SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — A Sandy Springs couple is taking matters into their own hands after, they said, their apartment complex failed to fix a mold problem.
Sara Ausburn contacted Channel 2 Action News about the issue at the Residences at Morgan Falls Apartments on Roswell Road.
"I just want to know that we are safe to live here, to breathe in this air, to sleep, to not get sick," she told Channel 2's Mike Petchenik.
Ausburn said she found mold on the wall in her bathroom last month and immediately contacted the leasing office. She said a maintenance worker came to the unit, but only sprayed bleach on the spot and told her to keep an eye on the situation. She told Petchenik the spot continued to grow and quickly spread across the wall.
When workers removed a patch of sheet rock, pictures the Ausburns sent Petchenik show what appears to be mold growing behind it. Ausburn said workers patched up the wall and left the mold inside.
"No one even returned my call," she said of apartment management.
Ausburn and husband, Peter, took their own samples and pictures of the mold and Monday they brought their own mold expert to test the air quality. She said apartment management refused to do it.
"We need to get it tested, and they obviously don't want to do that," Peter Ausburn said.
Eric Rachjel, with Mold Inspections & Testing, told Petchenik he was collecting a sample to send it off to a lab.
"If the mold is still in the wall, it could come back," he said. "It can actually cause a lot of health problems."
When the Ausburns confronted apartment management Monday, a woman in the leasing office told them she would "take care of it." The Ausburns said the office later sent another maintenance worker to the apartment to recheck for mold issues.
The management company sent Petchenik a statement about the Ausburns' concerns from Residences at Morgan Falls Community Manager, Patty Smimmo:
"Management has consistently responded promptly to this resident's concerns. We were first informed on May 11 of the issue and subsequently repaired and replaced a section of the wall and baseboard in the bathroom. We added additional sheet rock on June 3 and repainted the area on June 4.
Each time the resident called the office, we sent trained maintenance teams immediately to investigate and, if necessary, remedy any issues. We believe the issue has been resolved, but we will inspect the apartment again to be certain. It is our standing policy to respond to maintenance requests as quickly as possible, and our record is very good in this regard."
WSBTV
