Host refused cancellation no smoke detector, no carbon monoxide, and black mold

[Alan565]

Hi, I stayed at an airbnb in San Diego. 

No smoke detector, no carbon monoxide, and black mold in the washer, and the regular washer is broken and I tried to use it and the host tried to get me to use the one that worked with mold in it. On their listing the have smoke detector, carbon monoxide detector, and a washing machine listed. 

I contacted Airbnb support after the black mold in the washer After I already told the host. He said that he washes bleach every now and again and it's not a problem the clothes come out clean. Disguised. Told him it's alot of black mold and I wasn't going to use it. He didn't respond.  I told Airbnb support case manager. They asked me questions like is there a smoke detector I looked and said no and there should be. Then they contacted the host. I requested them to leave and cancle as all this is going on. They denied and said I didn't give them chance to correct issues. I didn't sign up to go live in a house where I or my kids could literally die due to their neglect and not caring about the safety features they themselves are advertising currently.

Issues they corrected, broke bed, broken shower curtain. If you say you have safety features in your home and don't this is misrepresentation and I wouldnt rent your house, my kids safety was in danger for 3 nights because of this.

Issues they didn't address or respons in direct message. Black mold, hole in ceiling letting in bugs. I didn't ask them about the smoke or CO detector as Airbnb asked me themselves. I submitted picture evidence to Airbnb support case manager, I dealt with 4, with pics of ceiling and the washer, and they reviewed the msgs between me and host. In  the end i was left with letting host fix new issues while he didn't fix mold or the ceiling hole letting bugs in, he didn't care, so why would he care about these new things?. And Airbnb left

two options and didn't consider the host in the wrong at all (ie if I died they wouldnt care , state of California and duty of care would apply in the end tho in my opinion, if I did die with no smoke/CO detector)

1. Leave and cancel and lose

, like 600$ +or stay and let them deal with the stuff when they didn't anyway already (black mold wasn't to them mold what the??) and  they misrepresented the house.... Contacted San Diego housing inspection to let them know the infraction. 

Why didn't the host or Airbnb refund me? I completely refuse the outcome. Currently I'm writing a review for the property but thought to post here first for any advice dealing with Airbnb support, even tho they already gave their decision which I do not accept.

[Alan565]

I trusted the host the listed features where there. It was my naivity that j didn't check and I feel bad for my family I didn't. If there was some accident cooking or the kids played with the gas grill, if the neighbors smoked and feel asleep, there's too many things to list. If we all died who would I blame? Myself as I didn't check if it was safe,P and that's my fault I didn't check that 3rd day...

With that said, some people here saying that I shouldn't care about smoke detectors or CO detectors as they themselves don't care about them, it's not reasonable. Accidents don't just happen, they are usually always preventable, and safety regulators issue regulations with regard to SD/CO to prevent incidents/accidents and reduce consequences of those happenings. I don't have more time to convince people that they are required by law because of safety regulations. And also using this as a way to say "beware of guests like this". Please hosts, just ensure what you listed is available in your home's. Some pointed out I'm new and should stick to hotels, perhaps. When I see a hotel and pictures and reviews (like this Airbnb rental) I have a certain expectation, ie that the photos and reviews give a general reasonable quality to a home. Anyway, the review for the place will come later and after some comments here I do feel like I am talking to a wall, that being said, after this thread and some of the comments I have recieved I feel Airbnb is not for me or my family. 

[Mark116]

@Alan565   I have the batteries out of my own smoke detector, because it's annoying as hell, and can't tell the difference between a fire and burnt toast.  I will probably win the lottery before there is any CM in my house that will set off the alarm. 

But, sure, I have them in the airbnb because they are required, despite the fact that again, I expect to win the lottery before they save anyone's life. And I have them for  just such people as Alan, who are looking for something to be upset about.  

[Mark116]

I will admit I wouldn't do laundry in a washing machine surrounded by black mold, but what I would probably do, is tell the host that I would either like it cleaned up so I can feel safe to use it or a slight discount, depending on how the long the stay was for, e.g. if it's for a week and I counted on laundry v. 2 nights.   I wouldn't care or mention the smoke detector/CM detector, it simply isn't a factor in any decision I would make staying at a house/apartment in the U.S. 

[Sarah977]

@Alan565  Yes, if a host has something listed as an amenity, then of course he should indeed have those things. And yes, I understand that the mold in the washer was a turn-off, and he or his cleaner should be on top of that, but not a huge deal, not something to ruin your stay, as you could have just taken a cloth and wiped it out with a bleach solution in a couple of minutes if it was such an issue for you. If this was some high-end property that you paid a small fortune for, then I can understand expecting it to be pristine, but is that really the case? Guests these days are booking reasonably inexpensive places and then expecting it to be like the Four Seasons. It's just someone's home. Is your home perfect? Might I find some grunge somewhere if I looked hard enough?

I do agree with the other posters who said you're being pretty dramatic here- the likelihood of your family dying because there wasn't a smoke alarm or a CO detector is miniscule, rather thn a strong possibility. BTW the push for CO detectors was just a damage-control move by Airbnb after some family staying in a Mexican condo unit died from carbon monoxide poisoning (I don't even think it was an Airbnb rental). It's not anywhere near a common thing. And your kids sleeping near a gas line line has nothing to do with it- CO detectors don't detect gas leaks- they only detect carbon monoxide, which is produced by improper combustion of gas when you are using a gas appliance.

Americans and Canadians tend to be over-the-top safety-concious, yet often don't have factual knowledge about what things like CO detectors actually do or how carbon monoxide fumes are produced. And as others said, if you were really that concerned, you would have checked for those things when you arrived, rather than a a day or so later, when prompted by the CS rep.

You got the refund you were entitled to, so I'm not sure why you are so upset.  If you had checked for all those things on arrival, and found the place unacceptable, you could have cancelled right away when the host wasn't willing to attend to those things, and recieved a full refund. That's how Airbnb works.

[Flavia195]

@Alan565  i'm totally agree with you. This place is disgusting. How someone can wash clothes in a such bleahhh washer. It looks mold and oil. Some people has no idea what hygien means.

At home I have five extinguisers, 3 Carbon Monoxide (basement, family room, bedrooms floors) and six CO detectors. Houses build with wood and plastic needs those items for our won security. People keep buy big trucks, RV's, Skydoo, etc and neglect so important cheap security items.

I would ask Bylaws if it is allowed to rent a house with black mold.

* Sorry for my english...it is not my mother language.

[Kemi6]

Hello everyone, 

While we have experienced quite some frustrations as hosts, and guests who are petty, I believe we also need to be fair. This situation with the washing machine is wrong. The host should please clean this up.

God bless.