Houston woman's air conditioning fixed, but what she discovered is even worse
Woman discovers mold in air-conditioning unit after it's replaced
FOX 26 investigates after a woman reported that she had been living without air-conditioning for a couple of months. That issue has been resolved. But now there's a new problem that could be even more serious for her family. FOX 26's Tiffany Justice explains.
HOUSTON - Just days after FOX 26 first reported about a Houston woman not having air conditioning in her apartment. The apartment complex installed a new unit, but she says what she discovered is even worse.
"The door camera had alerted me when the front door was open, and it was the maintenance people," said Cynthia Marshall, tenant of the Del Mar Apartment. "When I got there I saw everything outside, and I immediately started taking pictures."
After we spoke with Cynthia Marshall, the grandmother of 3-year-old Jayceon Smith, who has Cerebral Palsy on Tuesday about her repeated attempts to fix her central air and heating that were ignored, she got a surprise visit on Thursday morning.
What she saw was once the A/C unit was broken down, there were moldy filters and rusted out equipment.
"I'm trying to stay calm. But it hurts me, how can you do people like that? Not only that, think about the kids," said Marshall. "I feel so bad, because I had him there not knowing until they took it apart today."
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She says she is now realizing why her family was constantly sneezing and feeling sick. She also refuses to bring Jayceon back to that apartment.
"He cannot be in that type of environment," said Cynthia. "I’m holding back tears when I saw what I’ve been breathing in all this time."
Cynthia tells us she first notified the apartment that her air conditioning was broken on April 20 and again on May 22.
The last straw was when she noticed Jayceon’s milk, during his feeding time, had spoiled.
According to the Houston Apartment Association, Texas Property Code provides that an owner has the duty to make a diligent effort to repair a condition that materially affects the health or safety of an ordinary resident. A duty she says is not being fulfilled by the apartment complex owners.