Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ChrisHannah]

Basically in our apartment there was a mold problem that scarcely worth mentioning until one day when we moved our dresser. It was terrible and disgusting. We immediately called our boss and she said that she would get the superintendent on it when the week came. Now the school is saying it is a problem we need to fix because we didn't follow appropriate action to fix the mold! Basically she said that we should have run our heat more and opened the windows on rainy days. How should we have known that? I've lived in plenty of dumpy places and not done that and been fine.

I can't even imagine how much it will cost to remove the mold since it seems to be widespread. I want to stand and fight for this, but I think my school is too lazy to argue with a hardheaded superintendent. What do you think?

[Missihippi]

Most contracts stipulate that the tenant is responsible for any matenience(sp?) of the apartment. I'd say that you'd have to buy a bottle of bleach and try to knock it out yourself.. Good luck

[Young FRANKenstein]

[Gibberish]

Upload a picture for us so we can advise you on what to do. Also, a dehumidifier might be in order, start looking for one.

[Senior]

I found some in my place and just ripped that patch of wallpaper off and scrubbed it with bleach. Later on I showed it to the landlord, cos I was worried about losing my apt deposit, and he said "Good job."

Just wear a mask and scrub the shit out of it. It's not like it's asbestos or something. Are you the kind of person who screams "eeeeeekkkkkk!" and jumps on a chair, when they see a mouse?

[AsiaESLbound]

I had a mold problem going in my bathroom recently and bleach in a spray bottle works. Just spray on walls, fixtures, floor, and especially any rubber like cauking regularly. When you see black dots and spots, you are already having upper respiratory issues from breathing mold spores. Takes about 3 to 5 days to resolve with rox.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[nobbyken]

With summer humidity on the rise, it's time to move furniture away from the wall. About the width of a hand should suffice to allow air to circulate.

To remove mould, wear a mask, and wipe it off with an old damp cloth.
Then scrub the area with vinegar, and ventilate the place for the rest of the day.

If you have mould now, it's probably going to get worse by July in other places.
Move furniture and increase ventilation, don't close doors unless you have too.
Close (spread) shower curtains to let them dry completely.

[Young FRANKenstein]

[egrog1717]

Go to Emart and get yourself some mold remover (comes in a green spray bottle)... Basically just bleach, but it won't give you chemical burns on the inside of your nose... Also make sure you've got all the windows open when you're cleaning up

[Wintermute321]

[LikeFrostOnRoads]

We went at it today, although we've still got a long way to go, since we're removing all of the wall paper on 3 sides of the bedroom. Ultimately we compromised on us doing the cleaning and the school helping to pay for the wallpaper. Because of our angry response, the school was about to send the financial manager over to clean, but we felt far too guilty to allow that poor man to do that! They still claim it's our fault because we don't leave the heat on and the windows open, although the mold mysteriously appeared after several days of rain and worked its way down from the ceiling (we live on the top floor of the building). Oh well.

In the end, this will probably be a good memory to laugh at, unless of course I die from mold spore poisoning

[Troglodyte]

If you're pulling the wallpaper off the walls anyway, then don't put it back on until you're going to leave. Instead, whitewash the walls. That will help prevent mold from growing back later. Put on a thick coat of it. Not white paint - actual white wash. It's made from lime (burn limestone, not the fruit). I'm never bought it in Korea, but I'm sure it's around. Lime is a key component in mortar, and it's often painted onto trees (first metre or so) to discourage ant and other pests from climbing the trunks.

The alkaline nature of whitewash helps prevent mold and stuff. That's one of the reasons why it was used. It's also very cheap and easy to re-apply without causing a splotchy appearance.

[Jandar]

You'll need to go on the roof and find where the debris is jamming water.

When water can set on a roof it will eventually seep into the wall.

[liverpooljohnny81]

I had a mold problem in the bedroom of my apartment in Seoul. It just looked like nasty dark green shapes on the wall. After a month or two months (it was a while ago) it got to a point where I think it was making me sick, like stomach cramps, frequent trips to the toilet.

Basically I bought a shit load of cleaning supplies, moved out of my bedroom, slept in the living room for two days, and just scrubbed/sprayed, etc. the bedroom several times. Kept the windows open, made sure to clean up all the bits that came off the wall when I scrubbed, and after it aerated, it was fine. Still discoloration on the wall, but it mustve all been dead because I moved back into the bedroom and never had another problem.

Yeah, your boss and/or super should do this for you, or hire someone, but don't wait around to do something just on the prinicple of it. It could be a health problem. Grab some rubber gloves and get cracking - and maybe don't breathe the air that comes off while you clean. I'm not a doctor...