‘They won’t call it mold:’ College students say mold is taking over their Cobb apartment

Michele Newell
·2 min read
3

Two college students say mold has been growing inside of their off-campus apartment and they’re concerned.

“It’s very concerning because we come home and every day I don’t know if there’s going to be something else ruined,” Megan Willis told Channel 2′s Michele Newell.

Megan Willis lives at the Aldridge At Town Village Apartments in Cobb County with her boyfriend.

Willis took pictures of what appears to be mold in different parts of her apartment, including items inside of the apartment, a handbag, shoes and dog collars.

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“It’s everywhere so that’s terrifying to think about,” said Willis.

Willis said management sent someone out to clean the problem areas.

“I thought that fixed it. That was back in September,” said Willis.

She says it came back.

“They just did a moisture test and it was 15% in here which she said at that time the manager said that that was below average and so the moisture at that time was determined not to be high in here,” said Willis.

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Willis’ father hired a company to test the apartment for mold. The results from the company Pro-Lab show different types of mold that were found in the apartment. Black mold was not found.

Willis said she is no longer staying at the apartment and plans to break the lease.

“There was three that were identified, and at that point, they still denied it and they kept calling it moisture. Up to this point, they won’t call it mold,” said Willis.

A spokesperson for Aldridge at Town Village released a statement to Channel 2 on Thursday:

We take claims like this incredibly seriously and, in addition to our efforts to resolve the issue, have taken a number of steps to ensure the comfort of these residents including offering to relocate them to another unit or put them in a hotel free of charge. We will continue to work diligently to resolve this matter as quickly as possible.

Our steps have included:

  • Conducting multiple inspections

  • Hiring consultants to conduct moisture readings which were found to be normal

  • Informing the residents that their HVAC system was being used improperly and in a way that can create moisture issues

  • Informing the residents that they had blocked vents to assist with airflow

  • Informing the residents that they should not run the bathroom fan constantly as it can increase the humidity levels

  • Assisting with cleaning the apartment

  • Organizing to have air ducts cleaned

  • Organizing to install a ceiling fan in the bedroom

  • Installing an air filtration machine in the apartment to further assist with airflow

  • Offering to relocate the residents to other units, which were declined

  • Putting the residents up in a hotel at our cost

  • Offering to let the residents out of their lease with no penalty

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Willis denies that. She said the company put her up in a hotel for three days and told her she could come back because it was safe.

She said she doesn’t feel safe and plans to move out soon. She also said the company offered to reimburse her and her boyfriend for any belongings that were ruined.

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