Annoying mildew smell throughout house

Hey guys, im very concerned about this problem and need advice. I live in an old(1970s old) small two bedroom apt in florida, and about a year ago, my landlord replaced my shower which is nice tan tile, sliding doors. But for the past 2-3 months or so I've been smelling a persistent mildew smell and don't know what to do. I also have little gnats flying in front of my computer screen from time to time(especially at night). I barely eat in my room though. Please help I went to home depot and got a container of damp rid and placed on the bathroom floor near the shower.

Yesterday the complex maintenance man took a look at the shower, he was able to wedge his pocket knife through cracks in the corner of the shower and said a little water is leaking through the cracks everytime you take a shower. He also found little cracks on the floor of the shower too where he wedged his knife into.

I have a small room closet which is on the outside of where the shower is and smell the mildew smell there also, we recently changed our ac vent for about a year, im scared my family has been breathing in this mildew smell for a very long time and i think since we're so used to being home sometimes we can't even smell it.

But I know for sure some days i smell it and some days i don't. What would be the safest thing to do? How can i prevent any health hazards? Should i ask my landlord to buy a dehumidifier?
Thanks any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

Welcome to the forums.

I would request the leaks be fixed and any damage caused by them.

 

So he's identified the problem [or at least part of it] what did he say he was going to do about it?

 

No... that would just be covering the problem with a bandaid.
The problem has to be addressed at the source like the others mentioned.

 

Thanks, well actually he said he will send the pictures of the cracks with the knife wedged to the landlord but we haven't heard from the landlord yet. This is just the local maintenance guy i think the landlord will get a certified plumber out here, but i just was concerned was there anything I could do in the meantime because I've headaches and dry eyes for a while and don't know why.

 

While it never hurts to have a dehumidifier in fla usually running the HVAC is enough to remove most of the high humidity. Unless there is a plumbing leak there is no need for a plumber. More than likely the cracked joints just need to be cleaned up and caulked, possibly missing grout replaced - something the handyman should be able to do.

 

What about the smell and gnats though? I talked to the landlord today he say it seems like a drywall issue and he's trying to find someone who can fix this

You think plywood between the closet and shower could be mildew and damaged badly? there isn't any wet carpet in the closet though

 

If there are signs that the drywall has been damaged then yes the job will get bigger. Is any of the drywall soft or showing signs of mildew/mold? It might be nice to cut an exploratory hole to check for mold in the framing or backside of the drywall.

 

The part about the leak and the gnats reminded me of this old, but similar thread.

http://www.doityourself.com/forum/in...-bathroom.html