Hi, we have black stains in the wall or rather ceiling, and we have no idea to egt rid of it? Does anybody happn to know how we could get rid of them?

Thanks in advance

1. Only bleach will work on mold
2. Move, the spores are not good for your health
3. Call your real estate agency because they should act and send you some help.

hope it works out for you.

Fungi is a health hazard. Must be removed professionally. Inform your landlord. Do not attempt DIY.

Bought Dr.Beckmanns Schimmel-Stop from Müller. Black spots disappeared and have not been back.

Mold is one of the most evil allergens, it is toxic and carcinogenic. If it is in the room, you breath the spores constantly. I would work hard on moving asap. In the meantime, though, try to keep the apartment as dry as possible (airing the room, make sure heating works well and warm, it usually dries the apartment well enough). If you just want to bleach it, then you end up inhaling some hard core chemical as well for quite a period of time.

You are completely right. It's awful and the spores are difficult to get rid of too.

You may also have liability issues with the property owner as they normally say that mold is linked to not properly airing out the apt.

Getting rid of the mold may involve ripping out the walls/ceiling rather than just a quick clean up. A lot depends on where it is and how wide-spread it is.

Unless a pipe is broken somewhere inside the walls, or the tenant upstairs had a flooding problem. Then it's the Real Estate's agency problem.
Best thing: move

I agree if a pipe is leaking someplace but NOT if the OP is having half hour showers and not opening the window afterwards. Just be aware that the agency will try to pin the blame on him if there is not a structural issue.

There are mould removal products as suggested above. Ask for Schimmel Entwurfer at a hardware store or chemist.

And the apartment people will accuse you of not airing the place properly; did they give you instructions to do this?

Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think it is very usual to have mould on the ceiling if it’s not everywhere else as well – unless there has been a leak into the space above the room somewhere. Hot air rises and there will be a circulation of warm air which usually discourages mould from getting hold.

The place I look for it first is in the corners of rooms, down towards the floor, behind furniture on an outside wall or behind curtains if they are full length and pulled right back towards a corner in the day-time. No matter how much you open windows to get a breeze and change of air in the rooms, there is little movement in these 'cold-air-traps'.

I’d definitely be looking for a hidden source of damp here.

Sorry Boxman, but I think the OP should be looking for Schimmelentferner. An 'Entwurf' is a plan, sketch, draft, design or a project – perhaps not quite what you had in mind.

Here is one product. Not sure if it should be used on painted surfaces since they talk about the bathroom. OP has not said where the problem is located - which room(s)

http://www.imbiex.ch/de/produits/dr-beckmann/5054.html

There is another line of Professional products that are sold at OBI and Coop Brico. I am not sure of the name. Have a look in the cleaning products area.

My bro had the same prob in London . Use Bleach but ya room will stink for a few days and would be unbearable !

As other people have said this type of mould is caused by some underlying problem with the building. It is a health hazard and spraying it with some chemical might make things look better but it is not solving the problem. Don't let the landlord tell you are not airing the place incorrectly - this is rubbish. I would move if you can

At Obi, you can buy 2 products: A Schimmelentferner to remove existing mould and a Schimmelprotektor to proactively protect against it.

In many older houses, there are areas which are prone to mould. You can buy special additive to mix with paint which is very effective at preventing mould in these areas of the house with bad circulation.

There's no doubt that living with mould can be hazardous but in many cases it can be easily treated so I wouldn't hand in your notice quite yet.

and I had that in my head but Monday morning finger syndrome affected me quite badly!!

Your building owner will expect you to have insurance against this and pay from this when you leave. You can fight it but it will then go 50-50. Speaking from experience.....

Here are the two products I was thinking of. One is for walls (can be wall paper or regular Swiss Crepe walls) and one is for in the bathroom (tiles etc.)

Available at Coop Brico for CHF 20.00. Comes with a sprayer top.

Good luck.

Spray from Migros does a marvellous job.

Wow, some great over reaction to what could be a minor problem, recommending someone move over something potentially resolved for less than 50 chf and a little effort is just plain silly. Find out where the moisture causeing the mould is coming from, but if it's on a ceiling it's most likely condensation through inadequate ventilation, so check you extract is working properly.

You can buy La Criox javel from the supermarket for about 2 chfs, it's very mild and almost odourless, spray it onto a damp cloth and wash the affected area, this won't cause any health hazzard, your lungs won't dissolve, and you will still have one head when you wake up... I wouldn't try drinking it though, but if you have sensitive skin maybe rubber gloves would be an idea, and wear an old tee shirt.

Once it's clean let it dry then apply a fungicidal wash, 2 have been suggested, and again theses are readily available from Jumbo or Bau & Hobby for about 8 chf. I would get the spray one, as you may not require such a large quantitiy and wash the affected area as before. The spray is fairly mild and very low odour, and again will not turn you into some form of mutant, or let you wake up with all your hair on the pillow.

Leave this for a couple of day's the re-paint with a proper anti humidity paint, designed for bathrooms and kitchens.

The landlord has an obligation to take care of the problem immediately, unless getting rid of it would cost less than CHF 150, which doesn't sound like the case here. Of course the landlord will try and say you didn't air the place enough but saying that isn't enough. If he want to make you pay, then he or she has to prove that you didn't air it enough. Not so easy. But many people are easily intimidated by this argument and their landlords. There is a lot of protection for renters in place; you just need to know what you can do.

You need to insist that the problem be taken care of immediately. If it is not, you can demand a reduction in rent. Further, you can "hinterlegen" your rent. This means paying your rent into a special account; it does not mean not paying your rent!

"Move" is easier said than done, especially in Zürich. I would first talk with the landlord. Being aware of your rights should make for a more productive talk and lead to a better solution.