Cambridge: Mom and baby have to hop on the sofa because the apartment is so moldy

A mother says she and her four-week-old baby were forced to jump off the sofa because their apartment was so moldy.

Katie McAulay, 26, from Cambridge, has lived in the flat with her partner Aiden Ohlemann, 28, for almost three years and complained to Cambridge City Council about the problem more than a year ago.

On top of that, her front door has expanded due to moisture and has been completely unusable for six months.

Katie and Aiden say the only advice the council gave was to “open the windows, spray the mold and use mildewproof paint.”

As the problem persists, Katie and her newborn are forced to leave the apartment where her partner continues to live.

She said: “I’m between my whole family at the moment, I’ve been staying with my mum, my sister and my grandmother for a few days at a time so I can give everyone space because obviously I can’t stay there permanently. so it’s just a fight for now.

“They are very supportive but obviously it’s difficult.

“My anxiety is through the roof at the moment because I just don’t know where I’m going next because I don’t want to come into the property except for appointments.

‘It’s really hard. It has a major impact on our mental health. It’s upsetting for the whole family because we have to be apart.

Speaking about the mold, Katie added: “It only got worse, it started coming through the paint, the ceiling got worse and it’s just gone through the whole property ever since.

“The kitchen, the closet has it, the hallway, every room has some form of mold, be it a little or a lot.”

Someone took care to fix the door, “by cutting off a piece of the door so we can open and close it more easily now,” Katie explained, but adds, “It lets drafts in because there’s one now.” gap.”

She added she was a “high-risk pregnancy” and spoke to the council to make her aware of it, but said they felt they were “just being ignored” and “nothing being done” to move her forward .

Katie also contracted tonsillitis twice while staying in the moldy apartment, and both she and Aiden got regular headaches.

A health visitor who visited the home on September 23 raised a concern about the “worrying health effects this can have on a newborn”.

Cambridge City Council has now promised to take “remedial action” to address the problems.

A spokesman said: “We have been working with tenants to investigate the moisture and mold issue at this address, including hiring an outside contractor to carry out an investigation, as well as additional inspections by council officials.

“The investigation report confirmed that excessive condensation caused the mold because the apartment was not adequately ventilated.

“As a result, we have agreed to take several remedial actions to address the issue.

“This includes a full clean to eliminate existing mold in three rooms (a manager discussed this procedure with tenants on Wednesday 5th October); Replacing the extractor fan in the bathroom and installing a fan in the kitchen; and replacing the kitchen flooring.

‘In addition, we have advised tenants that once these refurbishments are complete, the ceiling will need to be repainted and we will be offering renovation vouchers to tenants to help them with this.’

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