Residents still without water, professionals warn of mold danger

Residents still without water, professionals warn about dangers of mold

From water damage, to still not having water, Austin residents are still feeling the impacts from the winter storm.

AUSTIN, Texas - From water damage, to still not having water, Austin residents are still feeling the impacts from the winter storm.

For two weeks Kelsey Getz and her husband have gone without being able to shower, do laundry, dishes or even wash her hands in their own home.

"I just felt like that was the worst part I think - I just never felt clean in my own house," Getz said.

For the first part, they were able to melt snow and use that, but lately they have been using the pool at her complex to fill up buckets and jugs.

"We have a couple of big buckets that my husband has been carding back and forth," she said. "I'm thankful to have an able bodied, strong partner to help me. You know, a lot of people don't have the ability to cart water. It's heavy."

Overall, she says the experience has been stressful.

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"For a while, we had a big construction truck out in the front, digging up a main line and, you know, it's, it just feels like we're living, not in Austin for sure," Getz said.

Adding, she knows she's not alone. Nic Cornwell, Owner of Quick Dry Restoration, said that they are seeing their weekly average of customers daily since the storms.

"We still have a significant waitlist of over 50 or more residential homes just, you know, sitting in water unfortunately," he said. "And so, we're, we're trying to help everybody that we can."

He says, after the 72 hour mark it's not about drying out the area, but rather having it replaced. He adds if you can't get a professional out yet, there's a few things you can do yourself.

"The first thing of course would be protecting any furniture or belongings that may be in the effected room if it's not your entire property that's been damaged," Cornwell said. "The next thing I'd recommend is maybe keeping your doors to that room closed, trying to avoid any air movement that could potentially spread spores throughout the property."

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As of 4:30 Tuesday afternoon, the Twenty15 Apartments said water had been restored to all residents and provided FOX 7 with this statement:

"Twenty15 apartments experienced several water leaks as a result of the recent and substantial storm activity. In the interest of safety the water to the property had to be shut off until repairs were complete. Unfortunately, this caused a disruption in water service to the residents at our community. During this time we’ve kept in constant communication with our residents providing multiple updates throughout each day. As of Tuesday afternoon, water has been restored to every resident."