We have started getting Schimmel around the windows and on some sides of the walls in our appartment since 1 month.People advised me to ventilate the house properly and we have been doing this regularly. Inspite of this the schimmel problem is getting serious. Even after ventilating the house I see some corners which are very wet.

Our appartment belongs to a Verwaltung, and I dont know whether this would have serious problems with the owner.I am planning to inform the Haus Meister at the earliest.

But I would like to have some advice from some you in this forum as I dont have experience dealing with this problem as in India we always have a warm climate and didnt face problems with Schimmels.

I think this is characteristic of cold countries.

Yeah, in our apartment we also get the same thing, but only during the winter. You need more ventilation, also increasing heating could help. You can also buy special chemicals (at OBI for example) that you put into paint and repaint walls (not everything, just where you get mould) - this is what we did.

Try some anti-schimmel solution with chlorine (you will get it in most of the super-market, or try OBI). Just spray the solution on the schimmel and wipe it with a cloth.

Check the humidity in your rooms, it should be less than 50%. If it is more, keep your windows and doors open for 5-10 mins every hour or so. This would reduce the humidity.

Schimmel could also be due to bad construction. Check if your walls are always moist. If this is the case, you would have to complain it to the owner. Make sure you have a membership at one of the mietverein and a liability and/or law insurance before you go to the owner. Usually the owner would never accept that its thier fault.

Schimmel from the walls can be removed using anti-schimmel agents. but how can we remove the schimmel from the borders of the Window glass.

I am on court because of it...
1. Make photos of places
2. Go to doctor and make ATEST against the schimel to all of you (if you have family) especialy children.
3. Get a lawer (if you can aforder)
4. Inform Gesuntheitamt
5. If some of them confirm that the flat ist dangerous, you have right immidiate to move out from the flat without waiting those 3 months Kündigung period.
Do not play with your helth, I got Astma because of schimell and those kind of flats are just money spending.I am on Astma pump yet 4 months.
I got 1500€ invoice for period of 6 months as 'nachzahlung' for 'heizung'.
The game with 'frische luft', cleaning will not help.
Go out immidiate of that flat.
No one can stop you to move out.
This is my experience and my tip for you.
And, you are not obligated and you do not have to make repairments or to undertake anything against such flat.That cost head over hells and for it is obligated the 'vermieter' - the owner of the flat.
You pay him the rent for the flat and he has to give you i.e to make the flat in order.
And if the ATEST or any official body confirm that you do have problems against it, you can search automaticaly 'schmerz geld'.
Search your rights and I say to you - do it.

It's ages since my last post in this forum!

I had a radical schimmel problem: the people that renovated the parkett (before I moved in) made a hole in the rain drainage pipe. For months this went unnoticed because the screw was covering the hole, until the first big rain came. Then I got schimmel all over the place, under the floor, on the walls, etc. My furniture was damaged, VCR, etc.

I have to agree with the last post here: you have to open you eyes and be careful. In my case, the hausverwaltung blamed the owner, who blamed the parkett company, who blamed back the hausverwaltung for not keeping updated plans of the building with where they could make wholes. Whatever.

Long story short, my family and me were caught in middle of this fight, with people in blue overalls coming in and out of the place all the time, installing drying machines with pipes all over the appartment, which made a tremendous noise and produced unhealthy air, etc. Finally the owner consented on moving us out to a temporary appartment until they fixed this one.

It took 1 year and a half to get the damn thing fixed -of which only the last 3 months I lived out of it -temporarily, with half of my things, etc. Big mistake on my side: not to play hardball from the begining. I learnt it then. I thought settling things on a friendly way was the best option, and stayed in that position for over one year, and I ended up screwed. At the end the owner of the appartment showed up with a bill she tried to pass to me because I "failed to ventilate" the appartment.

The only way I got away without paying a huge damage bill (some 10.000 euros!) was by demanding on my side for health risks, damaged furniture, etc. This, and subscribing to Muenchen Mieterverein. At the end of the process I moved away, and even then I lost part of the deposit. But on the other hand, putting the Mieterverein in the middle allowed me to claim back some months of my rent back -which were payed by the building's insurance.

So my advise is: if you cannot clean it, tell the landlord/lady/eigentumer that you want the thing fixed. Get yourself into the Mieterverein of your city, and if things get nasty, tell the owner that you will let the mieterverein handle this issue. This usually does the trick.

Check here for general information on damages, feuchtigkeit, schimmel, etc., plus membership, etc.

http://www.mieterverein.de/

Finally, if you don't have any, get a hausratversicherung.

It is sad to say this, but never, never assume that things can be fixed on a friendly manner. I was in very friendly terms with my landlady -her daughter came to play with my son, we shared grillparties, etc., but when the problem came she immediately turn the reclamations to me.

Cheers,

Diego aka Sudaca

Hi Sudaca,

Glad to see you back in the forum with your long posts ;) after such a long time ...

Are you still in Germany ? Hows life ?

Really missed your longs posts for a long time ...