Mold & Mildew Cleanup in Richmond, TX

Our house took Brazos water in 2016 or Harvey. Is new mildew connected?

It can be. During the Memorial Day 2016 flood the Brazos reached 54.37 feet at Richmond, more than a foot and a half above the old record, and Harvey damaged about 200 Richmond homes a year later. The Edgewood subdivision off Hwy. 90 flooded both times. EPA's disaster guidance says to assume mold grew wherever a home could not be dried within 24 to 48 hours. If spotting keeps showing up along baseboards, inside lower cabinets or on the back of a closet wall in a house with that history, wet insulation or framing may still be feeding it. Surface wiping won't reach that; the wall needs to be checked with a moisture meter and opened if it reads wet.

What can I safely clean myself?

A lot of it. Grout, tile, tubs, window frames, painted trim and AC vent covers are hard surfaces. Scrub them with detergent and water and dry them completely, wearing gloves, goggles and an N-95 respirator. EPA puts the do-it-yourself line at roughly 10 square feet. Throw away moldy porous things that can't be cleaned, such as a stained bath mat or a ceiling tile. Texas lets homeowners clean their own home without a state license at any size, but bigger jobs are easier and safer with containment and proper equipment.

Older houses can also run damp simply because the AC is doing all the drying. Keep humidity under 60 percent, run bath fans for a good while after showers and keep closet doors open in summer.

I rent. Who do I tell?

Tell the landlord in writing first. As general information, not legal advice, Texas Property Code 92.052 requires a landlord to make a diligent effort to repair a condition that materially affects health or safety once notified, if rent is current. Richmond also registers residential rental property through its Building Department, and Code Enforcement takes complaints at (281) 342-0559. Fort Bend County Health & Human Services does not handle mold complaints.

A Richmond note

If cleanup means replacing drywall, cabinets or flooring, the City of Richmond Building Department at 600 Morton Street, (281) 232-6871, issues permits through the MGO Connect portal. For a full remediation project, Texas requires the assessor and the removal company to be different firms; check both on TDLR's license search.