Pictures of mold in air vents caused alarm for students at San Diego State University living in Zura Hall. SDSU says tests done Wednesday afternoon found there is no black mold and spores are at normal levels. They also say the spots worrying students are a common mold typically found in HVAC systems.
"I didn't even want to stay here last night," said Jake Wezener, who lives in Zura Hall. "I kind of wanted to go to a hotel."
Wezner isn't alone. NBC 7 spoke with several students who were concerned about the pictures going around showing what appears to be dark mold on the air vents.
"It was really disgusting," said Will Page, another student in Zura. "We opened our vent, we had to unscrew it, you'd turn it around and it's all black."
Get San Diego local news, weather forecasts, sports and lifestyle stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC San Diego newsletters.
The pictures quickly spread through the dorm and beyond, as students reached out to their parents about the problem and posted on social media.
"I'm on a group chat with some members on floor seven," said Owen Zeip, a student. "There's a bunch of cases where the vents are just completely black."
Local
SDSU said no one was available for an interview, but sent an email with the results of air and surface tests.
The university has received this afternoon both air and surface sample results for Zura Hall. Based on these test results, no evidence of black mold has been detected in Zura Hall. Further, all air samples measured and returned today indicate that spore levels are at normal levels, and they are also common spore types found in nature, as anticipated. The spotting identified on HVAC registers has been confirmed as a common mold that is typically found in low levels in HVAC systems.
The university continues to communicate with student residents and encourages them that regular cleaning and minimizing moisture by keeping windows closed while HVAC systems are running will help to ensure that surface spore levels remain within normal levels. Out of an abundance of caution, assessment is ongoing.
An email sent to students on Tuesday also said recent rain and humidity has contributed to increased presence of visible mold growth, and explained what to do if they suspect they have mold in their rooms.
"It said if you find any cases, report it through a link," said Wezner. "There are ways to get it cleaned if we find it in our room."
However students are still worried and want answers quickly.
"If something doesn't happen soon, I'll probably go somewhere else," said Wezner. "I'm not trying to sleep in mold or do my work in mold."
