Boarding students troubled by hostel problems

By Lai Syer Chian, Lim Jia Ying

Fungus has overly grown in the washroom due to water leaking.

SEPANG: Boarding students in XMUM are feeling helpless due to the recurring problems that affect the living condition within their dorms.

The growth of mold and the invasion of insects are no longer strange to the boarding students.

Located in the middle of a plantation, XMUM has a very high humidity that could affect the dormitory architectures which later resulted as the occurrence of bugs and the growth of mold on furniture.

“There’s a small area of mold on the ceiling of my room. It looks really unpleasant, I have decided to change my room to Ling Yun 4,” said Tan You Jun from D5.

World Health Organization stated that inhaling mold may cause respiratory problems such as allergies, asthma and infections.

Clothes moths (Tineola bisselliella) are the most commonly seen bugs in the dorms.

Having her room facing the lakeside, Wong Yen Wei claimed that there were more insects in her twin-sharing room compared to her friends. “It really dirties my room, most of the times I’m afraid that they will fall on me.”

Clothes moths are commonly seem in dorm rooms.

Clothes Moths occurred when the humidity of the environment was favored. They fed on wool clothing, stored foods and could destroy fabric materials.

Meanwhile, the existence of fungus was reported in some rooms in D2 and D3.

It is believed that the high humidity is the main cause of this problem.

The poor maintenance has frustrated the students even more.

“The mold is growing rapidly on the ceilings in the toilet due to the leakage of pipes.” said Lim Jessie who lives in D3.

“We have applied maintenance for more than 3 times but the pipe in our toilet is still leaking,” added Teh Sin Yee, Jessie’s roommate.

Some students were not optimistic on overcoming the hostel problems.

“The request for maintenance can be ignored sometimes,” said Tan, who found her tables and chairs covered in mold after December semester break.

Some students have been venting out their anger in the official confession page of XMUM in Facebook.

An anonymous post in the confession page complained that D3 is like a zoo. “We have frogs, mosquitoes and millipedes at the ground floor. As the floor level goes higher, we’ll have various bugs on the wall.

Studies have shown that using charcoal dehumidifiers, naphthalene and insecticides in room will minimize the issue.