Mold/Mildew in my dresser

[RattieTaffy]

HNG. So as I'm rearranging my room to see where the cage is going to go, I find some mold in my dresser.

My dresser has drawers that come out and the mold is in the inside bottom right. Not in the drawers but on the structure. I dunno how to describe that lol

I just know mold is bad enough for people so it wont be good at all for rats especially with their respiratory problems.

I'm hoping we can get a new dresser set for me in general since I dont want to chance just cleaning it and what not.

Just wanted to see if anyone knows the affect on mold and rats. I know its not Black Mold because Im pretty sure I'd be pretty sick by now. Though, it doesnt look like your typical mildew either. Meh I dunno. I'm all paranoid now. Luckily Im not getting my ratties for another 5 weeks so I have time.

 

[lilspaz68]

HNG. So as I'm rearranging my room to see where the cage is going to go, I find some mold in my dresser.

My dresser has drawers that come out and the mold is in the inside bottom right. Not in the drawers but on the structure. I dunno how to describe that lol

I just know mold is bad enough for people so it wont be good at all for rats especially with their respiratory problems.

I'm hoping we can get a new dresser set for me in general since I dont want to chance just cleaning it and what not.

Just wanted to see if anyone knows the affect on mold and rats. I know its not Black Mold because Im pretty sure I'd be pretty sick by now. Though, it doesnt look like your typical mildew either. Meh I dunno. I'm all paranoid now. Luckily Im not getting my ratties for another 5 weeks so I have time.

Mold is definitely not good for ratties. Its a very strange place to find mold on furniture. Is there an outside wall nearby? Did it get wet somehow?

 

[RattieTaffy]

No, thats the strange part! We moved into this house back at the end of November, so it probably got it from the old house. My other furniture doesnt have mold. And the dresser wasnt facing an outisde wall at the old house either.

Mold is definitely not good for ratties. Its a very strange place to find mold on furniture. Is there an outside wall nearby? Did it get wet somehow?

 

[Velo]

My boyfriend and I got our first place together, an apartment, in December of 2011.
We left that apartment in March of 2014.
Sometime in the spring of 2013, it was discovered that many of the buildings (including ours) had water issues and some of them were even "sinking" into the ground because of underground water build-up.
We knew there was some mold, especially in the bathroom, and always did what we could to keep it under control.
We had our pet hedgehog living with us (he had been part of our family since about a year before we got the apartment), my snake (whom I had for over five years before this) and had taken in a pet rat in December of 2013. That's when I fell in love with rats, this little spunky girl who just needed a place to stay. I was obsessed with her haha!

Anyway, as time had been going on, there were more and more reports of mold. We searched our apartment and began finding mold in places we didn't know of before. We knew we had to get out, as our breathing felt crappy too.
In February, Oliver the hedgehog suddenly got very ill. He saw a vet and was being hand-fed, and medicated... Needed constant attention. We fought SO hard for his life, but he died quickly. Right at the same time, my Fizzy girl fell ill. We also tried to save her, but she unfortunately died too.

After this, our vet was pretty much certain that the mold in the apartment killed them. He couldn't find another reason why they would fall so ill, with the symptoms they had, and both have this problem. He had some experience with a similar issue, again in an apartment with mold, where the poor person's cat and dog died. I had to take serious preventative measures to make sure my snake didn't suffer. After we moved out of there, I noticed he perked up and seemed healthier.

I hate mold, hate hate hate it. Now, our mold was surely a worse mold, and obviously in larger quantities. Although that stuff is sneaky... While moving out, we kept finding more, hidden under furniture, growing through carpet. I even lost a boot to mold. :/
I would burn that dresser and call it a day, haha. But that's just my opinion.

So yes, mold is bad for rats... and other animals. I've seen firsthand (and felt it myself) how devastating it can be, especially on small animals. The affects on humans are slow... It takes a while to feel it. And you don't really know that you are ill until you are out of it for a while. It was so weird, after we were living in our house for a month or so... Realizing you can *breathe* again. My boyfriend and I likely have permanent affects from it, but it definitely sinks in slowly.
I don't mean to scare you or anything, just figured I'd share my experience with it.

 

[RattieTaffy]

Yeah that is definitely in a worse scale than mine haha. This house has NO mold. From what I've seen.
I'm assuming this is from my OLD house. But, like I said none of my other furniture had mold so I'm wondering if this mold grew when my sister has this dresser in her room. We've had this dresser set for at least 10 years if not longer.

My breathing doesnt feel bad ever and this dresser has been in my room for at least 8 years and then
several years in my sister's room. Either way, I do plan to chuck this dresser and buy a new set lol.

Means purchasing my cage will be set back a week or so, but I dont need the cage for 5 weeks. Hopefully shipping only takes a week or two.

 

[RattieTaffy]

Well there was TONS of mold on the bottom of the dresser. It looks old.
Apparently there was a mold problem in my sister's old bedroom and well, they didnt think it transferred to the furniture. (dip****s I say, but I love my parents lol)

Im checking the other dresser, but Im chucking them both anyways. Gonna wash ALL my clothes and vacuum my carpet. Doesnt look like the mold has spread to the carpet, but better be safe than sorry.

My house and room arent the right climate for mold to spread and what not. Its not moist and humid and what not, so Im not worried that it spread. Like I said, it was in my room for 8 years or so if not more and it would have spread but it didnt. So I just need to make sure its clean for the rats when I get them (my room clean from mold spores and stuff)

 

[Velo]

You can also get an air purifier, you have to get the kind that purifies mold spores though (HEPA with carbon pre-filter). I run mine in the rat room now, I swear it helps with the smell haha. Mine was like 100$, I find it a worthy investment though. x3