My landlord told me to just paint over the mold, worst advice I ever followed

Back in 2021 I had a basement apartment in Portland and found black mold behind the bathroom sink. My landlord said just grab some Killz primer and paint over it, it'll be fine. I was new to renting and actually did what he said. Three months later I had a cough that wouldn't go away and a $700 mold remediation bill because it spread inside the walls. Has anyone else's landlord given them dangerously bad advice like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

wade55814h ago

Gotta say man, that makes my blood boil. Landlords pulling that cheap paint over mold trick is way too common and it can mess up your lungs real bad. You trusted him and he just threw you under the bus for a few bucks, that's just wrong. Good on you for getting it handled even if it cost you, that cough could have turned into something way worse. I hope you took that guy to small claims or at least let everyone know who he is so nobody else gets sick?

margaret_nelson7h ago

Honestly the paint might have sealed it in but didn't fix the moisture problem. That mold was just growing behind the new paint the whole time, eating the drywall from the back.