Miami Mold Discovery…
Last January, a tenant of my customer called and said “you need to come to the house and see what’s going on”. He went to the house to discover that the master bedroom ceiling was moist and covered with mold. It was necessary for the tenant to move out so that mold remediation could begin. After much back and forth, the landlord offered the tenant cash for keys for a quick departure.
Insurance claim…
Insurance claims were made with Citizens and the other insurance company ($10,000 is the maximum for mold coverage even though remediation frequently costs $20,000-$30,000). 6 months of vacancy later, the insurance companies continued to deny the claim. Therefore, the property owner undertook the remediation steps on his own.
Here are the steps to remediate mold in your Miami home (this is what our customer did)…
1) My customer had an environmental engineer conduct a comprehensive test of the home’s air quality. It is advisable to have an environmental engineer as opposed to a home inspector for a more thorough evaluation of the home’s air quality. Important: It is advisable that the environmental engineer is NOT referred by the mold remediation company. The engineer’s function is to monitor the mold remediator’s effectiveness and take them to task if the job is not done correctly.
2) My customer gave the environmental engineer’s “remediation protocol” to a mold remediation company that he chose (as mentioned above).
The remediation company then…
- tore out drywall, cabinetry, tiles, sinks, granite counters, etc. to remove all signs of visible mold
- sealed off every room to prevent mold spores from spreading from a moldy room to a clean room
- installed air scrubbing machines and de-humidifiers to remove the airborne mold spores in the home (otherwise, the spores could settle on another surface and start growing again).
3) The environmental engineer then returned to the home and re-tested. In this case, the test showed on which surfaces mold was still present.
4) The remediation company then came back out to remove additional drywall and wall tiles.
5) Environmental Engineer returned to re-test and gave the all clear.
6) At this point, the general contractor returned and started re-assembling the home’s interior. (drywall, cabinetry, kitchen counters, etc.)
All in all, my customer says the total spent on remediation was a costly $40,000 (when you factor in the months of vacancy).
Mold Prevention tips…
- Quickly seal any roof leaks or other leaks around the home
- Insert a clause in your leases that tenants must keep interior temperature below a maximum temperature (78 degrees for instance)
- Be sure your air conditioning system is not too powerful for the size of the home. Air conditioners that are too powerful will cool the air in the home too quickly. This does not allow the a/c to adequately perform its secondary function which is to remove moisture from the ambient air.
- Ensure that there is adequate insulation in the roof. If not, the contrast between the cool interior air and the 120 degree roof deck will cause condensation on the interior ceiling (which can lead to mold).