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Andrew_Jay
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Either a sewage pipe burst and that's actually shit trapped in the space between your ceiling and the next floor, or he told the truth and a hot water pipe blew and that's rust and various other crud trapped between the floors (including quite possibly some sewage if a sewage pipe ever previously burst) leaking out of the interstitial space.
But here's the thing: Either way, you need a hell of a lot more than a new coat of paint to properly repair the problem. You've got sheetrock, probably some wood, and insulation from that guys pipe to you that were soaked in water. You can't "wait for it to dry out". It needs to be torn out and replaced. It's a fucking mold factory in there once it gets wet. Repainting water logged walls once the outer surface is dry just hides the toxic mold problem from your eyes, it doesn't make it go away.
So either get out while the getting is good, or if you're under contract bitch his ass out and threaten to take him before the city if he won't take it more seriously.
Okay, seriously, it is most likely some crud and rust trapped in the walls that is seeping out. I occasionally get similar stuff on my bathroom walls when they sweat from my hot showers, although it's never actually come out of the walls. I seriously doubt there's a toxic issue here. It just needs to dry and be resealed.
Seriously, don't play around with mold. I hit my catastrophic protection ($4,000) on my insurance one year because of mold.
We had a small roof leak or something in the bedroom of an apartment we lived in and eventually saw dark spots around the corner and in our closet. We called the office and they came in and painted over it. A couple of months later I developed a persistent cough. I went to my doctor, was told it was alergies (and not the mold I mentioned), and sent home with some medication. After another month of it not going away, I was sent to an ENT doctor who gave me some other things to try, again assuring me it wasn't from the mold. After that didn't work, he sent me to a pulmonary specialist. Shortly after that, I started coughing up blood.
After a barrage of tests (including 3 bronchoscopies) and assurances this wasn't from mold (she said I had asthma....I don't), she noticed a small growth and after a biopsy, sent me to a surgeon that specialized in non-invasive surgery for the heart and lungs. After reviewing everything, he concluded that the upper half of my right lung needed to be removed, as well as part of my bronchial tube (see? non-invasive). I checked into the hospital, got prepped for surgery, and went under on the operating table. While I was under, he decided to take another biopsy with a rigid bronchoscope and the whole growth came off. He decided to abort surgery (thank god) and I was brought back up.
Fast forward to a month or two later, we decide to move to another city. About 6 months after moving out of our apartment, I have my last blood incident. That was about 5 years ago and I haven't had any kind of recurrence of the blood or the cough. My conclusion (especially after hearing people with similar symptoms): mold.
If I had thought more about it at the time (I had 4 different doctors telling me it wasn't from mold), I would've called the city and had it tested. I probably could have then sued my apartment for at least my medical bills. Anyway, moral of the story is don't fuck around with mold. Get that shit taken care of. Coughing up blood for damn near a year is not fun at all.
Those spots in those pictures are from the water behind that wall soaking all the way through that wall and depositing minerals in the water onto the room facing surface. Drywall is practically a sponge when it comes to water. It soaks up a ton of it, and takes forever to dry out even in ideal conditions. In real conditions, once it's wet mold is going to grow there. You won't see it because the unfinished surface on the inside is a better surface for it than the painted side, but within 6 months you can easily be feeling its effects.
A similar thing happened to one of my mum's pal's workplaces - she's a medical receptionist, and upstairs in the highrise where her office was there was a dentists'. One of their pipes busted, and spittley water leaked all over. The mold spores gave everyone in the place resp. problems until it was all fixed, and apparently it was a pretty miserable place to work during that time. Apparently no long-term effects, but I can imagine it being pretty bad to live with - and if you've got asthma, the problem compounds.
Having a plumber come in and opening the walls is inconvenient, true, but it does a lot more to alleviate the problem. It allows one to see the extent of the damage and it gives the guts of the walls a chance to air out. Plus, unless you're being ripped-off (key: if the plumber has an ad in the phone book larger than 1/4 of a column, he's likely a rip-off), they will fix the problem properly to ensure that it doesn't happen again.
Don't take a "fresh coat of paint" for that, man. If left as-is, it's not going to go away for a very long time.
Is there anyway to detect mold growth in the air?
Ever since moving into my new apartment 8 months ago, I've had respiratory issues (like sinus infections, and coughing and such), and I've never had them before. I never made the connection before, but it DOES coincide almost perfectly with moving into this place.
Can I find out if this is a problem??
Again, the problem is not your paint or even your wet linens. As everyone else has said, mold is a potential health hazard and a definite structural hazard. Make sure your super knows that you're concerned about the mold, not just the leaky pipe and the messed up paint. Maybe he doesn't know about the mold and if you bring it up, you'll be informing him so he can take action.
Try calling your city Department of Health.