Mold after a leak or flood
A pipe, a roof, the AC drain, the unit above, or a storm put water in the house and now there is growth or a smell. Drying and containment first, then assessment.
786-292-2505Miami-Dade · English & Spanish
Mold removal and remediation in Miami
Mold in a Miami home is a moisture problem with a smell: fix the water, then the mold. Removal and remediation anywhere in Miami-Dade, mold after a leak, inspection and testing, mold in the AC, clearance. Assessors and remediators who work your part of the county, in English or Spanish. The pages here say what the law requires, when a test is worth paying for, and when a patch is small enough to handle yourself.
60%
Relative humidity
Mold grows on damp surfaces above about 60% indoor humidity. Miami sits at 70–80% outdoors most of the year; the AC is what keeps a house under the line.
24–48 h
Wet to growth
Drywall, carpet pad, and cabinet backs that stay wet longer than a day or two grow mold in this climate. Drying beats removal every time.
10 sq ft
The license line
Florida requires licensed assessors and remediators for anything over 10 square feet, about a 3 by 3 foot patch. Under that, you may clean it yourself.
2
Separate companies
Florida restricts one company from both assessing and removing on the same property, with statutory exceptions. Both come through this number.
Mold services
Mold after fresh water damage goes straight to the phone, because the drying clock is running. For everything else, call and say what you are seeing.
Mold removal and remediation
Visible growth larger than a sheet of paper, or a musty smell whose source you cannot find. A licensed remediator sets containment, removes what cannot be cleaned, and dries the affected materials while the moisture source is corrected.
Call 786-292-2505Mold inspection and testing
A licensed assessor finds the moisture source, maps the growth, and writes the protocol the remediator has to follow. Testing when it answers a real question, not by default.
Call 786-292-2505Mold in the AC, ducts, or air handler
Black dust on supply vents, a smell when the system starts, growth in the closet or on the coil. The number-one place mold hides in a Miami home.
Call 786-292-2505Post-remediation clearance testing
After the remediator finishes, a separate licensed assessor verifies the work before the walls close. The document you keep for insurers, buyers, and landlords.
Call 786-292-2505Condo, apartment, and rental mold
Leaks from the unit above, a closed-up unit that ran humid for months, a landlord who is not responding. Who is responsible, what to document, who to call.
Call 786-292-2505Need a mold professional? Call 786-292-2505
How Florida splits the work
The one who tests is never the one who removes
Chapter 468 of the Florida Statutes licenses two different trades and bars one company from doing both on the same job. It is the single most useful thing to know before you call anyone.
Licensed mold assessor · MRSA
Finds it, writes the plan, verifies the fix
- Moisture readings and a map of where the growth is and why it is there
- Sampling only when it answers a question: hidden growth, a dispute, a doctor asking
- A written remediation protocol the remediator must follow
- Clearance testing after the work, before the walls are closed
Licensed mold remediator · MRSR
Contains it, removes it, dries the affected materials
- Containment and negative air so spores do not travel through the house
- Removal of porous material that cannot be cleaned: drywall, insulation, carpet pad
- HEPA cleaning of what stays; no fogging, no bleach on drywall
- Drying to the numbers in the protocol, with photos and readings for your file
Both licenses are public record, and the report and the estimate carry the numbers.
Before anyone arrives
What to do in the first hour, and what not to do. None of it needs a license.
Do not
- Spray bleach on drywall or wood. It wets porous material, does not reach roots, and makes the assessor’s reading harder.
- Tear out moldy drywall without containment; you spread spores through the whole house and the AC.
- Pay for air testing before anyone has found the water source.
- Sign anything that gives a contractor rights to your insurance claim. That has been illegal in Florida since 2023.
- Find and stop the water. A leak under a sink, an AC drain line that backs up, a roof or window, the unit upstairs. Mold without a moisture source does not come back.
- Keep indoor humidity under 60%. Use the AC and, if you have one, a dehumidifier; if you suspect the AC system itself has mold, leave it off until a professional confirms it is safe. A ten-dollar hygrometer tells you where you stand.
- Photograph the growth with something for scale and photograph the water source. Date the photos. Note when you first saw or smelled it.
- Measure it. Under about 10 square feet on a hard surface, you can clean it with detergent and water, dry it, and watch it. Larger, on drywall, or coming back: call.
- If it is a rental, send the landlord written notice with the photos today. Florida landlords must maintain the unit; the paper trail starts with your notice.
- If someone in the house has asthma, allergies, or a compromised immune system, keep them out of the room and talk to their doctor.
Mold in Miami-Dade
What is different here
Miami is warm and wet all year, and the housing stock is built for the heat, not for keeping air dry. That changes where mold shows up and what fixing it means.
The AC is the usual suspect
The air handler, its drain pan, and the closet it sits in are wet by design, and over-cooled ducts sweat in humid rooms. Black dust on a supply vent or a smell when the system starts is an AC problem before it is a mold problem, and the remediator and an AC company usually both get involved.
Condos run humid when they are empty
A closed-up unit with the AC set high or off for the summer can sit at 80% humidity for months. Snowbird owners come back to growth on furniture, closets, and ceilings without a leak anywhere. The fix is humidity control, and the association often has rules about it.
Insurance has limits, and they are small
Many Florida homeowner policies cap mold coverage at a fixed amount and exclude mold from long-term leaks or humidity. The professional documents the source and the work; your insurer decides what is covered.
Across Miami-Dade County
Condo humidity and stack leaks on the Beach and in Aventura, old block homes with window units in Hialeah, big slab houses with long duct runs in Kendall and Doral, wood-and-plaster houses under tree canopy in the Gables, and storm aftermath in Homestead.
Need a mold professional? Call 786-292-2505
Mold assessment and remediation for all of Miami-Dade
Mold across Miami-Dade: mold after a leak, removal and remediation, inspection and testing, mold in the AC, clearance. English or Spanish.
Questions people ask
Do I need a mold test?
Often not. The EPA’s guidance is that if you can see mold, sampling is usually unnecessary; the answer is to fix the moisture and remove the growth. Testing earns its cost when growth is suspected but hidden, when a landlord, buyer, or insurer disputes it, when a doctor asks, and as clearance after remediation. A licensed assessor will tell you which case you are in.
Is it black mold? Is it toxic?
Many molds are black, and "toxic black mold" is a marketing phrase, not a diagnosis. Any indoor mold growth should be removed, and the moisture that feeds it fixed, regardless of color or species. If someone in the house has asthma, allergies, or a compromised immune system, talk to their doctor.
What does the 10 square foot rule mean?
Florida licenses mold assessment and remediation for anything larger than 10 square feet, roughly a 3 by 3 foot patch. Below that, no license is required and you may clean it yourself. Above it, the assessor (MRSA) and the remediator (MRSR) must be licensed, and Florida restricts one company from doing both on the same property, with statutory exceptions. Ask which license it is working under and how the rules apply to your job.
Why can’t one company inspect and remove?
Because the company that says how bad it is would also be the company paid to fix it. Florida separated the two roles so the plan and the clearance come from someone with nothing to sell you. It also means you should be wary of an inspection offered at no cost by a remediation company; ask who the licensed assessor is.
Who pays, and does insurance cover it?
You pay the licensed professional; they invoice you for the work. Whether your insurer reimburses depends on your policy and the source: many Florida policies cap mold coverage and exclude mold from long-term leaks or humidity. Since 2023 no contractor can take an assignment of your claim.
I rent. Whose problem is this?
Florida has no mold-specific tenant statute, but landlords must maintain the unit, and code enforcement in most Miami-Dade cities will inspect for moisture problems. Send written notice with photos, keep copies, and if nothing happens you can pay for a licensed assessment yourself and use it. A tenant-rights organization can tell you the next step.
Do you help in Spanish?
Yes. Call in English or Spanish; every page is in both.
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Water got in within the last few days: call now. Otherwise say what you see, what you smell, and how long.
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