Assessment and remediation of mold that grows after water damage, and what the Florida mold license covers.
Fastest: call (833) 490-5225. Or send this and we call you back.
Mold after water damage is growth that starts on wet building materials when moisture is not removed quickly enough. In Florida, mold assessment and remediation are licensed by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation under Chapter 468, Part XVI, and that license is separate from water-damage work. Phones are answered 24/7.
Mold grows on wet material within days, and the humid air of North Florida gives it more time than most places. A surface that was dried loosely can still hold moisture inside a wall, a subfloor or a carpet pad, and the mold grows there where nobody sees it. That is why drying is measured to readings rather than to how the room looks.
Florida regulates mold work in a particular way. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation licenses mold assessors and mold remediators under Chapter 468, Part XVI of the Florida Statutes and Rule 61-31 of the Florida Administrative Code. That license covers mold assessment and remediation. It does not cover the water-damage drying, extraction or the structural repair that goes with it, and a company can hold one without the other.
This page describes how mold after water damage is handled in general and what to check. It is not a statement that any particular company holds the mold license. Ask for the license in writing, check it with the issuing agency, and do not accept a general certification or a certificate from a trade body in its place.
The Department of Business and Professional Regulation licenses mold assessors and mold remediators under Chapter 468, Part XVI of the Florida Statutes and Rule 61-31 of the Florida Administrative Code. The license covers mold assessment and mold remediation. It is a separate license from the one that water-damage drying and structural work may need.
A mold assessor looks at the building and reports on whether mold is present, where it is and how far it reaches. A mold remediator removes or cleans the mold under containment. A company doing both kinds of work needs the license that matches each part.
Water-damage drying, extraction and structural repair are not mold licenses. A company may be entirely competent at drying and still not hold a mold license, and that matters when the job includes mold removal.
Ask the company for its mold assessor or mold remediator license number and the name the license is held under, then check it with DBPR, which issues it. Do not accept a general certification, a trade association membership or a certificate from a training course in its place.
The license check is the homeowner's responsibility. This site does not hold the license for any company, and it does not verify it on your behalf. Keep a copy of what the company gives you, and check it before the work begins.
The Department of Business and Professional Regulation can be reached through its website at myfloridalicense.com. Ask it whether the number is current and whether it covers the type of work you need, such as assessment, remediation or both.
It can if it holds the right license for the mold work and the right trade credentials for the water work. The safer arrangement is to have the mold assessed separately from the company that removes it, so the clearance is not judged by the company that did the removal.
Where a single company does both, ask for the mold license number for the removal and the clearance check. The clearance is best carried out by a licensed mold assessor who is not part of the removal work, and the homeowner can ask for that arrangement.
The drying does not replace the mold work. A wall that has grown mold has to be cleaned or removed as well as dried, and the drying alone will not clear the growth.
The area of growth, whether it is on a surface or inside a wall, the materials involved, the containment needed and the number of clearance checks decide the scope. The price is explained and approved on site before any remediation starts, and any change is explained first.
A small surface growth on a single wall is a limited job. Growth inside a cavity, under a floor or spread across several rooms needs more containment, more removal and more checking, and the scope grows with it.
Access also changes the work. A wall opened from the room side is easier to contain than one that has to be opened from the attic or the crawl space. None of these factors is a figure on this site; the scope is set in the building and approved by you first.
Not always, but it is more likely when water is not dried in time. Mold needs moisture, food and time, and wet building materials provide all three. Drying within a day or two reduces the chance of growth, and measured drying lowers it further.
Mold does not always appear where the water was. It can grow in a cavity that was wet and not dried, in a closet behind a damp wall or under a carpet pad. The readings show where moisture remains, and the risk is judged from them.
A musty smell after a wet season is a reason to check, even if no growth is visible. The crew takes readings and looks at the likely places before it advises on whether mold work is needed.
Do not disturb large areas of visible mold yourself, and do not use a household fan to blow spores around the house. Wear a properly fitted mask and gloves if you must be near growth, and keep children, older people and anyone with asthma or a respiratory condition away from the affected room. Mold work inside containment should be done only by a licensed remediator.
Before any mold question is answered, the crew measures the wet materials in the affected area. Mold growth follows moisture, so the readings show where a problem is likely and where it is not.
Visible growth is recorded by location and extent, with photographs. Growth inside a wall is found by opening a small area and looking, since the surface may hide it, and the opening is photographed before anything is cut.
A licensed mold remediator separates the work area from the rest of the house with plastic sheeting and negative air, so the spores are not carried through the building. The containment is set up before any material is removed.
Material that is heavily colonized and cannot be cleaned is removed and bagged. Surfaces that can be cleaned are cleaned with a HEPA vacuum and suitable products, and the work is logged.
The area is dried to the dry standard, and the readings are confirmed before the containment comes down. Where the job calls for it, a clearance check is done by a licensed mold assessor, not by the same person who did the work.
Growth on painted drywall or a wood trim line can often be cleaned and dried if the moisture source is stopped. The surface is cleaned, the cavity is checked for moisture, and the wall is dried before it is painted over.
Growth inside the cavity usually requires opening the material, removing what is colonized, and cleaning the framing. That work sits within the mold license, and the containment is set up before the wall is opened.
Carpet and pad that have grown mold are usually removed rather than cleaned. Furniture and stored items with mold are assessed and either cleaned or removed, and the decision is recorded with photographs.
Tell us what's happening and we'll tell you honestly whether it's a quick fix, and what mold after water damage should cost.
The humid air of Jacksonville keeps wet building materials damp for longer than in drier cities, and mold can take hold in the cooler parts of a house, such as closets, crawl spaces and the back of cabinets. Those are the places the moisture check starts with after a leak or a flood.
Older houses in the historic neighborhoods of Riverside and Avondale have plaster, lath and wood framing, and mold can grow in the lath and the cavities behind the plaster without showing on the surface. Opening small areas to look is part of the assessment in those homes.
Apartments and shops in the city's core often share walls and ceilings with other units, and mold in one space can spread into the next through the framing. The assessment looks at the shared surfaces and the neighboring units where the moisture source runs through them.
Air movement and dehumidification that dry floors, walls and framing to measured readings in humid North Florida air.
Cleanup of water that has come back up a drain or toilet, handled as contaminated water from the first step.
Drying and removal of wet insulation and ceiling board after water has come through the roof or from a plumbing fault above.
Removal of standing water and drying of the joists, subfloor and insulation in a crawl space after rain or river flooding.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
DBPR is the state body that issues mold licenses in Florida, under Chapter 468, Part XVI of the Florida Statutes and Rule 61-31 of the Florida Administrative Code.
Humid North Florida air slows the drying of a wet house because outdoor moisture can enter as fast as the equipment removes it.
Before a water damage company starts work, ask what it will do, who will do it, what credentials cover each part, and what the scope and price are.
No. The Florida mold license covers mold assessment and remediation, and it is issued by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Drying and extraction are separate work. Ask any company to show which license covers each part of its job.
Small areas of surface growth on a hard surface can sometimes be cleaned by a homeowner with care and protection. Larger areas, growth inside walls and growth in porous materials should be left to a licensed remediator under containment, since the spores spread when the material is disturbed.
A clearance check by a licensed mold assessor, done after the remediation and the drying, is the usual way to confirm it. The assessor takes readings and inspects the area, and the result is written down. The check should be done by someone who did not do the removal.
This site does not say what a policy covers, because that depends on the policy and the insurer. Keep the photographs of the growth and the readings, and ask your insurer what it needs. The Florida Department of Financial Services takes consumer complaints about claims.
Usually because the moisture source was not stopped or the material was not dried to the standard. Mold returns quickly when the wood or the cavity is still wet. The crew measures the area before and after and records the readings, so you can see whether the moisture is gone.
The crew can measure moisture and look at the likely places during the water-damage visit, and it will tell you what it finds. A full mold assessment is done by a licensed mold assessor, and a crew that is not licensed for that work will say so and refer you to one.