Mold in the Bathroom of a Basement Rental

[the_man]

Hey,

So I’m managing a 4-plex where two of the units are above grade, and two are below. The two basement units are having mold issues in the bathroom. Apparently the old property managers have repaired the drywall and changed the shower stalls however it keeps returning.

One of the tenants think it has to do with the bathroom vents not sucking out the moisture quickly enough after showers. However i don't want start spending money until i'm fairly confident it's going to work.

Has anyone had this issue before? And can maybe shed light on the topic? Or any ideas on who i should talk to in order to find the root cause? I don't think replacing the drywall every couple of years is a good solution.


thanks!

[project240]

The only real way to know what's going on is to actually open up the walls/ceiling and look. Other than that, you're just going to be guessing...

[masoncgy]

Where abouts is the mold forming, meaning is it along an exterior wall or an interior wall?

You need proper ventilation in the bathroom to quickly & effectively push the moisture out. That is a given.

However, if there is an underlying problem like poor insulation, lack of vapour barrier or some other existing condition in the wall, the mold will continue to return.

If the drywall/tile etc has already been pulled down and replaced, then I would guess that mold would have been spotted in behind the material, but who knows who did the work.

They are basement bathrooms though, so my guess is that you are dealing with a condensation issue inside of the wall(s) that is allowing the mold to thrive.

Almost 100% certain you will be opening it up and correcting from there.

[the_man]

So it looks like the two basement bathrooms are having different issues. The first bathroom is having humidity issues, I'm thinking of installing a fan booster. Not positive on that solution tho.

The second bathroom has a shower stall that was installed incorrectly. Looks like there is a leak where the shower base and shower wall meet up. I'm having a general contractor in to take a look. Any Beyond recommendations?