1st time apartment renter, is this white mold?

[R18Civic]

My apartment is in a brick building so humidity is always high. 75-85% in the summer.

About a week or so ago I thought I saw dust on my cabinets so I wiped them down with a damp rag but it came back. I'm worried it's white mold. Take a look:

 

[Jethro_Bob]

Are you asking about the wood making up the cabinets? That's just the sealer on the finish failing. Think of it like the clear coat on a car. Not pretty but harmless.

 

[spasm3]

Humidity that high can surely lead to mold. Id want it below 60 or lower. 20-50%

 

[RhondaHonda]

How gross does it feel in there at 80% humidity? Get a dehumidifier, wipe em with a bleach and water solution and see if it returns. Hard to tell if the finish is failing or mold.

 

[Warstud]

At 80% I bet it is . Turn on the AC or Dehumidifier

 

[R18Civic]

At 80% I bet it is . Turn on the AC or Dehumidifier

AC runs 24/7

 

[R18Civic]

How gross does it feel in there at 80% humidity? Get a dehumidifier, wipe em with a bleach and water solution and see if it returns. Hard to tell if the finish is failing or mold.

Not terrible with the ac running

 

[RhondaHonda]

That is still very high humidity. I’m not sure of your location but it could be mold, especially if the AC was off for a bit before you moved in.

 

[Jethro_Bob]

Somewhere beside your outside AC unit, there should be a pipe with water dripping out. If you find a dry pipe it's likely clogged and can't drain out. If you find a damp area and no pipe it is buried. (should never happen but does). Dig in the damp area til you find it and make a place for it to drain.

Idk the proper method for a clogged drain, my method involves bringing a water hose inside and creating a big mess to clean up, lol

 

[Warstud]

AC runs 24/7

That doesn't sound right . I would contact someone there and tell them the AC isn't working .

 

[PimTac]

Clean the wood with a diluted bleach solution and later go back over it with an orange oil cleaner. I did that years ago for the same thing and it worked well.

Get the aircon checked out. It should be removing humidity from the rooms.

 

[R18Civic]

A/C was just serviced last week due up a mildew smell. Looks like yall may be onto something.

 

[R18Civic]

Wiped one side down with pledge and I'm going to give it a week and compare both sides. Management said it's either dust or failing finish.

 

[SevenBizzos]

RH is too high. The dehimidifier part of the HVAC isn't working properly. If the house is on window units, those still should dry the air a little.
I'm not saying what that is, but it looks like an easy clean. At hardware stores they have a bottle of stuff that both cleans the area and mitigates new mold growth potential.
There's mold in nearly every building somewhere. A lot of times, the airborne levels are higher outside than in.

 

[spasm3]

Wiped one side down with pledge and I'm going to give it a week and compare both sides. Management said it's either dust or failing finish.

I'm sure they did. If the RH is still 80. It will be back. At 80% i don't know how you would not have mold. IF its 80%, i'd document it, and your conversations with apartment management, and if no improvement, i'd move. 80% is not healthy. I would not live in that.

 

[R18Civic]

Bouncing around between 88 and 90 today with the rain. Here's a photo of how small the apartment is. Used to be hotel rooms in the 70s or 80s. Kitchen is off to the right.

 

[R18Civic]

Looks like I'll be duking it out with management. Family confirmed that it's mold and advised wiping everything down with bleach/water mixture.

 

[spasm3]

Bouncing around between 88 and 90 today with the rain. Here's a photo of how small the apartment is. Used to be hotel rooms in the 70s or 80s. Kitchen is off to the right.

Humidity that high is asking for black mold and lung problems.

 

[R18Civic]

Well I had to return the bleach because the wood sucked up the furniture polish/oil meaning it would absorb all the bleach and damage the cabinets. Gonna have to wait for the mold to grow back and file another maintenance request.

 

[JTK]

There is a calibration procedure for those digital temp/humidity gauges. I'd get a reading with another gauge. Almost 90% RH with a/c running means the building has serious problems, the a/c system has problems or the gauge is inaccurate.