A woman says mold in her apartment’s air conditioning unit left her suffering from ‘burning’ skin and a bill for $10,000.
Autumn Clayman, 29, started suffering from a burning sensation around her face and began to see red marks appear on her skin shortly after moving into her new apartment in Los Angeles, California, in February.
She then started developing eczema – chronic inflammation and itchiness of the skin – across her body and her allergies worsened.
Unsure of what was causing her issues Ms Clayman cut out certain foods to see if things improved, but they didn’t.
By June, Ms Clayman’s flare ups got worse and she believed the cause was something in her apartment. So, she stayed at her boyfriend’s for two weeks. While there, her symptoms began to ease.
Feeling confident it was her home causing the issues, Ms Clayman paid $780 to have her apartment tested for mold and it came back positive for stachybotrys chartarum – or black mold – in both of her air conditioning units, which had been blasting cold air throughout the apartment
Autumn Clayman claims black mold in her apartment’s air conditioning unit caused her skin irritation
Ms Clayman said she developed eczema – chronic inflammation and itchiness of the skin – because of the black mold
Ms Clayman moved into the apartment in February and began noticing symptoms after just a few weeks.
She said: ‘There’s a big mold issue in LA and apartments are old. I moved in and around April I started experiencing symptoms.
‘I wasn’t 100 percent sure if it was the apartment so I ran through all the scenarios. I cut out a bunch of foods to see if it would change things but it didn’t help.’
Ms Clayman, who runs a consulting business, continued: ‘For six months I felt like I was living in fight or flight. My gut told me there was a deeper issue going on.
‘I couldn’t sleep at night because my skin was so itchy. Not only are you dealing with your skin – your whole body burns and it really affects you.
‘I had a burning sensation that started on my face, eyes and neck, followed by visible red patches. Then the eczema started on those areas and throughout my skin
‘My allergies flared up and I had burning, itchy eyes. I had fatigue and more depressive episodes too.’
At the end of July, after Ms Clayman returned home from her boyfriend’s, she paid for a mold inspector to inspect her apartment.
She said: ‘He came out and he said he could tell there was mold present. They checked the AC units and there was visible mold inside of them. The AC was always blasting so no wonder I would feel so congested when I would wake up.
‘After a swab test, it came back as black mold.’
Black mold typically grows where there is moisture from water damage, water leaks, condensation or flooding.
The Cleveland Clinic reports that block mold triggers an immune response and people may experience exacerbated allergies and develop symptoms like sneezing, coughing, congestion and eye irritation.
Testing of the substances in her AC unit came back as stachybotrys chartarum – or black mold
Black mold is a fungus that can exacerbate allergies and cause sneezing, coughing and congestion
For most people, exposure to black mold will not make you severely ill or cause death. For people with weakened immune systems, however, black mold exposure can cause mycosis, a fungal infection throughout the body that leads to fatigue, muscle aches, chest pain, weight loss and asthma-like symptoms.
Following the results of the test, Ms Clayman’s landlord apologized and performed two deep cleans of the apartment before she moved back in.
While work began to remedy the issue, Ms Clayman had multiple doctors appointments for her eczema and she is currently waiting to see a dermatologist for her skin.
Despite the deep clean, she said her symptoms returned just a day after moving back into her apartment.
She said: ‘They cleaned the AC units. I moved back in in August and by the next day, my symptoms had come back.
‘It wasn’t safe for me to live there anymore – it was affecting me physically, mentally, and in my work.
‘They decided to let me out of the lease and I moved out a few days later.’
Because of how widespread the black mold was in her apartment, Ms Clayman said she had to move and replace many of her belongings
But because the mold spores spread across the apartment by the blowing air conditioner, the mold had contaminated much of her belongings and she had to replace most of her furniture.
She estimates she spent $10,000 replacing contaminated furniture and clothes, on medical appointments for her skin and mold tests.
She said: ‘I had to get rid of dining tables, chairs, consoles, the dresser, fabrics, rugs – anything that was porous.
‘With the financial loss and throwing stuff out, I’ve spent $10,000 so far – that doesn’t account all the furniture I’ve had to rebuy.
‘It’s been great in the new apartment. I feel like I can focus on healing and taking care of my body.’
