With high-powered hurricanes bombarding the east coast, many have sought refuge in hotels and inns of nearby states that are out of the path of the storms.
But what happens when you run from a storm, only to end up in a hotel with what appears to be mold under the wallpaper?
A Hilton hotel’s mold problem
One woman on TikTok says she and her family evacuated for Hurricane Milton to a Hilton hotel, where she noticed wallpaper in the hallway outside of their room lifting at the seams.
In a video that has drawn over 792,000 views on TikTok, user @onthego_mom shows herself lifting the edge of the wallpaper to reveal a blotted pattern underneath that she says she suspects is mold.
“It’s in the hallway of our room,” she says in the video. “Our room’s here, and honestly this is concerning. So I looked, and that’s just pure mold. I mean—it goes all the way down. All the walls are like this. The vents are not great. Our room smells like mold, which made me pay more attention. These seams are busted. They must have had a water leak, I mean, a huge one. These are peeling.”
@onthego_mom I’m livid! We are on our second hurricane in 2 weeks and evacuated to a Hilton hotel full of mold. The staff is aware and admitted they failed a recent inspection. Nothing else is available in the area. We have kids! #mold #hiltonhotel #hotelmold #hurricaneevacuation #miltonhurricane #hiltoninn ♬ original sound – OnTheGo_Mom
In her caption for the video, the poster says hotel staff is aware of the mold.
“I’m livid!” her video caption reads. “We are on our second hurricane in 2 weeks and evacuated to a Hilton hotel full of mold. The staff is aware and admitted they failed a recent inspection. Nothing else is available in the area. We have kids!”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Hilton via email and to @onthego_mom via TikTok comment.
Is mold exposure dangerous?
Long-term exposure to mold has been known to cause respiratory issues, sinus issues, eye and skin irritation.
It can also cause toxicity over time, resulting in persistent headaches and migraines, exhaustion and cramping. The immune response to mold spores can also take the form of a runny or stuffy nose, asthma symptoms such as shortness of breath, and mild infections of the airways for those who are particularly sensitive to mold.
Viewers weigh in
Given the climate of the southeast—typically warm and moist for most of the year—some viewers were not totally shocked that the poster found mold in her hotel.
“Isn’t most of Florida like this?” one commenter wrote. “Not just hotels but like everywhere?”
“In that climate it’s inescapable,” another added.
“This was just my entire experience visiting Florida years ago,” a third claimed.
Others shared that they and family members had become very sick as a result of mold exposure, empathizing with the poster.
“I ended up in the hospital with mold poisoning just from one spot that had really bad mold you need to get out of there but can make you very sick and believe me it’s not fun,” one commenter wrote.
“My son had a cold one time that started around Halloween and his nose stayed runny for 6 months after that,” another commented. “Kept going and going to the doctor. Had no idea it was the home we lived in. Be safe!”
“As someone who is currently detoxing from mold toxicity I would be having a panic attack,” a further user said. “The symptoms are terrible. If you have a car sleep in it if you can.”
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