Indoor Environmental Air Quality

 

What if I find or suspect mold in my residence hall room?

One way to reduce the potential for mold is to regularly clean your room. The University cleans all residence hall rooms at the start of each school year, but does not re-enter these rooms for cleaning during the school year. The accumulation of dirt and dust on hard surfaces such as window sills, desk tops, and floor tiles can promote mold growth. Should you encounter mold on these types of surfaces you can easily clean them by wiping the surface down with a wet rag.

 

Residence hall living, where there are a large number of students living in a relatively small space, lends itself to spreading infectious diseases such as the common cold, influenza, and upper respiratory infections. The symptoms of these infections can be very similar to symptoms commonly associated with mold exposure. If you are having prolonged, unexplained symptoms (listed above), you can request to have your room inspected for mold. Submit a work request through Physical Facilities.

 

Although you are not required to be present for the inspection, EHSO typically likes to conduct these inspections when the occupant can be available to ensure that any specific areas of concern are thoroughly addressed. The inspection will follow procedures based on regulatory guidance and will include a visual inspection of the room’s heating ventilation and air conditioning system (often referred to as the room's fan coil unit).

Fan Coil Units

Residence hall room fan coil units provide heating and cooling to the room in which they are installed and do not exchange air with other rooms in the building. Each unit undergoes preventative maintenance before the start of the school year. This maintenance includes:

  1. Replacing air filters.
  2. Cleaning coils.
  3. Cleaning condensate drip pans.
  4. Cleaning any dust or dirt that may have accumulated on the air vents.
  5. Treating condensate drip pans with “pan-treat” tablets. The tablets are non-toxic, non-corrosive, biodegradable, and are used to control odors and prevent clogged drain lines.

 

Watch a short video on the basic operation of a fan coil unit or read more about fan coil units click here.

If you have questions about how an investigation is completed, please see the "How Does the University Investigate Mold Concerns?" page.

Additional resources:

CDC's Main Page on Mold: https://www.cdc.gov/mold/default.htm

CDC’s Mold Testing page: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/indoorenv/moldtesting.html

CDC's Indoor Air Quality Page: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/indoorenv/default.html

EPA’s Mold Testing and Sampling page: https://www.epa.gov/mold/mold-testing-or-sampling

EPA's Main Page on Mold: https://www.epa.gov/mold