Palmetto South Apartments, home to many students, has been found to have mold growing in some of the dorms.
Residents were finding mold that had begun to spread on items such as bags and shoes.
In an email sent to The FAMUAN, Sophomore Gabrielle Austin stated that she had been dealing with the mold in her dorm since she moved in. Austin noted that the apartment was more moist than usual, and some of her belongings were damp.
Austin says she filed a maintenance request in September regarding the growing mold. The description of the work stated, “AC is set to 72 degrees, and it is 73 degrees inside. Temp needs to be lowered. Chill water is flowing to pull humidity down in the apartment.”
After this request, Austin says she still found mold on her belongings. As a result, she submitted another request. The request was then filed as completed on Sept. 30.
Despite a second request being submitted, the mold was still growing and still present within the apartment.
“For several weeks, my roommate and I have been dealing with mold in the apartment,” Austin said in her statement. “Each time we clean the apartment, the mold returns and is growing on the doors, baseboards, desk, and even our clothes, shoes, and microwave.”
Austin and her roommate were forced to throw away some of their belongings.
Mold has been a problem in Palmetto for longer than students may know. According to a student, mold has been a problem since she resided in Palmetto during her freshmen year in 2021. Mold was found on the top of her ceiling located in the bathroom.
Due to the condensation produced by the shower, the mold would drip into her hair without her knowing for months. When she finally realized this, maintenance was immediately contacted and made aware of the situation.
As a solution, maintenance drilled a cardboard box to the spot where the mold had been. Eventually, the mold grew over the cupboards. This led her and her roommates to get sick.
After numerous requests, FAMU maintenance began fumigating the apartments on Monday. Students were advised to remove items from underneath beds, inside drawers, cabinets, desks, and off the walls.
All items moved were advised to be placed in the center of the apartment in order to prevent any of the chemicals from getting onto any items and causing damage or a safety hazard.
The mold treatments were expected to run through last Friday and were completed at 5 p.m.
“I did see an improvement, but not much,” Austin said. “When they were finished a decent amount of mold was cleaned from our doors and walls but my drawers still had visible mold in them.”
Despite the effort, Austin still does not feel relieved because the source of the mold has yet to be found.
“I appreciate the effort but there hasn’t been enough of a change for me to still feel comfortable,” Austin said. “I am currently looking for new housing arrangements.”