2008 Woodie Awards
Hold the mold
Piedmont takes action
by Joy Ugi
Issue date: 10/6/08 Section: Connections
Piedmont's dorms are a potential hotbed of that moisture-loving fungi called mold. Walls and ceilings suck in condensation from showers and air conditioner drips. Spilling a soda on a floor with a minor crack could prove disastrous. Even one leaky pipe could generate the allergy-causing substance.
There's a lot students can do to prevent mold. Keeping everything as dry as possible is the most obvious solution. Don't leave showers and sinks running. Clean up food and drink spills quickly. Keep walls and ceilings dry if there's a visible leak.
Although there are ways students can combat mold, sometimes the enemy is just too strong. That's when reinforcements are needed. In Piedmont's case, the maintenance department is the night in shining armor.
Senior Dustin Farist voiced his concerns about the extreme leak above his shower and the consequential mold growing there. The leak represented an impending disaster every time his roommate or he took a shower.
About a week ago, the maintenance department invaded his bathroom and fixed the disaster in his shower ceiling. First, the crew removed the damaged area. Farist says he could see a hole where the mold had eaten through the sheetrock.
The next step was filling the gaping hole with grey putty, ensuring no mold or subsequent damage could ensue there again.
"It was like a dentist filling a cavity," Farist says.
There's a lot students can do to prevent mold. Keeping everything as dry as possible is the most obvious solution. Don't leave showers and sinks running. Clean up food and drink spills quickly. Keep walls and ceilings dry if there's a visible leak.
Although there are ways students can combat mold, sometimes the enemy is just too strong. That's when reinforcements are needed. In Piedmont's case, the maintenance department is the night in shining armor.
Senior Dustin Farist voiced his concerns about the extreme leak above his shower and the consequential mold growing there. The leak represented an impending disaster every time his roommate or he took a shower.
About a week ago, the maintenance department invaded his bathroom and fixed the disaster in his shower ceiling. First, the crew removed the damaged area. Farist says he could see a hole where the mold had eaten through the sheetrock.
The next step was filling the gaping hole with grey putty, ensuring no mold or subsequent damage could ensue there again.
"It was like a dentist filling a cavity," Farist says.
Be the first to comment on this story