By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Fort Hays State University has finished cleaning and maintenance to address mold issues in McMindes Hall.
Students reported issues inside McMindes Hall and Victor E. Village beginning this summer.
On Sept. 13, iSi Environmental conducted inspections in 20 rooms within Victor E. Village and McMindes Hall, a common area in McMindes Hall, and two adjacent outdoor spaces. An inspection on Oct. 24 reported low to moderate levels of two common potential allergen mold types.
FHSU officials said iSi returned to campus in February and again found mold.
University officials met with iSi and representatives of Restore and Clean on Wednesday. Restore and Clean is cleaned rooms in McMindes and will soon start in Victor E. Village.
The complete iSi report from February was released Wednesday. Scott Cason, FHSU's chief communications officer, said the university is trying to be transparent about the issue and met with students living in the residence halls and staff to answer questions about the iSi reports and the cleaning process.
The report said although two common kinds of mold were found in McMindes Hall, only normal levels of outdoor molds were found in Victor E. Village.
Although the types of mold found can inflame allergies for those sensitive to mold, no black mold, which can be associated with more severe health concerns, was found.
Cason said the university still intends to proceed with cleaning and maintenance on Victor E. Village.
During iSi's inspection in February, the company found insulation in the HVAC units in some of the McMindes rooms had become detached and allowed condensation and mold growth within the units.
The problem couldn't be seen from outside of the units. The adhesive holding the insulation in place had likely broken down over time, Cason said.
The university replaced the insulation in all the units and cleaned the HVAC units and the rooms.
iSi also recommended cleaning the tops of the thermal pipes in the McMindes Hall ceiling, which has also been completed.
"We want to be thorough," Cason said. "We want to be able to tell our students and our parents that we were thorough and we did our due diligence to make sure those rooms were not just as mold-free as we can get them but as allergen-free as we can get them."
Cason said Restore and Clean primarily found cleaning issues and little mold.
On its initial inspection, iSi found several rooms with poor housekeeping conditions, including overflowing trash and recycling cans, dirty dishes, and dirty laundry, which could promote mold, the report said.
The follow-up inspection in February noted fewer of these problems.
However, it urged the university to instruct room occupants to maintain their rooms.
• Do not allow trash and recyclables to accumulate, especially those with sugary residue.
• Dust surfaces as needed to avoid dust accumulation that might allow mold growth.
• Do not allow damp towels and clothing to accumulate in the room, especially in unventilated areas such as baskets.
• Wash and thoroughly dry bed linens and dirty clothes to avoid odors and the accumulation of moisture and body oils that encourage bacteria, mold and dust mites, the report said.
About 1,300 FHSU students live on campus. As of February, 67 work orders concerning mold have been requested.
Neither McMindes Hall nor Victor E. Village has been closed to students during the mold inspection and cleaning process. Students were asked to vacate their rooms for a few hours while individual rooms were cleaned.
Cason said Restore and Clean was able to complete its work in McMindes much faster than projected. The university is still working with the company on the timeline for the cleaning at Victor E. Village, but Cason said he anticipated a similar timeline.
He said students there will also only be asked to leave their rooms briefly during cleaning.
If students still have concerns about mold in their room, the university is requesting they submit work orders.
- Go to https://www.fhsu.edu/reslife/Forms/, and click the link titled Work Order Request listed on the page.
If you have a medically documented sensitivity to mold or other allergens and believe that your room conditions are of concern, you can talk with Residential Life staff at 785-628-4245 about the process for requesting room adjustments, the university said in a FAQ on its website.
Cason said the university is working with Restore and Clean to develop a cleaning and maintenance plan to help prevent future issues.
"There is going to be some learning for our maintenance staff that we are going to put to work," he said.
Cason said campus student health had not reported an increased respiratory illness since the mold concerns were raised.
The university has been discussing the issue with the Ellis County Health Department and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
KDHE has been preparing a survey of FHSU students who live or lived in McMindes Hall or Victor E. Village between the beginning of the academic year and now to determine if there has been a spike in respiratory illness.
Students who live or lived in any other campus residence halls and submitted a mold-related work order should also receive the survey.
That survey should be completed by the end of the week, and results should be available in about a month.
"One of the challenges in this process is there are so many things that can cause respiratory problems," Cason said. "Mold is one of them, but so are dust mites, so is COVID or the flu or a head cold."
FHSU has created FAQs about Mold Concerns on its website. You can also find links to the complete iSi inspection reports from Oct. 24 and March 5.