PORT ORANGE, Fla. — A Port Orange couple claims their belongings were destroyed by mold, and they're blaming a local storage company.
The couple picked a climate-controlled unit to protect their property, but lab tests suggest it was a mold breeding ground.
Masks hide the smell but you can't miss the damage: Mold stains chairs, sofas and clothes inside the storage unit that holds Melissa and George Reynold's property.
“It's everything we have left to show, and it’s all gone. Everything,” said Melissa Reynolds.
The couple stored belongings four months ago while waiting for a new home. Now they claim even their boys' toys have been ruined.
“Both kids started crying because it's everything they had, too,” said Melissa Reynolds.
The family said it picked All Aboard Storage because it was climate-controlled. Its website claims to prevent moisture damage.
“You thought this was a safe landing spot?” asked Action 9's Todd Ulrich.
“Absolutely, (but) it's turning into a nightmare, an absolute nightmare,” said George Reynolds, who complained to managers a month ago.
According to the family, the company treated mold in the hallway one time but said it was not responsible for the damage.
All Aboard called that a mold prevention only.
The Reynolds hired a state-licensed mold assessor whose testing found high mold levels inside their unit and obvious mold in the hallways that she blamed on high humidity levels.
Ulrich took those results to company managers.
“How did that happen?” asked Ulrich.
“We do not know. Our maintenance men could not find any other mold in the other units,” said the manager.
“According to experts, the humidity is too high. It's a mold growing environment,” stated Ulrich.
“We have not seen those reports,” said the manager.
The company said it would review the lab results and could reconsider.
The Reynolds had not heard that before.
“They were not willing to work with us at all,” said Melissa Reynolds.
The mold assessment report also told the Reynolds a lot of the furniture had to be thrown out, and cleaning other items could be costly.
Their personal insurance does not cover the loss.