leak.

For at least 3 weeks we had a hot water leak. The water appeared to have been soaking into the foundation since we didn't see any visible water leaking out of the walls.

I have major allergies and a compromised immune system so my biggest concern was potential mold growth. Initially the plumber told me that I should move all of my clothes out of the closet (where the leak was) because he said he could smell mold. I mentioned this to my landlord and said that I wanted proper mold remediation done and she flipped out saying that the plumber didn't say anything about mold to her. The next time I saw the plumber he had clearly been reprimanded by her and walked back his statement and insisted that there couldn't be any mold. He said that we don't get mold in Southern California, knowing that I just moved here from far north.

So basically he went and cut a hole in the wall, fixed the pipe, and before I could get a look at the area he dumped bleach all over the area. He claimed that he did that "just to be safe" but I feel like he did it to bleach the mold that my landlord was too cheap to have removed. Now that the bleach smell is gone (which took several days) that area still smells musty.

Is there anything I can do? I'm worried that staying here is going to make my illness worse but I also just moved and still have almost a year left on my lease. Or am I just being worried about nothing and it's true that homes in Southern California don't really get mold?

There is still a big hole in the wall that doesn't get patched up until this weekend. Is there something better than bleach that I can spray in there to prevent mold growth? Or should I just leave it alone?

Katie-Kat
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    Bleach is a good mold killer, near the top of recommended ones to use plus fans to dry the area. Your local health department will probably be interested and have more say over your landlord, but that could increase fiction with your landlord. – crip659 Nov 22 '23 at 19:40
  • If you want proof that mold exists, search for local mold remediation companies. (Hint: they exist for a reason.) Having said that, if it was only 3 weeks of leaking, it might not be too bad, and the bleach would have helped. – Aloysius Defenestrate Nov 22 '23 at 20:36
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    mold remediation companies are like used car salesmen. if you want to be sold something call one. you can do an indoor air quality test and compare it with a baseline outdoor air quality test as mold is everywhere (soil, walls, trees, leaves, etc). compromised immune system is one time where you should take your IAQ more seriously but then really your first step should be investing in air purifying devices to maintain a high level of air quality independent of outside air quality. if you can't see the mold your time would probably be better spent researching an air purifying device. – Fresh Codemonger Nov 22 '23 at 22:35
  • The problem with bleach is that it's mostly water. Once the reactive part is gone, the water remains. Fans to dry out the bleach are therefore still important. The wall shouldn't be closed again until moisture readings indicate that the area is below some threshold moisture content. I have no idea what that number is. If there's no continuing moisture source, then there shouldn't be an issue. Your health condition makes me uncomfortable saying that, though. – popham Nov 22 '23 at 23:00

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