Mold After a Leak in Viera: Why a Newer Home Isn’t Immune

A lot of Viera homes are on the newer side, and it’s easy to assume mold is an old-house problem. It isn’t. We’ve worked on plenty of new builds, and mold doesn’t care how old the house is. It only needs one thing: moisture.

When a leak hits the floor, most homeowners mop up what they can see. What they don’t know is that most of the moisture has already wicked up into the drywall and other building materials. In our humidity, mold can start growing within 24 to 48 hours.

So if you’ve had a leak in your Viera home and now you’re seeing spots, smelling something musty, or just wondering what’s behind the wall, here’s what we’d want you to know.

Where leaks hide in newer homes

Newer doesn’t mean leak-proof. These are the ones we see most:

• The AC backing up. AC units backing up and overflowing is the most common water call we see in Florida. In a newer home, the air handler is often in a closet next to finished drywall.
• Supply lines. The lines to sinks, toilets, washing machines, dishwashers and refrigerators. Some are plastic. Stainless braided lines are a better option.
• Windows and stucco. We’ve been seeing a lot of these leak in our heavy wind-driven rain. The area gets wet a little at a time over a long stretch and doesn’t show itself until it’s a bigger problem.
• Roof flashing. Usually flashing installed wrong, or new flashing that never got installed when a new roof went on.
• Sweating AC vents. Something we’ve been seeing more of lately. If the AC was oversized, or a part like the expansion valve has failed, it stops pulling enough moisture out of the air. We often see mold show up about 3 to 4 years after a brand-new AC was installed.

The wet areas of the house, the kitchen, bathrooms, laundry room and AC closet, are where most mold jobs start.

What to do right now

1. Stop the water. Shut it off at the main if it’s a plumbing leak, and get the plumber, roofer or HVAC company out to fix the source. Mold won’t stay gone if the leak isn’t fixed.
2. Don’t put a fan on it. Blowing air across mold spreads spores to the rest of the house. We never run air movers on mold.
3. Keep the AC running and the windows shut. Outside humidity here usually runs 60 to 80%. Your AC pulls moisture out better than open windows ever will.
4. Don’t assume a wipe-down fixed it. A small spot can be cleaned with Dawn dish soap and water (never mix cleaners). But a small spot is often the first sign of a bigger problem. If it comes back in a week, two weeks or a month, the source is still there.
5. Get it looked at. It’s worth having a professional inspect it, or a licensed mold assessor do an assessment, to find any damage hiding in the walls.

Not sure who to call first? We cover that in Found Mold After a Leak in Florida? Who to Call First.

How it works with us

First, a free mold inspection. We come out, look at the leak and the area around it, and tell you whether we’d recommend a mold assessment. We don’t take the lab samples ourselves. In Florida, the company that removes the mold shouldn’t also be the one assessing it.

Then the assessment. A licensed mold assessor inspects and samples the property and writes up what needs to come out. You normally pay for that initial assessment, and around here it usually runs $400 to $800 depending on who you use. Our estimate is based on it, and nothing starts until you confirm.

The remediation takes about 10 days start to finish, with the hands-on work in the first five:

• Day 1: Containment goes up around the work area, negative air machines and HEPA air scrubbers go in, and the contaminated materials listed in the assessment come out.
• Day 2: We finish any demo and start cleaning: HEPA vacuuming and antimicrobial on the floors, walls and ceilings.
• Day 3: We clean it all again. If the AC is involved, a licensed HVAC company handles everything inside the unit, and we clean and fog the ductwork.
• Day 4: The equipment runs 24 hours straight to scrub the air.
• Day 5: A final damp wipe of every horizontal surface, then the equipment comes out.
• Day 6: Everything settles.
• Day 7: A licensed mold assessor comes back for the clearance assessment.
• Days 8–9: Waiting on results. If it passes, you’re done.
• Day 10: A buffer day, so your job still finishes on time if an emergency comes in.

If we do your project, we normally cover the clearance assessment at the end.

Will insurance cover it?

Maybe, and the leak is the key. Most policies only cover mold that comes from a covered water loss. The water claim is what opens up the mold coverage in your policy, and most people don’t know that.

Two more things to watch: many policies exclude leaks that went on for 14 days or more, and a lot now cap water mitigation at $3,000. Every policy is different, so check yours or ask your agent. We can’t promise what your insurance will pay, but we document everything the way insurance companies want it. How we document your claim.

Found mold after a leak in Viera?

We’re a locally owned company serving Viera and all of Brevard County, licensed in Florida for mold remediation (MRSR3317) and IICRC certified. We work for you, not the insurance company.

Call (321) 890-2512, Monday through Friday, 8 to 5, or book your free mold inspection.

Related: Mold remediation in Viera · Water damage restoration in Viera · Our mold remediation process

About the author: Daniel Ryan Townsend grew up in Port St. John and has spent 15+ years in the restoration field, starting in his early twenties as a helper for a Brevard County restoration company. He worked his way up from technician to lead tech, supervisor, and management, then opened Affordable Water and Mold Removal in March 2018. He has been IICRC certified for 10+ years and holds the WRT (water damage restoration) and AMRT (mold remediation) certifications, plus Florida mold remediator license MRSR3317.