Hi, I am a renter in a 1-bedroom apartment. I moved in last spring and noticed that the apartment had a strong smell of mildew after the home had been shut up during the day. I have been able to get rid of most of the smell this past summer by ventilation and by cleaning. The bathroom has a small exhaust fan over the sink but does not seem to be able to absorb all of the moisture in the bathroom after a shower. After a shower you can see water droplets coming down the side of the walls and you can see moisture on the ceiling for up to 24 hours after a shower.
This has caused mold/mildew to grow on the ceiling and walls. I have been cleaning and leaving the bathroom window open during and after a shower but this combo does not seem to help much. I told my landlord about this thinking they might be able to do something (stronger fan) but they told me to try keeing the window closed during a shower and let the fan work, and see if that helps. I think the fan vents up to the attic, which might be part of the cause of the mildew smell that I had/have in the apartment.
Is the landlord right? Does it work best to leave the window closed and just run the fan by itself? If that does not work, should the landlord try and remedy the situation or am I stuck with the problem?
thanks LP