Mold Infests Apartment

[Guest guest]

08/16/05

Mold Infests Apartment

http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=3731112 & nav=2CSfdPry

By Gene

gene@...

A family says they fear their north apartment is

making them sick. They say a leaky pipe is to blame for soaking

carpets, damaging their floors and fostering a serious threat to

their health.

When Cheryl and her family moved in to Pepper Mill

apartments, she noticed hot water leaking down the kitchen

cabinets. " It started running, like, it was just running like you're

taking a bath, " said .

says she began asking management more than one year ago to

fix the hot water leak.

That request came before the cabinets grew mold. pointed to

the underside of the cabinets, saying, " and if you'll look under

here it's nothing but mold. Nothing but black mold! "

Mold covers the bottom of the cabinets, crusts the inside of the

cabinets, hangs from the ceiling and spreads beneath the bathroom

flooring.

first noticed the mold growing in the corner of her kitchen

counter. A few weeks later, she noticed it had spread to the air

vents.

" I think it's making me sick, " said , tearing up as she

described symptoms of nausea and the fear that her daughter, son-in-

law, and 8 month old granddaughter who also live in the apartment

will be harmed by the mold.

said she begged management to fix the pipes and clean up the

mold. " [Their answer was to] spray painted this mold. They come in

and spray painted it, " said , pointing to mold growing

throughout the inside of black spray painted cabinets.

is not the only resident with complaints. Clarence McGee saw

WLBT in the complex and asked the cameras to take a look at his

floor. McGee describes his carpeting, saying " [it's] like a little,

miniature swimming pool. "

In McGee's refrigerator, the crisping drawer is anything but crisp.

It is filled with water from yet another leak.

McGee did not notice the mold in his apartment until WLBT's camera

spotted it on a closet door.

says she has turned to the government for help to no

avail. " The mayor's office said to call y'all. DHS said to call

y'all. But where are they? Why can't they come over here and see

this? It's because they don't have to live in it, " said .

But says she does not have the choice to live somewhere else.

She says her hot water heater runs non-stop, raising her hot water

bill to more than $500 a month, a price too high to afford a deposit

on another apartment. " We can't get out. We can't go nowhere, " said

.

Pepper Mill apartments manager King was not in the office when

WLBT paid a visit to the apartment office. In a phone interview King

assured WLBT over the phone that she was not aware of any problems

at Pepper Mill, and would check on the situation first thing

tomorrow morning.