When Georjean Long, Mallory Hart and Olivia Eldert moved into their apartment and saw standing water, they also saw a problem.
Ever since then, the carpets have been wet and their socks get damp every time they walk on it.
These Dillon residents shared what has become a familiar story at The Dillon. They found mold in their home and complained about the the Dillon’s poor management.
A few weeks earlier, IU NewsNet investigated similar problems with a different apartment in the same building. The previous tenants moved out of their home because they say they suffered extreme exposure to black mold.
Long, Hart and Eldert said they didn’t even consider they had a mold issue until they heard about their former neighbors’ situation.
They say the Dillon hired the Stanley Steamer company to put industrial fans throughout the unit.
The residents asked the apartment complex to complete a mold test when the carpet still felt damp.
“Maintenance came and did these three mold inspections and said, ‘We don’t see anything. You’re crazy.There’s nothing here,” Long said.
The Dillon never showed the residents the results from the mold inspection which The Dillon management says was completed when the residents weren’t home. The complex handled the previous situation with other tenants the same way. Those tenants say they had to move for the sake of their health.
After the Dillon’s inspection, Long said she found mold in her closet. She and her roommates decided to hire the same private mold inspector their old neighbors used.
When the inspector from Mold Inspection and Testing arrived at the Dillon, he said he thought he was in the same apartment as the previous residents. Long and her roommates explained to him that they were neighbors of the previous tenants who had severe mold problems.
The inspector told Long, “Everything still has moisture. He looked at me and said that they has probably painted over it,” when referring to the mold in Long’s closet.
The inspection results show that black mold is present throughout their apartment.
Mallory Hart said she had mold in her bathroom vent. The Dillon said they cleaned it for her, but when the inspector checked, he said it was still there.
Olivia Eldert said this isn’t her first encounter with mold. She lived in McNutt Residence Hall when IU had mold problems. However, she said she feels the IU properly addressed the issue ensuring students’ safety.
She and her roommates say they don’t feel the same way about the Dillon. They say that they feel unsafe living in their current home.