Commercial Mold Remediation in Missouri City, TX

What makes Missouri City buildings prone to mold?

Missouri City is a bedroom-community suburb about 15 miles from downtown Houston, mostly in Fort Bend County with a portion in Harris County. Zoned since 1981, it is mostly single-family, with few apartment complexes, so its commercial stock is largely retail centers, offices, medical suites, churches and schools along Texas Parkway, Cartwright Road and US 90A. Oyster Creek flows south through the city. In the Memorial Day 2016 Brazos River flood, runoff came within feet of covering Highway 6 and fourteen city streets were impassable. Day to day, though, the main sources are leaking roofs, clogged condensate lines and cold ducts in humid ceiling spaces.

Does my building need a professional?

It depends on size and who does the work. For non-residential property, the owner or tenant and their employees are exempt from TDLR licensing only while the contamination stays under 25 contiguous square feet. The same limit applies to residential properties with 10 or more units. At or above that line, a company holding a TDLR mold remediation license must do the remediation, and anyone paid to clean mold for someone else needs a license regardless of size. Whatever the size, EPA advises not painting or caulking over mold and not running an HVAC system you suspect is contaminated.

What does the paperwork trail look like?

An independent mold assessment consultant writes a protocol before work begins. The remediation company writes its work plan, notifies TDLR at least five days ahead on larger jobs and hands over TDLR's Consumer Mold Information Sheet. After removal, the consultant who wrote the protocol runs a post-remediation assessment and issues a passed clearance report. Within 10 days, the remediation contractor gives the owner before-and-after photos and a Certificate of Mold Damage Remediation. If you sell the property later, you must give the buyer copies of CMDRs from the previous five years.

A local note

Repair permits come from Missouri City Development Services Permits and Inspections. The city's Code Enforcement division requires exterior walls to be kept free of holes and rot, which matters when siding or trim lets rain in. Fort Bend County Health and Human Services lists mold complaints among the services it does not provide, so mold questions go to TDLR.