Mold after a flood in St. Petersburg: what to do in the first two days
If rainwater or saltwater got inside your home, you need to get things dried out quickly. The EPA advises homeowners to assume mold is growing in materials that have stayed wet for more than 24 to 48 hours. Here in St. Petersburg, especially in late summer, a house with no power or air conditioning can reach that point pretty quickly.
What to do first
Before you start moving things around, take photos and videos of every room. Then contact your insurance company. Flood insurance and homeowners insurance are two separate policies, and both require you to take steps to prevent mold from spreading.
Start removing the water and getting air through the house. Open windows and doors if the weather is suitable. Once it's safe to turn the power back on, keep fans and a dehumidifier running day and night.
Anything that can't dry out within two days needs to come out. That usually includes wet carpet and padding, upholstered furniture, mattresses, and waterlogged cardboard boxes.
You'll also need to remove wet drywall. Most homes in St. Petersburg have drywall installed over concrete block or wood framing. Drywall absorbs water and pulls it higher than the visible water mark. That means cutting it out above the water line to let the inside of the wall dry properly. Any wet insulation behind it needs to be removed too.
Leave the central air conditioning off until it's been inspected. If floodwater reached the air handler or ductwork, running the system could carry mold spores into other rooms.
Where mold shows up afterwards
After a storm, we tend to find mold in many of the same spots. It's common behind baseboards, behind kitchen cabinets along exterior walls, and inside closets that were left closed. We also find it beneath vinyl plank flooring installed over damp concrete slabs and around air handlers.
In older wood-frame houses around Old Northeast and Kenwood, crawl spaces are another place we regularly check. Homes in lower-lying bayfront neighborhoods like Shore Acres and Riviera Bay can also have mold in garages and ground-floor rooms, particularly where flooding has happened more than once.
One of the first things homeowners notice is a musty odor that returns when the air conditioning comes on. Another common sign is staining that keeps coming back even after it's been cleaned.
When to call a licensed company
The EPA generally considers a mold patch smaller than about ten square feet, or roughly three feet by three feet, on a hard surface manageable for most homeowners to clean themselves. If the affected area is larger, it’s time to get professional help. The same applies if mold is growing inside walls or the air conditioning system, or if someone living in the home has asthma or a weakened immune system.
Florida requires state licenses for both mold assessment and mold remediation. Before hiring anyone, ask for their license number. You should also receive a written description of the work explaining what materials will be removed, how the affected area will be contained, and how the company will confirm the cleanup was successful.
What Mold Advocates does after a flood
We start by checking where moisture is still present using moisture meters and a thermal camera. Then we contain the affected rooms, take out materials that can't be saved, and clean and dry the exposed framing.
We keep checking the moisture levels until the readings return to normal. You'll receive written readings and photographs documenting the work, which are also the records your insurance company will want to see.
If water got into your home, give us a call or fill out the form on this page with your address.
Step 01
Thermal & Moisture
Pin Mapping
Step 02
Containment & Selective Removal
Step 03
Clearance Documentation for Insurers
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