Mothball Smell
After convincing myself that I’d never find a decent place to live in Brookyn without having at least two other roommates, I found out through a friend about a large studio opening up in Bedstuy. After seeing the place, I fell in love and jumped on it. A week or so after moving in, I began to notice a smell very much akin to mothballs, but being that it was summertime I kept my windows wide open. I reasoned that perhaps the smell was left from the previous tenant, and that me living in the space would sort of get rid of the scent.
Fast forward a few months and the smell the smell has persisted. It’s gotten to the point where everything in my apartment smells slightly of mothballs. If I leave my windows shut while I’m at work, the place reeks when I get home. I spoke to my landlady about the issue, and she came to check it out. We discovered that my neighbors are those using mothballs, and the smell seeps thru our shared walls. It wooshes in through my front door whenever they open their front door. When my landlady asked if they used mothballs and they replied in the affirmative. She then asked them to stop. It has been a month since but nothing has changed. And with the weather getting cooler, I’m afraid that I won’t be able to keep my windows wide open all the time.
Should I be concerned about the smell (is it very hazardous)? And is it unreasonable to bring it up again to my landlady? Has anyone here dealt with this (or a similar issue)? Lastly, what are your thoughts on politely asking my neighbors about it? I am trying to avoid the possibility of moving, but it may come down to that. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Concerned and short of breath
jdesai
in General Discussion 8 years and 10 months ago
3
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3 replies
workisfun | 8 years and 10 months ago
Yes – they are carcinogenic. There are effective alternatives for catching moths. But the other poster raises another KEY question…why are they using them? You DON’T want moths!
nick521 | 8 years and 10 months ago
The question is why are they using mothballs? Shouldn’t your landlord be concerned about that? Also she should be concerned about the lost revenue from losing a tenant and potentially more if this is not properly addressed. I agree with slopegirl, they do pose health issue, you may need to approach your neighbors and see also why they are using them, is this something the landlord can fix, perhaps a win-win situation for all…
slopegirl | 8 years and 10 months ago
I researched this when I was pregnant and they started using toilet disks in my office bathrooms that smelled like hell (aka mothballs). I believe they are cancer causing. http://www.environmentalhealth.ca/mothballsairfresh.htm.
For the neighbor convo I’d suggest this: tell them you are so sorry to bother them, but you have asthma and sensitive throat/lungs because of it, and have been having trouble breathing with a strong/noticeable moth ball smell in your new apartment. You may want to ask the landlady first if it’s ok, but I think message will work better coming from you.
If they are not receptive and sympathetic, and if the smell doesn’t change in a couple days, I think you should take steps to move ASAP. It will be easier for your landlord to get a new tenant sooner than later. If it’s uncomfortable now, you’ll be truly miserable in real winter. If you are really short of breath, you need to fix this. Please take care of yourself.