It is common for college students to wake up worrying about their homework that is due that day or a test they might have. Laura Nulton, a sophomore at Wilkes University, wakes up every morning wondering if her room is leaking again.
Wilkes University Towers is generally considered a pleasant place to live. However, not everyone in Towers is content with their living conditions.
Every time a dark cloud rolls over Wilkes-Barre, the students who live towards the top and ends of the building prepare to take on water. As rainwater seeps through the bricks of the building, the Towers’ occupants can only watch as their walls and ceiling crumble to pieces. There is always a possibility that mold will grow when water becomes stagnant in a small area. Water damaged rooms are a health hazard and distraction to students who are paying to live in Wilkes’ University Towers.
“I woke up and didn’t have my glasses on, so I reached over and felt around for my phone. It was covered in water.” said Nulton. Many of her personal belongings were affected. “All my clothes were soaked with yellow dirty water and my phone and laptop both damaged as well.” Laura has moved most of her furniture to the living room. The only item in her room is her bed, because there is no room for it anywhere else.
She is not the only one who was forced to move out. Mark Attilio and his roommate Ed Martinko, both sophomores at Wilkes University, sleep in their living room because their room is simply inhabitable. “Water fell directly on my roommate and woke him up. We all got up in the middle of the night to put plastic bags over everything and hoped for the best.” Attilio said. Laura and Mark’s rooms both have visible water damage to the carpets, walls and ceilings. They cope with the leaking every time it rains.
Mold can be a serious concern for people with allergies. “I wake up every morning with a stuffy nose.” Nulton said. According to waterdamagemold.org there are over 10,000 species of mold, which reproduce by releasing spores into the air. Skin rash, cough, nasal congestion, lung infection and difficulty breathing are just a few effects that mold can have on the body.
Reslife and 2Fix are currently working to clean up the rooms, but can only do so much. “They know what the issue is but it costs too much to fix. A request was put in for money to fix it.” Attilio said. “Reslife offered us another room but my roommates and I already put hours into decorating the one we have now.” Laura explained. Neither one of them wishes to move out, and is now hoping that Wilkes can make their rooms habitable again.
For more information about mold due to water damage, visit:
http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/ts/iaq/got_mold.html
http://www.waterdamagemold.org
