The standing water may be gone in most of the homes flooded out last week. But the headache for many is still here as mold quietly works its way through many Broward County homes.
“There was all this trapped moisture in here because there’s no way to ventilate…and you can tell the moisture here because of the different color,” said Mike Odeh from Service Master.
NBC6 tagged along with his crew in Fort Lauderdale midway into the mold remediation process as they were removing items, cutting open walls to ventilate them and dehumidifying all they could.
Odeh said he will then get a mold assessor to sign off on the work.
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“They (Broward residents) were not expecting it. We weren’t expecting it either to be honest with you,” Odeh said, referring to last week’s unprecedented flooding. “A lot of these places we’ve been to, they said they’ve been here 30 or 40 years, they’ve been through many of the major hurricanes, and they’ve never been through anything like this from a rain.”
When a major storm hits, Odeh said there are enough mold assessors and remediators to do the jobs, but homeowners may have to wait a while.
“When there’s an influx, everyone needs you now so there’s always going to be a little bit of a delay,” he said. “Anywhere between 72 hours and four or five days.”
Local
Several years ago, state lawmakers preempted local governments from requiring their own licenses
Mold assessors and remediators now must obtain a license from the Florida Department of Businesses and Professional Regulation (DBPR). Applicants for a mold-related license pay an initial licensure fee of $230.
According to a bill analysis, there are currently 3,252 licensed mold assessors and 3,208 licensed mold remediators in the state. More may be working in the state in the future.
Florida House Bill 869, which was introduced this legislative session, will create a way for mold assessors in other states to work in Florida if they’ve had their out-of-state license for 10 years and have passed an exam equivalent to Florida’s exam, among other requirements.
“A mold assessor can do things that a home inspector can’t. They can basically develop a plan to correct the mold and then test to make sure the correction worked,” said Nick Gromicko, who is with the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI).
He said out-of-state workers coming in may eat into the profits of Florida mold assessors, but it will be good for homeowners looking for help after major floods.
“So that people can get to a mold assessor quickly,” Gromicko said.
The proposal now requires the out-of-state workers to pay a fee and apply for a license in Florida but won’t have to go through all the required process if they’ve already done their own in their state.
This change is part of the overall reform package for the DBPR so some form of that bill will likely pass.
