Bathtub room was flooded / mold in the walls due to reasons unknown (see desc)

Neer0
Level 2
Burnaby, Canada

Bathtub room was flooded / mold in the walls due to reasons unknown (see desc)

Hello,

 

I've hosted (second time) a pair of students for 28 days. Our communication with them was okay all along. I live abroad, but my mother is the one doing the check-ins and outs and also looks after the apartment. 

Before they arrive, the apartment was in good condition of course. Now , after they left, my mother had discovered the bathtub room is flooded with mold on all the walls, (The window was closed, the boiler switch was on) towels were covered on the floor. The smell was very bad, and we need to have it cleaned and sanitized and repainted for the next two weeks, since a new guest arrives on Dec 17th. I think it can be done in this time, but I am not 100% sure.

 

The question is what do I do now with the review and everthing? and should I cancel my next reservation? or to wait to see if it can be fixed and alert the next guest?


I don't know whose fault it is, since it is an old building and the bathtub room, if stayed closed and steamy - will get mold quick enough, That's why it needs to stay open. (we don't have a fan there unfortunately), it could also be a leak from the apartment above. The main point is that the guests hadn't told us anything about that, not even when they left, which is the least I would have expected from them (They are actually MEDICAL students !! That's absurd!). Then we could solve it on spot when it's not a serious damage. My mother had to go and leave the apartment uncleaned because the smell was bad.
What do you think should I do now? 

Thanks,
Neer.

15 Replies 15
Gerry-And-Rashid0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Neer0 Keeping it simple, you have no idea how this happened  - anything from a leak from above to it being an old building, no extraction fan etc. Forget about trying to get money from the students you have zero proof it seems that they did the damage.

 

I would fus on your next guest - make a considered decision on whether or not your bathrhaoom will be usable. That's what your next guest needs to know. If for example you were certain that it would all be in working order, but perhaps not painted, then just let the guest know and perhaps provide a small reduction for them.

Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

@Neer0

they are students. They don't think about venting the place, about windows or mold, they don't look at the walls , they look their iphones or girls . They probably didn't notice mold or smell at all....

 

Buy an antimold spray, spray the walls, wipe them, buy antimold wall paint, open all windows on few hours and then run dehumidifier  to dry the place for next few weeks. (put it on max to 35 % humidity and don't open the windows during that time) .

 

@Neer0     For the smell you could rent or buy an ozone air purifier machine, they get rid of stubborn, hard to remove odors and sanitize.

Neer0
Level 2
Burnaby, Canada

Hey all, 

Thanks for your replies. It puts some things into perspective, and frustrates me as I cannot do anything but spend money and probably lose income (and put stress on my next guest). My mother (as I've mentioned, is the one taking care of the place, because I live abroad) should contact the family's handyman to inspect the damage. She did send me pictures (attached) and it really seems bad. The wooden utility desk and drawers (which is a gift from my late grandma), is completely ruined and needs to be thrown. So, the next guest would have to use the sink and tub's edges to put shower jels, shampoo, until we get a new one. I hope it would be fixed. I do not know about dehumidifier, because I don't want to fuss my mother too much, she has already stress on her hands. The entire apartment was left a mess, actually. What do you think I should considering review? Should I tell everything was okay? I don't know what their review will be.

Jackie148
Level 7
Edens Landing, Australia

Can you claim on your home ibsurance? 

I don't have insurance on the apartment.

@Neer0  Truly horrible.  A scrub brush and bleach solution will kill the mold, but as @Branka-and-Silvia0 said, you really need to get a dehumidifier in there to dry the place out.

Why on earth would you give a review saying everything was okay? Be totally honest about the disaster these left, 1* , thumbs down, not recommended. That's how you warn other hosts- no one should get stuck with these guys ever again.

Reviews are blind, they can't see yours or vice-versa until both are submitted. If only one party leaves a review, that review will be posted 14 days after check-out.

Neer0
Level 2
Burnaby, Canada

I've forgot to attach picture of the mess and mold :bathtub room windowbathtub room windowbathtub wallbathtub wallbathtub utility deskbathtub utility deskkitchenkitchen

That’s nasty. And I feel like a bare minimum standard of any rental is that a guest would not return a space to his host covered in living toxic organisms. That is not ok. 

HOWEVER this is why if I had a place rented long term with no security deposit (ABB) then I would be insisting on a mid-stay clean (checkup/inspection). 

Id say with those pictures I’d try to claim thru abb for damage. And after that I’d be writing a very poor review. And then after all that I’d be rethinking all my systems: maintenance, cleaning, stay length, guest vetting, etc etc

good luck

Thanks for the reply, 

 

Indeed nasty. How do I get a guest to agree to an inspection? I have a security deposit (it was set to about $150, b/c I'd have never imagined this situation) on the listing. I now doubled it for future guests. 

 

Neer.

Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

@Neer0OMG! :((((  All of this in only 28 days? How does their home look like? Oh, they probably live with their mother ... 

 

Yes, use this pictures and make a damage claim. Contact some company who deals with humidity and mold and ask for an estimate for cleaning, repainting and the cots of renting a dehumidifier for few weeks. Attach this estimates and see if you can get anything. If they don't agree to pay you can involve Airbnb and I belive you will get something.

 

I have to admit I would never:

- let my own home on Airbnb while I am present or away.

- let long term on Airbnb (our max is 15 nights) because there is no proper security deposit and lease contract

 

Shor term rental is a hard core business. It is not for an old lady or people who have zero free time or live on other, remote location. They need help - cohost or some company who will manage everything.

 

In the future you should scedule light cleaning every 7 nights (find a company to do it)

 

 

We moved so, the apartment is mine when I visit home. 

I prefer long term because I don't want to drag my mother to have it organized every week - the previous guest was the total opposite - very clean and organized and nothing happened (he was for 2 months!)

 

I already notified the next guest about the situtation, and see what he thinks. 

 

I'll contact AIRBNB also about the guests before I try to claim the deposit money. My mother is contacting a handyman for the job, we will see about the dehumidifer.

 

I lived there for 2 years without dehumidifier, but had the room ventilated and open at all times (even while having a shower). It's an old building.

 

My mother and I will rething the whole situation of course. 

@Neer0  As you haven't had the mold problem before, it's not that you need a dehumdifier in there permanently, just long enough to thoroughly dry the place out.

@Neer0

For long-term guests it is best to keep an eye on the place regularly - imo at least weekly so that problems are not left to fester for weeks or months. 

 

Use whatever excuse you need like for regular safety inspections, sheets and towel replacements, weekly trash takeout, water the plants or whatnot (and build the cost into your (monthly) rate). You will probably have to say the weekly visits are nonnegotiable but someone needs to check the house to minimize any (potential) damage.