Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Drew345]

I just saw a great apartment for sell. I am looking to buy in Seoul. The apartment was on top floor (7), 3 nice bedrooms, full verandas, and view out the front and back. The big problem was that the place smelled like mold (bad renters before and empty now). Has anyone ever done mold removal and gotten rid of a moldy smell here in Korea? Or is mold impossible to kill once it gets into the woodwork?
I had mold in a house in California and before I rented it out the California law states that mold must be removed by a "licensed mold removal company". Cost was about 2 grand. Has anyone ever used a "mold removal company" here in Korea?
Thanks,
Drew

[princess]

The apartments in Seoul are a joke! I like Seoul, but there is no way I will live the rest of my life in disgusting apartments. In my 5 years in Korea, I have yet to see an apartment that didn't have some kind of nasty problem, whether it be mold, or yello crap caked on the walls behind the gas burners, etc. Most apartments have had many people live in them before us, and I think they just didn't believe in cleaning. Yuck! On my day off today, I just moved my bed away from the wall, to find disgusting black mold all over the wall behind my bed. There was brwon dusty mold all behind my bed's headboard. I sprayed mold cleaner on the walls and scrubbed with a sponge, and the wallpaper started coming off. I put on rubber gloves and stripped away a bunch of the wallpaper and threw it out. Yuck! I'm still not totally finished. Many of these apartments were built like dungeons, with no way for air to get in. Small windows, too. Not to mention, wallpapering concrete. Like I've said before, the world's best architects were not born in Korea. I wouldn't let these idiots build a doghouse for a dog. They have no right to build apartments. Disgusting concrete and wallpaper!!!!!!!!!

[twg]

I dont know about mold removal companies, but I found that attacking with bleach (wear a mask) and then leaving the windows open / airconditioner going, clears things out pretty good.

But once the stink gets in, the best you can hope for is to minimize it.

[Vicissitude]

Beware of moldy apartments! I got extremely sick from this and to the point where I had to go to the emergency room because I couldn't breath from the serious infection and congestion throughout my lungs and throat. It was so bad that I found myself throwing up from coughing uncontrollably. I had to be rushed into the emergency room for chest x-rays because I could have had broken ribs. They ended up just being seriously bruised from all the coughing and throwing up that I was doing all day and night long for weeks on end. My apartment was only a year old and this mold spread extremely fast. So to hell with people who think it's a good idea to wall-paper concrete in apartments.

[Drew345]

Thanks for the tips, recommendations.
I went looking at many apartments. One was two years old and smelled moldy. Another was BRAND NEW and smelled moldy. In both cases the moldy apartments were on the top floor; one of a 7 floor building, and the other in a 12 story building. Both seemed to have water coming in through the walls and ceiling. Two Koreans told me that Koreans don't like the top floor of a building (Funny the way an entire race of people can have such uniform likes and dislikes) because of the heat in the summer. I think another reason is because of the mold on the top floors. So maybe you can get a good deal on a penthouse apartment, cause Koreans don't like them; but it might be hot, wet and moldy.
I ended up choosing an apartment on the 10th floor of a 12 story building. Just right I hope. No moldy smell.
Thanks,
Drew

[princess]

[princess]

[Vicissitude]

[princess]

[blynch]

[Tokki1]

I had a severe black and green mold infestation back in 2003, and became so violently ill that I couldn't work and thought I was going to die. It was so bad that it ate all of my wooden furniture, sofa, paintings etc...and I had to move. Mold loves humidity and heat. I suggest getting a decent dehumidifier, get all the wallpaper off of the walls if you have to (concrete is pretty) and use that mold spray stuff Korean stores sell and those little dehumidifier packs that absorb moisture. The reason my place was so bad is because some Korean had knocked a hole in the main wall and filled it with cardboard and wallpapered over it. It was a hole of mold (and ants!). If the walls are your standard Korean concrete, you should be able to fix the problem (although I don't understand why 'water is coming in').

[wings]

If the problem is really bad I would invest in a dehumidifier (sp?) I lived in a very old house in Canada with a damp moldy basement, once we put the dehumidifier in we had no more problems.

Also after you clean a moldy area with bleach, use your hairdryer to make sure the moisture from the bleach itself is all dried up. That should mean it will take a bit longer for the mold to come back.

[princess]

[Tokki1]

You can use a blow drier too. The big culprit here is moisture. During the warmer months the humidity and heat creates a perfect environment for mold. Ventilation is good though; if you can open a couple of windows and get a good breeze going through it's good.

Thing is, July is monsoon season. That means heat and rain. I always make sure I have a dehumidifier and mold spray on hand when the rains come.

[princess]