- July 30, 2018
A Thornton resident is seeking a new place for her and her family to call home after test results found that black mold was growing in the family’s apartment.
Ms. Ward reached out to a local news station for help.
“I signed a mold addendum, so I am screwed, probably,” she said when she contacted the news station. “Ever since day one, we’ve had problems.”
Problems began almost as soon as Ms. Ward and her family moved into their unit at the Skyline Apartments in Thornton. She claims that the issues started with her air filters and the air conditioning unit in her apartment.
“When I noticed it was leaking… I thought, well, this is odd. So I took pictures of the inside of it and that’s what I found in those pictures.” She is referring to pictures that she sent the news station on Facebook.
According to Ward, the leak was reported to the management of the apartment complex; however, when it came to test results for mold, she was not given any answers.
Ward alleges that the manger told her that the tests results did not matter and that most of the time, mold test results are false.
She completed and submitted an accommodation form that requested to have the air conditioning unit cleaned and the mold removed by a crew that would be hired by the apartment complex. However, despite the required, nobody ever did the work. As such, she decided to call someone else.
Ward got in touch with a reputable third-party mold testing company. The local news station that Ward spoke with checked the Better Business Bureau Rating of the mold testing company to confirm their legitimacy. They have an A+ rating with the BBB.
When the tests for Ward’s apartment came back, it was confirmed that stachybotrys, a form of toxic black mold, was present in her apartment unit.
“They should hire somebody professional to come in and clean the place,” the professional who conducted the mold inspection said. He also said that the Ward family should move out of the apartment unit until it is properly cleaned.
Until the remediation is completed, Ward said that she is most concerned about her children. Her three children are autistic and she said that she is worried that her apartment is uninhabitable for them. She said, “We paid for a habitable place to live and we don’t have that, so that is what I am seeking is a habitable place for my kids.”
When the Skyline Apartments were questions about the matter, they issued a statement that said they attempted to take care of the problem immediately, but because of Ward’s schedule, there have been delays in the checks and repairs.
Mold Inspection & Testing Denver strongly, a reputable mold testing company, recommends that all apartment complexes schedule routine mold assessments in all units of their buildings to ensure the safety of their residents. To speak with an MI&T representative, call 720.445.4453.
