I hope I am posting in the right place. I am an American living in Bucharest Romania.

We rent a house..a very old house with a small basement that we do not use. It is very musty and probably moldy...but I have never ventured that far. My husband has been down there and it is empty except for a water storage tank installed by a prior tenant. It is full of water but we have never used it. So I will look into having it emtied asap.

We have noticed some health problems. sneezing a dry cough and a rash that could be related to the mold in the basement. Our dog also pees in one room and I have been told animals don't like the smell of mold so they try to mark over it.

I have read some of the websites but they all say if the problem is "big" a professional should be consulted. If it is indeed mold and it is too big to handle ourselves we would move but I am not sure we would be able to find a home in Bucharest without a mold problem. So I would like to address the problem...and stay here.

The home is cinder block, the yard is concrete. Can I safely hire a contractor to clean the basement and install a ventilation system?

Thank you in advance for any suggestions. Romania is at least 20 years behind the rest of europe and if I try to find any information here. It would be very time consuming, and I would be met with a blank stare. Basically if the house is standing it is safe to live in.

Thank you